Bullying in the workplace is gaining the attention of top-level executives and researchers as it drains company financial and managerial resources. The studies conducted focus on identifying bullying behavior, characteristic traits of bullies and their victims, environmental stresses that create a bullying atmosphere, and the lost productivity as an effect of bullying on the employee’s psychological wellbeing. The immaturity of this research topic suggests that by investigating the behavior and finding ways to govern and discipline those responsible for the behavior, it will taper. However, further investigative research on informal learning suggests a long-term effect on the workforce. This paper explores the effects of bullying on the social learning environment of the workplace.
Literature Review
Learning is like the air we breathe, it is natural, abundant, and happens everywhere. It has been the topic of intellectuals, scholars and researchers for over a hundred years. They have defined it, theorized about it, philosophized about it, argued about it, researched it, studied it, and governed it. They have determined how we learn, why we learn, and in what environments we learn the best. In this literature review, we will focus on social learning in the workplace and how bullying affects the learning environment, the learner, and the organization.
Workplace learning is different from the conventional or pedagogical style learning that we are accustomed to from birth. Learning in the workplace is “informal learning” (Ahlgren and Tett, 2010; Collis and Winnips, 2002; Eraut, 2004). Eraut (2004) describes informal learning as having more flexibility and significant social recognition than deliberate pedagogical learning...
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...British Journal of Educational Technology, 33(2), 133-148.
De Cuyper, N., Baillien, E., & De Witte, H. (2009). Job insecurity, perceived employability and targets' and perpetrators' experiences of workplace bullying. Work & Stress, 23(3), 206-224.
Eraut, M. (2004). Informal learning in the workplace. Studies in Continuing Education, 26(2), 247-273.
Lovell, B. L., & Lee, R. T. (2011). Impact of Workplace Bullying on Emotional and Physical Well-Being: A longitudinal Collective Case Study. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Tramma, 20, 344-357.
Privitera, C., & Campbell, M. A. (2009). Cyberbullying: The New face of Workplace Bullying? CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(4), 395-400.
Samnani, A. (2013). The Early Stages of Workplace Bullying and How it Becomes Prolonged: The Role of Culture in Predicting Target Responses. Journal of Business Ethics, 113(1), 119-132.
Workplace bullying is defined as any as any type of repetitive abuse in which the victim of the bullying behaviour suffers verbal abuse, threats, humiliating or intimidating behaviours, or behaviours that interfere with his or her job performance and are meant to place at risk the health and safety of the victim (Murray, 2009). Bullying can take many forms, some blatant, others more subtle. Researchers ha...
Workplace bullying is an issue at my current place of employment. It pertains specifically to my experiences and observations of a staff member who feels the need to demoralize and abuse her co-workers and patients. Her harsh mannerisms, including aggressiveness and manipulation had a negative impact on many staff
Atlas, R.S., & Pepler, D.J. (1998). Observations of bullying in the classroom. Journal of Educational Research, 92(2), 86-99.
It has various negative effects which are persistent in nature, and the individual victim realizes the behaviour as bullying (Wilson, 2016). Bullying is associated with physical and psychological problems among nurses leading to absenteeism, poor performance, low job satisfaction, and increased turnover (Ganz, et al., 2015). The issue of bullying among nurses further affects the entire health care team including patient outcomes and health care costs due to the declining level of nurses’ performance (Becher & Visovsky, 2012). Although bullying exists in the nursing work place, they are silent in nature, and goes undetected (Becher & Visovsky,2012). Hence, identifying and managing workplace bullying needs efforts of individual facing bullying and support of the
Downplaying bullying, saying things like “He was just joking around”, and “Don’t take things so seriously” can have serious repercussions. Some people are more fragile than others and react to this type of treatment with anger or violence. On the other hand, there are managers who rule with an iron hand and sometimes this pressure can cause an employee to crack.
This is a summary of a journal article titled “Workplace Bullies: Why they are successful and what can be done about it?” published in the Organizational Development Journal. The authors of the article are Mr. Karl Olive, and Dr. Joseph Cangemi, (Karl, and Joseph). Karl and Joseph examined the aspect of workplace bullying that has currently reached an all-time high. Randall (1997) defines workplace bullying as “aggressive behaviors that are intended to inflict psychological angst or even physical harm to others in the workplace.”(Randall, P. 1997). The question answered in this article is why do
In the 10 years Mazey had been employed with Hudson, he was observed throwing things which barely missed employees, yelling at subordinates “in a rage” and making “derogatory and demeaning remarks” possibly regarding ethnicity or origin, among other inappropriate behavior (Yemen & Clawson, 2007). Mazey can be considered as a workplace bully. Hocker and Wilmot (2011) define bullying as “repeated and persistent patterns of negative workplace behavior that is ongoing for six months or longer in duration” (p. 175). The excessive bullying behavior Mazey displayed created interpersonal tension that affected productivity. Hudson associates were hesitant, or refused to work with Mazey due to prior...
Workplace bullying is a reality within the organizations and may cause relationship conflicts. As a result of that, avoidance behavior of the victims is a common problem that impacts also in the productivity of the firm. In order to prevent the occurrence of bullying, it is mandatory for the human resources managers to cultivate a policy based in principles such as respect and politeness among the employees. Furthermore, it is suggested that other researches focus on the role of the organizational communication and extra activities, as gym, yoga, and others to help to combat the incidence of bullying in the workplace in a holistic way.
Although there are other definitions pertaining to workplace bullying, Weidmer captures the aspects relating to the behaviors of the bully and the impacts on the victim. Workplace bullying is considered to be any unwanted and harmful behaviors towards employees that an employee demonstrates on a regular basis. These actions may cause tension between employees and make it hard for the victim to work along side the bully or other employees. Bullying can cause an individual to break down and pose opportunity f...
Vessey, J., Demarco, R., & DiFazio, R. (2010). Bullying, harassment, and horizontal violence in the nursing workforce: The state of the science. Annual Review Of Nursing Research, 28, 133-157. doi:10.1891/0739-6686.28.133
Worth & Squelch (2015) define workplace bullying as, “the situation in which a person persistently is on the receiving end of negative actions from one or several others in a situation where the person exposed to the negative treatment has difficulties defending himself or herself against these actions” (p. 1017). Although we all may face many challenges in our lives every day; no one should ever have to experience this type of behavior from another employee. Workplace bullying is a very serious matter and should not be taken lightly, so organizations need to be able to recognize all forms of bullying, train employees on the consequences against workplace bullying, and have effective policies in place that will help prevent this type of behavior.
...e bullying as a serious issue, just as schools do, it will continue to be a costly and sometimes deadly fact of everyone’s daily lives. Using another’s back might get you there, but it can be a slippery slope. “To learn and apply is to raise ones skills; one is upgrading oneself. Learning, self-cultivation and self-improvement is important in the workplace and in doing business.” (Patrick Low, K., & Mohd. Zain, A., 2012)
Namie, Ph.D., Gary, and Ruth Namie, Ph.D. The Bully at Work: What You Can Do to Stop the Hurt and Reclaim Your Dignity On the Job. First Edition. Naperville: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2000. 274-275. Print.
Cook, C., Guerra, N., Kim, T., Sadek, S., Williams, K. (2010). Predictors of bullying and
What is workplace bullying? According to the Workplace Bullying Institute “ 35 per cent of the U.S workforce repor...