The Rise in Workplace Bullying

In 2019, Monster.com did a survey of 2,081 employees. The company found that 94 percent said they had been bullied in the workplace. That would be an incredible 19 percent rise in bullying in the workplace over the last eleven years (Robinson, 2019). Why is this happening and what can be done? Are there any obvious reasons that may be triggering this trend?

“Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” -British politician Lord Acton in the 19^th century

Lateral Violence

What is lateral violence? Richard Frankland (2021) describes lateral violence as: “organised, harmful behaviours that we do to each other collectively.” This happens in families, within organisations, and within our communities. Workplace bullying and lateral violence are: “often...one and the same (Pontus, 2011).” Harassment, discrimination, and bullying are all included in lateral violence.

Workplace Bullying

“It is about persistent criticism and personal abuse—both in public and in private—which humiliates and demeans the individual, gradually eroding their sense of self. It is designed to undermine a person’s ability and convince them that they are no longer good at anything.” (Adams and Bray, 1992:49)

The bully is someone who believes they are in a position of power, which may be actual or perceived. Verbal abuse, threatening e-mails, or spreading gossip, are all part of the bully’s arsenal in the workplace.

The Effects of Workplace Bullying

The damage of workplace bullying is multifaceted. The employee feels marginalized and suffers from low morale and decreased self-esteem. Some employees may even become hypervigilant, depressed, anxious, and develop sleep disorders. The damage to the employee will, paradoxically, further damage their productivity, which will eventually affect the organization. Severe cases of bullying have resulted in employees experiencing trauma and psychic numbing. Understandably, litigation against institutional bullying practices is also on the rise.

Reactive Management

Most disputes evolve from people being too reactive. What does it mean to be reactive? Being reactive means blaming others for choices. Bullying is primarily a reaction to situations through your emotions. This approach can often come across as shaming, resentful, insecure, angry, or abusive.

We often assume that other people are on the same page as us, when in reality they are not. Bullying may subsequently arise as a derivative of our differences.

When these differences continue to be unknown, any relationship can gradually deteriorate. Reactive and bullying individuals who repeatedly respond to others emotionally, due to their differences, will damage their relationship to the breaking point (Wilson, 2023).

Reactivity comes from pressure and stress. Managerial reactivity comes from the top down. Upper management pressures middle management and middle management pressures lower management. Stakeholders and owners are putting more pressure as profits dwindle. Controlling behaviour becomes a by-product of a loss of control.

Responsible Management

Responsible management is dedicated to promoting a culture of respect, harmony, and collaboration. In responsible management, there is an absence of bullying through retaliatory scheduling, inappropriate workloads, verbal abuse, disciplining in front of others, posturing over workers, and unnecessary displays of power and authority.

The results of responsible management are the exact opposite of bullying in the workplace. Employee satisfaction is increased, performance is enhanced, and organizations will thrive.

The employee and employer will both benefit. High turnover, a direct result of bullying in the workplace, is expensive. The total costs of replacing an employee vary from 30 to 150 percent of their salary, according to Harrison Human Resources, which based its calculation on a business with 50 employees and 20 percent annualised employee turnover, or ten resignations per year.

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The full-time adult average weekly total earnings figures issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (for October 2018) was $1,586. Adding 30 percent to this wage for the cost of employee benefits and on-cost expenses amounts to $475, giving a total cost of $2,062.

Assuming turnover cost to be a year’s total remuneration for each employee, the total annual cost of turnover for this sample business is $2,062 x 52 weeks x 10 employees. That’s a total of $1,072,271 each year.