Introduction
Bullying in the workplace is a malicious act practiced by people who seek control, power, subjugation, and domination. In schools and businesses, such bullying is costly and affects one's performance. Thus, the senior executives and management should create and sustain a bullying free working environment. The managers can prevent bullying by ensuring that employers and employees work closely to enforce and establish a conducive working environment (Bernstein & Trimm, 2016). However, Wiedmer's article portrays information concerning bullying in the workplace comprising its targeted people, prevalence, employer practices, bullying behaviors, and steps to eradicate bullying.
Bullying in the Working Environment
Bullying in the working environment affects worker's health because it involves verbal and nonverbal abuse, which is humiliating, work interference, and threatening to deter work's performance. Bullies induce harm, disrupt interpersonal communication, and jeopardize a person's job and career, affecting the company's profits. According to statistics, around 30 percent of employees’ report bullies in the United States (Wiedmer, 2011). For instance, the survey indicated that to workforce adults in America because the findings indicated that bullying results in health issues like panic attacks, debilitating anxiety, traumatic stress, and clinical depression (Wiedmer, 2011). Similarly, workplace bullying affects the organization in terms of profit returns. The employees who encounter humiliation fail to perform adequately in jobs leading to lowering performance and production. Hence, the supervisors and managers should create a healthy working environment to avoid bully work cultures, affecting employee performance. Workers deserve respect irrespective of socio-economic background, class, ethnicity, language, or physical appearance. Therefore, bullies undermine status, worth, potential, and values (Fahie & Devine, 2014). Also, workplace bullying may reject the opportunity for education or training necessary for work performance and leads to constructive dismissal.
I witnessed bullying when I enrolled in a higher institution abroad. I schooled in University, which enrolled students who shared the same ethnic background and language. So, I faced bullying because I was the only person in our course from another nation since I lacked support from my instructors and peers. Peers and instructors discriminated me from participating in lecture-discussion or clarifying an issue. Sometimes, my colleagues stole my belongings like laptops and other essential things, where I eventually reported to the institutional managers who took corrective measures. According to Wiedmer (2011), bullying May plagiarize or steal the work, and this applies to my situation where some friends could present my assignment for grading without my consent. Also, Weidner indicates that bullying manipulates other people through guilt. For instance, I could feel guilt and question why I enrolled in my bachelor program abroad because I could not create friends since all I faced is discrimination and humiliation. According to Wiedmer (2011), preventing bullying in the working environment needs input, time, policy changes, and organizational culture that does not tolerant or recommend bullies (Wiedmer, 2011). First, any company's management should resolve bullying to sustain a civilized workforce. For instance, the supervisors and managers should understand what leads to bullying to enforce an action plan that indicates that the corporation will not tolerate harmful behavior. The management should devise policies for civilized employees and screen any bullies during the recruiting and employment process. Also, to handle bullying in a company, the management should recruit workers who understand work ethics because the investment return depends on employee’s performance. In case the work is not completed well in a business, the company may incur losses leading to financial issues. Therefore, management in business companies and schools should handle bullying with intensity and commitment.
