We’ve been hearing a lot of reports on how workplace bullying has become a common occurrence in organizations. Several studies and research also showed that the number of cases or victims of work place bullies is rising. According to Sandi Verrecchia, President and CEO of Satori Consulting, workplace bullying is happening more frequently than it should. Now, this actually sounds scary. Such scenarios suggest unhealthy working environments and negative organization cultures.
Unfortunately, one of the downsides in having bullies at the work place, is that these individuals can chase away the company’s good employees. Data from a book, “The Bully At Work,” showed that 40 percent of victims of workplace bullying decided to leave their job in order to avoid the abuse and negative working environment. Surprisingly, 24 percent of the victims were fired by the organization. On the other hand, only 24 percent of these work place bullies were punished.
So what should employers do in order to stop workplace bullying? Satori Consulting’s Verrecchia shared a few tips on how to address the issue. Note that these tips may sound simple, but it may pose a challenge for some organizations, since it’s not only about adopting zero tolerance policies and workplace bullying prevention programs. One key factor is being transparent and implementing a culture change that needs to come from the top, and not a bottom-up approach.
To learn more about the ways on how to combat workplace bullies, click here.