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Workforce Bullying

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Workforce Bullying

During regular work hours, many employees experience a negative force; one they cannot control. Coworkers or supervisors intimidating, degrading, or humiliating an employee in front of other employees; this behavior is a certainty for many hard working men and women in the workforce. This harsh reality is known as workforce bullying. This paper will give the definition of workforce bullying, its causes and ramifications, and how to properly cope with the situation and how an employer or human resources department can stop the negative behavior
Workforce bullying is defined as “repeated, unreasonable actions of individuals towards an employee, which is intended to intimidate and creates a risk of the health and safety of the employee” (Workplace Bullying, 2008). “Workforce bullying is often an abuse or misuse of power. Bullying is behavior that intimidates, degrades, offends, or humiliates an employee” (Workplace Bullying, 2008). The behavior can be as vague as the bully glaring in a demeaning manor at the victim to overt behavior as sticking fingers in the face or yelling and screaming at the victim. Experiencing bullying often creates a feeling of defenselessness as it undermines the self esteem of the victim making that person feel they are always wrong and can never do anything right.
The ramifications of workforce bullying can result in the replacement of talented and trained employees who leave the company, increased sick leave, and low production in affected departments. In 2006, workforce bullying led to over $180 million in lost time and productivity (sixwise.com, 2006). Why are the costs so high? The victim takes repeated days off to avoid the workforce bully. Some victims are diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder or other stress-related illnesses such as headaches, ulcers, and high blood pressure which result in

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