{"id":8429,"date":"2019-06-28T15:50:49","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T22:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/?p=8429"},"modified":"2024-04-08T13:42:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T20:42:00","slug":"what-is-workplace-bullying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/what-is-workplace-bullying\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prevent Workplace Bullying"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are a target of workplace bullying, no wonder why you start your week with a pit of anxiety and stress in your stomach. You count days or wait desperately for the week to end to avoid the mental torture you have to deal with in the office.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sad but true, workplace bullies have become an everyday thing in our lives. Whether there is someone who berates you, excludes you, makes snide remarks at you or threatens you, inappropriate behavior, in any form, is enough to reduce someone\u2019s efficiency and productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

A recent study found that one in every four employee experiences bullying in the workplace<\/a>. This toxic practice can cost businesses up to $200 billion a year as it increases absenteeism, high turnover and decreases productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what exactly is workplace bullying and why are its effects so corrosive?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to University Louisville, workplace bullying<\/a> is the course of unreasonable actions of a group and individuals directed toward a group or an employee, intended to threaten or intimidate and create risks to the safety and health of the employee or employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Workplace bullying typically involves misuse or abuse of power. It includes inappropriate behavior that does not only intimidate workers but also offends, degrades and humiliates them.\u00a0 The corrosive behavior no doubt makes an employee feel threatened and\u00a0disrupts their ability to work efficiently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Types Of Workplace Bullies<\/strong><\/p>\n

The problem with bullying is that it is indistinct and difficult to identify. Whether your boss or co-worker is manipulative and bullies you, identifying their intention is not easy. It is merely because bullying and disruptive behavior often overlap with other common behaviors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0So how can you identify the typical bullies around you at the workplace? Well, here are some bull types:<\/span><\/p>\n

Screaming Mimi<\/strong>
\n<\/b>The name sounds bizarre, so is the attitude of these bullies.\u00a0 This bully is undeniably one of the most recognizable types you may find at the workplace.\u00a0 The obnoxious and loud screaming mimis are easily identifiable due to their abusive behavior. You will often find them humiliating and berating people for their performance, appearance or demeanor.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two-Headed Snake<\/strong>
\n<\/b>The title personifies the behavior of these bullies. This type of employee acts as if they are the most reliable and trusted colleagues. However, they do their best to destroy your reputation when you are not around. They even take credit for your work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Constant Critic<\/strong>
\nDismantling your confidence or belittling you in front of others is all this co-worker wants. Even their normal conversation includes unwarranted criticism. They are a critic and do not miss out on a single chance to find flaws in your work, personality and performance to kill your credibility.\u00a0Impeccable work?\u00a0 Well, no problem. This constant critic can even falsify documents to make you look bad.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Attention Seekers<\/strong>
\nThis type refers to the ones who crave attention at the workplace.\u00a0 To get in the \u201cgood books\u201d of their superior, they do not mind getting over flattery.\u00a0 They feign a helpful demeanor, but in reality, the gimmicks are for achieving their personal goals.\u00a0 They are often overly dramatic\u00a0and try to manipulate the situations to garner control.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is Workplace Bullying Illegal?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To answer this question precisely, bullying is not automatically illegal, like other forms of workplace assaults or harassment. However, the effects it causes are often detrimental to not only the employee\u2019s mental and physical health but also the work environment. While the toxic environment decreases the morale of the employees, it affects company turnover.<\/span><\/p>\n

As mentioned earlier, workplace bullying is significantly tricky when it comes to recognizing it. However, it has the power to reduce the efficiency of the employees as well as the profitability of the business by stressing the entire environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Workplace bullying is illegal when it goes beyond the limits and violates the laws that the Federal and State government has defined.\u00a0 Because of this subtle distinction, many employees find pursuing any workplace bullying matter hard to handle legally.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, this is one of the reasons many companies consider employee and workplace training essential to get rid of workplace bullying. By giving essential employee training to their workers, they help them learn how to deal with <\/span>toxic work relationships<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n