Bullying

Can We Blame Workplace Bullying On The Economy?

Is a poor economy to blame for workplace bullies escalating their bad behaviors? This could well be a distinct possibility.

Increasing unemployment coupled with an increasing dependence on temporary laborers simply means that companies are faced with having more and more vulnerable employees to target.

But while this economic slump that we are finding ourselves in may exacerbate bullying, it doesn’t explain why it is so deeply embedded in our workplace culture.

I’ve heard endless stories and been personaly subjected to bosses and even co-workers who rant and rave, give their targets the silent treatment, ignoring them, mocking them, glaring at them, insulting and belittling them right in front of their peers and other co-workers.

They will spread untrue rumors about them, sometimes withholding the precise information needed to do their work — and then take credit for everything they’ve done.

Employees found working in these horrible conditions will often discover their physical health, mental health, and confidence utterly destroyed.

They lack even the basic desire to leave and instead find themselves trapped in a world of psychological injury.

While talking with people about their work, it has been difficult to find those that haven’t had at least one such experience.

This has made me wonder how systemic these bullying attitudes are in our business environment.

One of the lowest estimates says that 12% of all workers are being bullied; others say it could be as high as 50%. Surprisingly, women are just as likely to be toxic bosses as men are.but, women are 80% more likely to be the targets of bullying in the workplace.

Both men and women target women. The victims are neither young nor thin skinned, but are mostly in their 40s, having years of experience on the job behind them. And toxic bosses don’t work alone — 77% of them enlist others to help.

So widespread is this phenomenon that lawyers seeking some legal remedy have found that in many cases, people see abuse and stress as simply a common part of employment.

David Yamada is a lawyer who thinks the only way to root it out is to make it illegal. He introduced workplace abuse legislation in California where it was vigorously opposed by the Chambers of Commerce.

But he won’t stop trying. “The spiral people experience is horrible,” he says. “I have seen people go from A to Z, and by the time they leave, they are just picking up pieces of themselves. They have to rebuild themselves completely.”