Traumatic Experiences of Workplace Bullying

Discuss about the Management Skills for Managing Cultural Diversity.

In an article, ‘Workplace Bullying: A Complex Problem in Contemporary Organizations’ authored by Alexia Georgakopoulos, LaVenaWilkin and Brianna Kent in ‘International Journal of Business and Social Science’ Volume 2, Issue 3 during 2011, workplace bullying is identified as a grave problem affecting the operations of the business institutions. The article effectively underlies and analyses different reasons and factors that contribute in generating bullying activity at the workplace. The same is reflected in Appendix 1.

Further, the article also hints at effective solutions that need to be undertaken at the organisational level for reducing the growth and impact of workplace bullying. The same is reflected in Appendix 2.

The study in the research article was mainly conducted to evaluate the factors causing workplace bullying. The study also focused on identifying the different types of interventions that are needed to be undertaken for countering workplace bullying. The evaluation of the factors and solutions regarding workplace bullying is carried out for helping the United States- based firms understand and identify situations. Also, actions need to be taken to reduce its impacts (Galpin, 2011).

Further, the article’s objective is to increase potential awareness related to workplace bullying and also the costs associated with it. The study also indicated the contagiousness of the bullying behaviour at the workplace. Bullying activities and behaviours reflected on the part of the business managers are observed to encourage bullying behaviour among the subordinate groups involved in the various organisational departments (Dessler&Teicher, 2004).

The bullying behaviour reflected by senior groups in an organisation is ideally observed by subordinates as an integral part of the organisational culture. The research article also reflects existence and growth of workplace bullying in multinational organisations employing a diverse workforce (Dulaimi & Sailan, 2011).

Workplace bullying in a diverse workforce gains needed strength in that person belonging to the minority groups and also from diverse ethnic, social, sexual and educational backgrounds become the subject of bullying activities (Antunes, 2010).

The lack of needed awareness regarding the identification of activities classified as workplace bullying affects the understanding of the people’s manner. The same can be tackled for generation of individual and group productivity (Brown, 2011).

The research article finally highlights on the different policy implications that needed to be undertaken for reducing the occurrences associated with workplace bullying. Generation of skill-based training for organisational managers constitute an effective aspect that can help them in managing and countering the impacts of organisational bullying (Grimshaw, 2009).

Efficacy of the Intervention Programs

Similarly, the generation of videos reflecting examples and styles of workplace bullying is needed to carry out for contributing to the growth of potential awareness among people involved along different levels and units in the business institution (Orrick, 2008).

The complexity of workplace bullying is reflected in the research article that varies bullying practices from situation to situation and organisation to organisation. The article argues that different types of solutions and problem-solving approaches to be undertaken for effectively resolving the issues associated with bullying conducts at workplaces (Georgakopoulos et al., 2011).

David Farmer in the research article, ‘Workplace Bullying: An increasing epidemic creating traumatic experiences for targets of workplace bullying’ published in ‘International Journal of Humanities and Social Science’, Volume 1, No.7 during 2011 reflects the different types of traumatic experiences faced by organisational members for an existence of workplace bullying. It also reflects on the various types of policy recommendations that are needed to be undertaken by the organisational managers for reducing the impact of workplace bullying (Yeung, 2011).

The research article potentially highlights the adverse impacts of bullying activities on the part of managers and other subordinate groups on other organisational members in the business institution. Survey carried out amongst organisational members reflect adverse impacts of workplace bullying like increased level of anxiety, disturbed sleeping conditions, loss of needed concentration, depressive conditions and also the emergence of panic attacks (Elearn, 2009).

The article potentially reflects that the incidence and growth of disruptive health conditions are directly proportional to the increase in the level of workplace bullying. Individuals suffering from low-esteem become the potential sufferers of workplace bullying practices. Sufferers of workplace bullying feel stressed out such that the same affects their productivity and performance (Budhwar & Debrah, 2013).

Further, different types of intervention strategies like counselling individuals responsible for the bullying activities and also a collaboration with organisational leaders for generation of effective policies and rules are undertaken for reducing the impacts of bullying activities at the workplace (Zinyemba, 2014).

This article thus generates potential importance in understanding the adverse impacts of workplace bullying on the psychological and physiological situation of organisational members. Similarly, the research article also reflects the importance of the development of an ombudsman and the Employee Assistance Program or EAP that would increasingly help in generation of needed assistance to employees that are sufferers of bullying activities in their workplaces (Ishaq & Zuilfqa, 2014).

The research article effectively contributes in highlighting different types of policy recommendations like zero-tolerance of workplace bullying, development of health and safety policies and incorporation of training and developmental programs for reducing the incidence of workplace bullying (McKenna & Russell, 2008).

