Overview Of Workplace Bullying

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. You may associate bullying with children and youth, but it also occurs at work. Surprisingly, much workplace bullying is legal unless it targets a victim’s protected trait, such as gender, race or disability.

Workplace bullies may be motivated by a variety of factors. They may bully because they have low self-esteem and feel inadequate, rather than because of anything the target did. Bullies may be motivated by envy and jealousy. They may also have biased negative views about certain groups of people.

Who Bullies, and Who is Bullied

The Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) reported that 52.2 million employees and 32.2 % of adults in the U.S. have been bullied. Even employees working remotely can be victims — according to the WBI, more than 43% of remote workers report being bullied.

Bosses/managers are the most frequent bullies — perpetrating 61% of incidents — according to an article in Healthline. Co-workers are responsible for 33%, and subordinates account for 6% of bullying. These groups bully in different ways depending on their power relative to their victims. For example, a boss can shout at and humiliate their target, threaten them with firing or demotion or deny them time off. Co-workers can bully with gossip, sabotage and criticism.

Bullying also has a gender component. Approximately 70% of bullies are male and 30% are female. Women are the most likely targets. According to the 2024 U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey, women make up 51% of the bullied.

The survey also reports that African-Americans are the most frequently bullied by race. Hispanics are also bullied at higher than average rates. Whites reported being the victims of bullying at a below average rate, as did Asians.

Individuals with disabilities are more likely to be bullied, despite laws protecting them. According to one study, approximately 41% of these people experience bullying at work.

Usually targets of the bullying leave while bullies stay. Most (74%) of targets are transferred, fired, or discharged.

Examples of Bullying Behavior

Workplace bullying can take many forms, including:

“Verbal” — Teasing, humiliating, gossiping, and more.
“Intimidating” — Threatening, excluding, and invading of privacy.
“Related to work performance” — Falsely blaming, sabotaging, or wrongly taking credit.
“Retaliatory” — Alleging lying and more.
“Institutional” — Allowing bullying, mandating overtime.

Bullies can “gaslight” their targets by denying what actually occurred, leading targets to doubt themselves and their perception of what happened. Bullies also may not accept responsibility for their behavior and may scapegoat their targets for their misdeeds.

Detrimental Consequences

Bullying can have unnecessary and preventable negative consequences on bullied employees. Physical effects can include higher blood pressure, increased likelihood of type 2 diabetes, sleeping problems, headaches, and reduced appetite. The bullied may also feel anxiety about work and reluctance to go to the office. They may lose interest in activities they previously enjoyed and experience low self-esteem and self-doubt. Some victims have suicidal ideation and even end their lives.

Bullying can also have adverse effects on the workplace. In a bullying environment, employees have higher rates of absenteeism and may not be as productive. Bullying may also lower morale, trust and loyalty. Such an environment also increases turnover — and related costs for recruitment, hiring and training new employees. Offices may also lose money due to investigations and/or legal cases resulting from bullying.

Solution

It is vital to end workplace bullying. Ignoring the issue makes it easier for bullies to continue their harmful behavior. According to the WBI survey, only 2% of coworkers intervene and support employees who are being bullied.

Since people tend to be quiet, it is essential to create and implement an anti-bullying policy if your office does not already have one. The policy could include sections about prohibited behavior, including all types of workplace bullying; responsibilities of leadership, human resources, and workers; procedures, including reporting, investigation and resolution; and non-retaliation. The policy would protect all employees, prevent unnecessary problems and improve your workplace.

Final Thoughts

Workplace bullying must end. People should be able to work without being afraid of mistreatment.

Miriam Edelman, MPA, MSSW, is a Washington, D.C.,-based policy professional. Her experience includes policy work for Congress. Miriam’s undergraduate degree is from Barnard College, Columbia University, with majors in political science and urban studies. She has a master’s in public administration from Cornell University, where she was inducted into the national honorary society for public administration. She has a master’s of science in social work (focusing on policy) from Columbia University. She is a commissioner of the DC Commission on Persons with Disabilities. Miriam aims to continue her career in public service. She is especially interested in democracy, civic education, District of Columbia autonomy, diversity, health policy, women’s issues, and disabilities.