How workplace bullying affects your bottom line

Guest post by Anna Eliatamby is Director of Healthy Leadership, CIC and co-author with Grazia Lomonte of Healing-Self Care for Leaders and their Teams, out now and available on Amazon.

Organisations, regardless of size, are fragile social systems of people and their accompanying relationships. The culture is the collective social system and equally delicate. Just the presence of one bully can disrupt the social system and the culture. Clearly, when more than one person, or worse, a group, torments others, the impact of bullying is significantly amplified.

Why you need to address workplace bullying

The bottom line

Regardless of how organizations define their bottom line – from financial to social and environmental – it is affected by negative behaviours. The American Psychological Association estimated the cost of bullying to be near $300 billion. The University of Galway estimated that the cost to the national economy of Ireland is 239 million euros per year. And workplace bullying causes the loss of 1.7 million days of work.

There are many other effects of tolerating bullying. When people experience bullying or witness it, they are affected. They will have high levels of stress and fear, waiting for that next moment or comment. Their ability to focus and concentrate, think clearly and make good decisions deteriorates. They lose self-esteem and motivation and energy. This then affects their ability to be productive and even creative. They will not feel loyal to the organisation.

Some will become more vulnerable to mental health problems, such as higher levels of anxiety and depression. Physical health can be affected. As people’s health deteriorates, the cost to the organisation’s health insurance will increase.

People will spend time and effort avoiding the bully or bullies. Or not work so hard, just doing the bare minimum. Presenteeism increases. People can spend more than half their time focussed, not on work but on avoidance or seeking support or looking for other jobs.

As people leave because of the bullying and associated negativity, then the costs of recruitment increase. It can take nine months of a salary to recruit into a position.

Reputational damage can occur, especially if an employee takes legal action. When this happens, the company will incur legal costs.

Bullying

Is ongoing and repeated. And includes behaviours that are harmful from banter to sidelining, withholding key information, abusing power and to more significant acts such as physical aggression. It can be direct or indirect. For example, a group of individuals would deliberately falsify information about a manager and then ensure that they could not carry out their tasks. Humiliation is often the aim.

Anyone has the propensity to bully, except that most of us choose not to. Bullies can be insecure, have experienced bullying themselves, lack management expertise, and not know what else to do. They may want to gain power and authority to feel in control. Often, they continue their bullying because no one will address their actions and help them change. Tacit reinforcement.

Those who are bullied often possess competence and ability, but they may lack self-confidence or appear vulnerable. Bullies sense this and exploit it. The perpetrators often are emotionally intelligent but choose to misuse this skill.

Reclaiming the bottom line

Starts with admitting the presence of bullying behaviour. Acknowledging its deleterious impact and then deciding to act to address it, beyond gathering data on its incidence.

This will take courage as most will avoid doing something because it is frightening, and they feel they lack the skills or ability. However, if you decide to act, then you learn that you already possess the people skills and fortitude to act. It also requires persistence because the bullies won’t believe your intentions at first.

Ensure that the message is clear to one and all. It is time for healthy, decent and supportive relationships, even in the most competitive organisation. Collaboration gains from positivity. Make sure that managers learn how to be brave and act. Help those who bully so that they can change or leave. This can include coaching. Support those who have been targeted to recover their self-respect and dignity. They may relapse, especially if they have endured bullying for a long time. Help them.

Make sure that the organisational structure has all the elements to help those within it diminish the impact of bullying. The policies and procedures should emphasise how to tackle negatives and praise the positives.

This is not a fresh problem. We all know it; we may have experienced or used bullying. Isn’t it time to stop and change so we can have decent behaviours and organisations as a norm, not an exception?

Anna Eliatamby is Director of Healthy Leadership, CIC and co-author with Grazia Lomonte of Healing-Self Care for Leaders and their Teams, out now and available on Amazon

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