Evidence of the use of intervention programs like the same mentioned above is also highlighted in the research article subjected to business organisations operating in various regions and provinces of Canada and United States (Farmer, 2011).

The research article authored by Farmer (2011) potentially elucidates on the different types of intervention programs that are needed to be undertaken by the organisational managers for reducing the impacts of workplace bullying. The elucidation of the impacts of the workplace bullying, also the generation of different intervention programs associated with workplace bullying is carried out effectively in the research article authored by Farmer (2011) compared to that generated in the research article authored by Georgakopoulos et al. (2011).

The article authored by Chris Woodrow and David E. Guest, ‘When good HR gets bad results: exploring the challenge of HR implementation in the case of
workplace bullying’ in Human Resources Management Journal, Volume 24, no. 1 during 2014 discusses that the efficacy of the intervention programs for reducing the impact of workplace bullying gains holds based on the potential recordings of evidence and situations concerning bullying practices at workplaces. Woodrow and Guest (2014) reflect that absence of effective awareness regarding workplace bullying makes it even harder and difficult for being identified. It is argued the growth of the number in reporting practices regarding workplace bullying would contribute in the identification of the different types and patterns of bullying taking place in the organisation. The effective remedial measures can be taken at different accords for controlling and governing the bullying activities at the workplaces (Zgheib, 2014).

The growth in the level of reporting practices regarding workplace bullying and the development of potential policies and measures for tackling such would evidently help in developing a bullying free work culture in the organisation (Leverett & Leverett, 2013). Further, the journal article also focuses on understanding the factors that contribute in facilitating or rather obstructing the implementation process concerning human resources policies for countering workplace bullying. The existence of mixed messages regarding the implementation of the policies with also the failure in generating needed priority in understanding the subcultures of the subordinate groups has made difficult for implementing the human resources policies (Jones, 2013).

The research also suggests of an effective coordination between the organisational managers, human resources department and the employees and other subordinate groups for countering the emergence of workplace bullying. The development of effective communication between the organisational members contributes in reducing the chances of emergence of workplace bullying events (Woodrow & Guest, 2014).

S.G. Trepanier, C. Fernet and S. Austin states in ‘A Longitudinal Investigation of Workplace Bullying, Basic Need Satisfaction, and Employee Functioning’ published during 2014 in Journal of Occupational Health Psychology that workplace bullying increases employee burnout and also the enhancement of workplace stress that affects both individual and organisational productivity and performance in an enhanced fashion (Cascarino, 2012).

The article argues that continual exposure of employees to workplace bullying happens to affect their psychological needs. Similarly, increase in the duration of bullying activities at the workplace significantly impacts the professional development and sense of autonomy of the employees in the workplace (Bono & Heijden, 2011).

However, the research indicates a future direction were employees that have become sufferers from workplace bullying tend to focus on the gaining on social support from their colleagues and peers (Dulaimi & Sailan, 2011). The reduction in the level of autonomy in the workplace with also increase burnout of the employees makes them feel cynical about the job. Again, the reduced access of the employees to both physical and psychological resources in the workplace contributes to increasing their level of exhaustion. This is a reason why they want to quit the job (Schoeman, 2014).

Similarly, the increase in the level of workplace bullying tends to create a sense of doubt and emotional drain for the employees. The sufferers of workplace bullying continually focus their energies on anticipating their future meetings with the person responsible for bullying and the manner they would respond to the new bullying tactics of the person. The research article further reflects that employees that tend to have a lack in the level of physical and psychological resources at the initial level tend to further feel a sense of emotional distress affecting their accessibility to further resources (BramoulleÌ &Goyal, 2009).

The uncontrollable amount of workplace bullying in an organisation potentially affects the commitment and vitality levels of the employees thereby reducing the performance and productivity levels of staffs. The reciprocal relationship between increases in the amount of workplace bullying with the level of employee attrition in the organisation tends to further enhance workplace stress for the other employees in the organisation. This further enhances the amount of employee burnout contributing to growth in future employee attrition rates (Trépanier et al., 2014).

A comparison between the research conducted by Trepanier et al. (2014) and Farmer (2011) reflect that the former focuses on reflecting the impact of workplace bullying on the psychological situation of the employees while the latter goes further in evaluating the use of different types of intervention programs for reducing the impacts of workplace bullying on the organisational workforce.

Again, the study of the research article authored by Woodrow and Guest (2014) potentially reflects on the factors addressing the failure and reducing the problems associated with workplace bullying. It reflects on the lack of awareness among the types of organisational members and managers regarding and patterns of workplace bullying as in the research by Georgakopoulos et al. (2011) along with the different types of solutions that needs to be taken for managing and solving the workplace problems from using the activities of bullying at the workplace.

