Posted by dj on February 26, 2001, at 14:17:31
In reply to Re: Bullying at Work and Stress/Depression links.., posted by coral on February 26, 2001, at 7:30:22
"...The economic and emotional costs of bullying are high - both to the worker and the organization. Studies have shown that repeated incidents of bullying can hurt the bottom line, Neuman said. Such behavior often leads to a decline in employee productivity, an increase in medical leave and turnover and costly acts of sabotage. Lawsuits arising from an abusive work environment could also cost companies dearly.
And workplace bullying can be devastating to the workers targeted by bullies.
A recent survey of 930 employees in Michigan showed that one in five reported being "significantly mistreated" in the past year, said Keashly, who worked on the study.
Keashly's list of emotionally abusive behaviors ranged from yelling and swearing to talking down to employees. Workplace bullies also tend to flaunt their status, give employees the silent treatment, make them scapegoats for others' errors, put down workers in front of others, exclude colleagues from important activities or meetings and use threatening gestures.
"The more people reported being exposed to these negative behaviors, the more likely they were to have experienced health problems, to have a greater desire to leave their jobs and to be less satisfied with their jobs," Keashly said.
Are people just being too sensitive? Keashly rejects the notion: "How much can you do to dismiss that? Is 20% of the working population too sensitive?"
What is the employer's responsibility when it comes to workplace bullying?
Currently, the law doesn't specifically provide relief to workers from abusive workplace behavior, except in cases of sexual harassment or racial discrimination, said David Yamada, associate professor of law at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. Yamada is drafting a proposal that he hopes could form the basis for state laws providing protection against workplace bullying.
"Most people would naturally assume that the abusive behavior at work is not only wrong but that there would be legal protection. But a lot of state courts have held that workers' compensation prevents them from bringing a lawsuit."
Meanwhile, management experts encourage organizations to act quickly to prevent workplace bullying. "If you simply ignore the negative behavior going on, you're condoning it. You're perpetuating it," Neuman said..."
http://www.jsonline.com/bym/career/aug00/wrk-bully-bi080800.asp?format=print
poster:dj
thread:4830
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010209/msgs/4837.html