We’ve often heard how workplace bullying can cost a company hundreds to thousands of dollars. However, despite its impact on an organization’s budget, the cases of employees being bullied at work sometimes remain unnoticed.
According to an Office Team research more than a quarter of HR managers say they think workplace bullying occurs at least somewhat often in their companies. The Office Team study also indicated that one in three employees admit they had a work place bully in their organizations. Employees who are bullied at work sometimes become distracted because of the negative working environment. It affects their productivity and often leads to low morale.
Bert Alicea, a licensed psychologist as well as Vice President of EAP and work/life services at Health Advocate, said that a company can lose tens of thousands of dollars due to absenteeism, lost productivity, lost stress-related issues and other concerns brought about by workplace bullying. Aside from these factors, having a bully in the workplace can also contribute to high turnover, which in turn, results to higher recruitment costs. There is also a possibility of a company losing a key talent or high performer because of an office bully.
Having clear policies and zero tolerance for bullying and harassment are critical factors in ensuring that workplace bullying problems are properly addressed. Implementing workplace bullying prevention training programs for the employees and supervisors will also help to spread more awareness about the issue.
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