Woodrow and Guest (2014) reflect that the proper reporting practices are needed for bullying practices at workplace contribute in further aggravating the problem in the organisations. This leads to continued tension in the organisation and also in reducing the efficiency and productivity in a mutual fashion for both the employees and the business institution. The development of awareness and skill development training programs for both the managers and the subordinate staffs regarding workplace bullying contributes not only in identifying such but also in effectively countering its impacts.

Georgakopouloset. al. (2011) also argued that workplace bullying not only impacts on the psychic level of the organisational workforce but also adds to the operational and manpower cost of the organisation. The article also reflected the need for a development of tailor-made solutions for addressing workplace-bullying problems. The types of workplace bullying tend to vary from situation to situation and from organisation to organisation. The same tends to add the level of complexity of the problems associated with workplace bullying.

Week 1

I countered a problem regarding the management of the three-week period involving the study of literature, attending conferences and different workplaces for gaining evidence regarding workplace bullying. (See Appendix 3) The same required me to drop the idea of visiting different workplaces for gaining a direct understanding of workplace bullying and the modes of dealing with it. I also failed in consulting a large number of journals and other online cases reflecting empirical evidence on workplace bullying.  

I also planned for conducting effective interviews and surveys with students studying in different universities that have been sufferers of bullying practices. Owing to my busy schedule, I failed in surveying and interviewing of students of different universities and business institutions that have been sufferers of workplace bullying. (See Appendix 4) I only limited my interview and survey activity regarding the student groups in my own university failing to extend the same beyond the purview of the university campus to other institutions and workplaces. The interviewing of students relating to my own university reflected potential evidences regarding the occurrences of bullying practices within the educational campus. Conducting of interviews and surveys also contributed in earning information regarding intervention procedures and activities that are undertaken by the university authorities for reducing of bullying and ragging practices inside the campus.

The learning gained from the above topic ideally helped me in understanding the different categories and types of workplace bullying. It also contributed in evaluating the impacts of the workplace bullying activities on the productivity and performance of the employees in the organisations. Finally, the study of the topic also highlighted on the different types of intervention mediums that can be undertaken by the organisational manager relating to the effective identification and reporting of workplace bullying and also the different types of consultation, motivation and governing and monitoring strategies that can be undertaken by the business manager for reducing the emergence and impacts of workplace bullying.

My experiences regarding the impacts of workplace bullying on the emotional and physical situation of the employees and organisational staffs ideally reason the study made regarding the impacts of workplace bullying on the organisational members. My personal experiences potentially highlight that continual pressure generated by senior members of the organisation both in terms of physical and emotional bullying happened to reduce the productivity and performance potential of the workers in a retail institution. The same also promoted increased levels of attrition of the employees from the retail firm that affected the performance of the firm as a whole.

The study of the above topic regarding workplace bullying ideally contributed in clarifying my understanding regarding workplace bullying. It helped me to ideally understand the manner in which the activities associated with workplace bullying can be potentially identified by the organisational managers and the different strategies that can be undertaken from time to time and based on diverse workplace and bullying situations for tackling the impacts of such on individual and group performances of organisational members.

In the university I was appointed as a group or task leader appointed by the university authorities for the effective management and completion of different educational tasks and also in carrying out excursion events. I continually worked in close cooperation with the different team members belonging to the different task groups such that it would help in potentially involving and empowering the members to take individual decisions. Team leaders operating under me however reflected bullying behaviour in influencing the group members for faster completion of the tasks. They also reflected needed biasness in supporting some group members based on their liking at the cost of the effort rendered by other members.

In my tenure as a Departmental Manager in a retail firm, I focused on tackling the issue of workplace bullying that was rendered by the team leader of the grocery department of the subordinate members. Recording practices were developed such that the same helped in identification of the bullying offered by the team leader on the subordinate staffs along the different departments in the retail institution. The team leader tended to act in a bossy manner over the subordinate staffs such that he ordered the staffs to meet the visual merchandising, sales and customer servicing targets while him not getting involved with the potential activities. The subordinate staffs were also restrained by the team leader from generating any effective suggestion or recommendation for completing the tasks. The intervention programs also included development of awareness programs and team meeting for carrying out discussions with the team leader and subordinate staffs regarding countering cases of workplace bullying. The intervention programs are undertaken by me effectively helped the subordinate staffs through empowering the staffs for taking decisions regarding visual merchandising and other sales and customer servicing issues. The subordinate staffs reported that they were very pleased and satisfied regarding the reduction of workplace bullying which helped them to work in a productive fashion in the firm.

The lessons gained from the study of the topic regarding workplace bullying reflected that the identification of different types of workplace bullying is critical for both the managers and employees. The lesson reflected that identification and evaluation of workplace bullying are difficult for both the managers and the employees on account of its complexity and also because of its varying nature based on diverse workplace situations.

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