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It isn’t only school kids that find themselves the target of a bully. Big kids do too. The schoolyard bully grows up and becomes the workplace bully. And because of years of practice the bully becomes more devious, more destructive, more poisonous. Workplace bullying can manifest itself in many forms. But whatever form it takes, the cost of bullying, both in financial terms and in terms of quality of life, are enormous.
Bullying in the Workplace – Effect on the Business
In a recent bulletin published by Alberta Human Resources and Employment (VAH001 – Violence and Harassment, Revised November, 2006) stated, “workplace violence and harassment is recognized as a serious threat to an employer’s success. Bullying costs a department, company or organization:
- time lost from work
- poor productivity
- unhappy employees
- a tense, fearful work environment
- increased medical claims
- severance packages
- recruitment and training costs
- retaliation factors, ranging from minor internal company sabotage to murder
If that hasn’t caught your attention yet, consider the following two lawsuits. This past year (2008) a female police officer, Nancy Sulz, sued the RCMP for workplace harassment and was awarded $950,000 by the B.C. Supreme Court. Also in 2008, Madam Justice Catherine Aitken of the Ontario Superior Court found “the company” (Bell Mobility) had failed to live up to the obligation that the employer treat employees with civility and respect. She said Bell had violated its duty to take reasonable steps to ensure its employee would not be subject to further physical or verbal abuse or intimidation by her manager...because the work environment was so hostile, the employee was awarded in excess of $500,000. Do these court cases serve notice to businesses, governments and corporations that bullying can no longer be ignored?
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