Yes, bullying is a workplace issue. It is an important topic to be discussed and people definitely need more awareness on it.
The topic becomes more important in the context of 21st century millennial where maximum of an individual’s time is spent in the workplace. As such, the way one feels and responds at work becomes crucial for the mental, physical and spiritual happiness.
Let us know the meaning of Bullying. It is the repeated infliction of physical or psychological distress on the other person in-order to intimidate, offend, degrade and humiliate the victim. Usually, seen as an assertion of power through the aggression, the workplace bullying is seen as one of the major reasons for an employee to leave th e organization.
However, one needs to understand that there is a fine line between a ‘strong management’ and ‘bullying’. Feedback intended to provide constructive feedback is not considered as bullying. As revealed by WorkSafeBC, Bullying does not include:
- Expressing the differences of opinion
- Constructive-feedback, advice, guidance about work-related behavior
- Reasonable action taken by the employer , keeping in mind the smooth execution of work
Some of the examples of the bullying include spreading malicious rumours, physical abuse, constant criticism of work, unwarranted punishment and making jokes that are obviously offensive.
These cases affect an individual quite deeply with feelings of Shock, Anger, sleeplessness, Anxiety, Low work productivity, inability to concentrate and increased sense of vulnerability.
The low performance of an employee causes an overall poor morale of organization which reflects in Poor customer services, Increased Absenteeism, poor corporate image, and depleted morals.
There are laws called, Anti-Bullying laws for a country that safeguard the employee from facing such harsh scenario at the workplace. In India, there is no specific law related to bullying. Such issues are minimally dealt by using different sections of IPC such as Section 339 – Wrongful Restaint, Section 340 – Wrongful confinement and Section 323 – Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt and so on.
Nevertheless, the issue of bullying can be controlled in organization by following a few guidelines such as firmly reporting the person that his or her behavior is not acceptable (It is advised to take this meeting along with supervisor of the firm), Maintaining the Factual journal of dairy and events thereby proving your claim, and Reporting the harassment to the delegated head.
