The effect of workplace bullying is unimaginable. It can be as severe as a workplace injury. Bullying can break an employee’s morale completely. The employees don’t only get affected psychologically. If they are subjected to long term bullying, it may also deteriorate their physical health.
Due to its secretive nature, it’s hard to find the exact figure of bullying or any kind of harassment in the workplace. Bullying can be very subtle and sometimes hard to distinguish from the typical office humor.
Workplace bullying has a very negative effect on employees’ job performance. It’s terrible for the employees as well as for the company.
What considers workplace bullying?
Workplace bullying is the type of behavior or activities of an employee that is intolerable or uncomfortable to the other employees. There is a range of acts considered as bullying. It could be as subtle as unfriending coworkers on Facebook to as severe as using a racial slur or homophobic jokes.
As I have said before, bullying sometimes can get very hard to distinguish. It may vary from culture to culture and from person to person. What may seem normal behavior to one culture may regard offensive to another culture. That’s why a multicultural workplace needs to pay more attention to workplace bullying.
Although it’s not possible to give a detailed chart of bullying, here are some major behavior problems that are regarded as bullying unanimously.
- Threatening co-workers.
- Demanding unfair favors or work from others.
- Pressuring other workers to do extra work.
- Taking other people’s credit.
- Making jokes or remarks that are inappropriate or offensive to that person.
- Humiliating co-workers.
Workplace bullying: the danger it brings to employees health
Bullying can cause more harm than you can imagine. It harms employees psychologically and physically. Long term office bullying is even much more harmful than a workplace injury. An injury is often treatable. Furthermore, the workers get many kinds of compensation for the injury.
On the other hand, workplace bullying is complicated by nature. Many people don’t know what to do about it. The effect of bullying is primarily psychological. The main psychological problem caused by bullying is-
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Depression
- Panic attack
- Depression
- Concentration loss
Workplace bullying and harassment brings some severe physical problems too-
- Insomnia and other sleep problems
- High blood pressure
- Gastrointestinal distress
- Hair loss
- Ulcers
- Headaches
Workplace bullying & it’s on job performance
Employees work far better in a pressure-free environment. Bullying in the workplace reduces work performance significantly. The horrible effect of bullying in the workplace is-
- Face problems in making critical decisions.
- Fail to keep concentration on challenging work.
- Lose productivity and creativity.
- Lose self-esteem.
- Fail to work with full energy.
Almost 18 million employees lose their job to workplace bullying every year. It’s very unpleasant for the workers who face bullying in their day to day work. It dries out all their creativity and vigor. Their loss can’t be measured by money simply.
Workplace bullying & its effects on business
If job performance gets affected, it means the company business also gets hampered. It has other harmful impacts too-
- Bullying leads to less creativity and productivity.
- Bullying creates an unstable work environment.
- Create a negative reputation for the company.
- The company could face a hard time recruiting new employees.
- Skilled workers may quit their job.
- Employers could face a severe lawsuit from the victim employees.
- The company may have to bear a worker’s compensation.
Every year companies lose more than $250 million every year for workplace bullying.
Workplace bullying in Canada
Workplace bullying in Canada is surprisingly high. According to recent studies, about half of Canadian employees either experience or witness workplace bullying and harassment. The older, disabled workers and the workers from the LGBTQ community are the primary victims of workplace bullying. This is not good news for a country like Canada, which is always welcoming to diversity.
The good news is that different provinces in Canada are started to take strict steps to stop workplace bullying and harassment. Ontario’s workers’ compensation board is now allowing chronic mental stress claims. It includes claims for psychological problems caused by workplace bullying.
British Columbia province now has specified policies that address bullying in the workplace.
Any type of psychological harassment is strictly prohibited in Quebec.
Alberta implements strict new anti-bullying employment law and also allow harassment-related sick leave.
Conclusion
Bullying should get more attention with other workplace problems. A significant amount of employees can’t continue their job for bullying. Only laws and company policies are not enough to stop bullying. Employees need to raise their voices against workplace bullying. A collective effort works more efficiently than any rule.
If you face any kind of workplace bullying in Alberta, contact us immediately. We give grave importance to the case like bullying and sexual harassment.
