Intimidation and bullying in the workplace are extremely harmful since they negatively impact employee morale and productivity and can even lead to physical injury for the victim. According to Forbes’s estimations, as many as 75 percent of American workers have experienced bullying in the workplace at some point.
Verbal and physical threats, intimidation, and spreading false stories about an employee for the sake of power or advancement are all examples of workplace bullying. Learn more!
The Impact of Bullying on Workers.
The effects of workplace intimidation and bullying on victims’ health, productivity, and mental well-being can be devastating. The negative health effects of workplace intimidation and bullying, such as insomnia, anxiety, severe stress, depression, low self-esteem, and high blood pressure, can compound over time and devastate employees who are subjected to them.
Sometimes the aggressor would even start rumours and disseminate them around. Depending on the context, this kind of conduct can inspire imitators, who then propagate the rumour and bring down morale for everyone. Those who don’t take part but would otherwise wish to help the victimised coworker sometimes do nothing for fear of retaliation.
Employees who are bullied at work often lose their jobs because they are less productive or unable to carry out their regular duties due to the stress they’re under. If an employee is let go, they suffer financial losses from lost wages and may have trouble finding new work. Workplace bullying and intimidation can have devastating effects if not addressed.
What Kinds of Instances Constitute Bullying or Intimidation in the Workplace?
Intimidation in the workplace can take numerous shapes and sizes, depending on the company and the setting in which it occurs. The Workplace Bullying Institute defines bullying as “abusive behaviour that threatens or intimidates another person, verbal abuse, and prevents or interferes with the person’s ability to do their work.” Examples of forms of bullying and intimidation include:
Violent or harmful acts or threats.
- There was a lot of shouting and angry body language.
- Negative treatment of a coworker in front of customers or other external parties.
- involving work that is outside the employee’s expertise or skill set.
- Interfering with, stealing credit for, or otherwise sabotaging another’s work.
- Isolating a worker by holding them to higher standards than other workers or excluding them on purpose from work-related activities is discrimination.
- Making up charges that an employee has done poor work.
- Emails that are abusive, demeaning, or threatening.
- Discrimination based on an individual’s physical attributes, their race, sexual orientation, or religion.
