People spend the majority of their week at work and should be able to enjoy decent work conditions. For this reason, employee rights and regulations are in place.
However, workplace bullying exists and remains prevalent in various work environments. Such conditions can have negative effects on employees.
What is bullying?
Workplace bullying can take a few different forms. It may be actual physical attacks, but more so psychological. In short, when people target and mistreat specific individuals consistently, they are participating in bullying. In the workplace, a perpetrator may use verbal assaults to demean or humiliate another worker or could sabotage a project or assignment of an employee. Many times, bullies will use more than one of these tactics against their targets.
What are the negative effects?
According to studies, there are a number of negative effects of workplace bullying. Some common effects of this act include the following:
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
These are just a few of the possible issues that may arise. As symptoms increase, some employees may need to begin a treatment regimen with a doctor or mental health professional. The study shows that some parties, particularly men, may even leave the job field due to bullying.
How is bullying reported?
The reporting process begins with a written complaint. This not only begins a paper trail, but also creates an opportunity to rectify the behavior. If the bully is a peer, the employ should complain to a supervisor. However, if the supervisor is the bully, the employ should go to upper management. If the conditions persist, it may be necessary to file a lawsuit. In such instances, the written complaint, witness testimony and other types of evidence will be critical to the case. Most bullies will not simply admit to their actions, so building a solid case is essential to the process.