Preventing Workplace Bullying

by Oct 9, 2015

As analyzed by the CareerBuilder in its 2014 survey 28% of the 3,372 US survey respondents, all full-time and private employees, are bullied. And 19% of these have resigned from their jobs because of this workplace bullying epidemic.

According to The Network, a firm who works with organizations in preventing bullying in their workplace, management should take a lead in stopping this kind of negative and disrespectful work environment. But they, themselves doesn’t want to acknowledge such incidents. Workplace bullying may not be a clear visible activity around you, still it exists.

What important is workplace bullying is recognized by both employee and their management. There are instances that both parties doesn’t want to point out that there is bullying happening. Victims doesn’t want to be tagged as whistleblowers in these kind of incidents and afraid to lose their jobs if they do so. Superiors who get involved but chose to keep quiet because the bully is a productive worker, they too, contribute to the disrespectful atmosphere in your workplace. These incidents should be avoided by continuous communication and training on employees’ behaviors. Superiors should also be given training on effective management skills and techniques particularly to workers who displays bullying behavior.

Prevention of any epidemic starts by recognizing its presence, understanding that it is actually happening in the workplace and responding to it quickly and decisively with effective management skills. Read the whole article by Sharon Florentine on How to Prevent Workplace Bullying.

Do you know how much money chronically bad behavior costs your company? Spoiler alert – it’s a LOT higher than you want it to be. Download our data and worksheet to see how it’s costing your organization and what you can do to fix it.

 

About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Fortune 500’s, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared several times on NPR, FOX, NBC, and ABC as an expert, as well as in USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego Chapter and teaches at National University. In his book foreword, Ken Blanchard called her book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” She recently released a second book entitled, SEEKING CIVILITY: How Leaders, Managers and HR Can Create a Workplace Free of Bullying.

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