Bullying At The Workplace

Bullying at the Workplace: A New Reality
Bullying in the workplace is defined by the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) as a “repeated, health harming abusive conduct committed by bosses andco-workers.”
The unfortunate news is that this practice is surprisingly common. According to The Government of Alberta Learning Information Service, a recent Canadian study estimates that bullying in theworkplace is three to four times more common than sexual harassment or racial discrimination.
Most large companies in Canada and the United States of America have a “Respectful Workplace Policy”. Themain purpose of this policy is to maintain a working environment free of harassment and violence, to ensure employees understand that acts of violence or harassment are considered a serious offence,and to encourage employees to access any assistance in order to pursue a complaint. Moreover, it is necessary for this policy to be renewed and signed by each employee of the organization.
Althoughthese practices are put in place there is still a large concern that employers are not dealing with workplace bullying. In a survey released last summer by WBI, 88 percent of American employers werestill not taking action to solve the problem.
This raises the next question: Why is bullying happening?
According to WBI the top 4 factors of why bullying occurs are: 1) Bullies are not punished, 2)Laws to stop bullying are either absent or too weak to be effective, 3) Employers/Employees do not have the will to stop bullying, and 4) Coworkers stand idly by and fail to interrupt or assist inhalting it.
We can refer to the case of Mark Hurd, former ex CEO of HP, who harassed Jodie Fisher between 2008 and 2009. It wasn’t until August 2010 that action was taken and Mr. Hurd was fired fromHP. Today, Mr. Hurds works as a Co-President for Oracle Corporation, a formal rival of HP.
Bullying in the workplace is a reality and a harmful behavior that cannot be ignored.
It is up to...