By HAYDEN FINCH, PhD
Bullying in schools has been a hot topic in the popular media and in psychological research for many years, and we’ve heard lots about how social media is contributing to the problem and how it’s impacting kids’ mental health. Unfortunately, bullying isn’t limited to schools, though. We also see it showing up in the workplace, and that can certainly make for a painful life given how much of our lives we spend at work and with our coworkers.
What is Bullying?
In general, bullying is using one’s strength or influence to intimidate someone or to force him or her to do what you want. It is persistent, prolonged, conscious mistreatment of a person that includes verbal abuse, threatening or humiliating behavior, or interference with someone’s productivity at work and that negatively impacts the target’s emotional functioning. Have you noticed any of this at your workplace?
How Prevalent is Workplace Bullying?
According to a 2014 national survey, 27% of Americans have directly experienced workplace bullying currently or in the past, most often by their bosses but also by coworkers. Most (72%) employers deny or defend workplace bullying. About 52% of victims are female. It’s most common in workplace cultures that support such mistreatment. What do you think of your own workplace culture? Would you trust your supervisor to take a bullying concern seriously? Can you depend on your HR department to listen to a complaint?
“People who report more workplace bullying also report more emotional exhaustion and less psychological well-being.”
What Does Workplace Bullying Look Like?
It can take many forms, but commonly it includes either a threat to someone’s professional or personal functioning, isolation, undue work, or setting someone up to fail. Although there is an endless variety of specific strategies workplace bullies use to mistreat their targets, they commonly belittle, humiliate, undermine, tease, insult, physically or socially isolate, ignore, and exclude their target. They also tend to make inappropriate jokes, prevent access to opportunities, impose impossible deadlines or restrictions, remind others of their mistakes, and limit responsibilities. Has any of this ever happened to you? Have you ever observed this occurring to someone you know? If you’re super anxious about going to work, you feel like you’re constantly being criticized at work, you’re not being invited to social gatherings, you’re constantly obsessing about work or taking too many “mental health days,” or you know you’re being gossiped about, you might be experiencing workplace bullying.
What's the Mental Health Impact?
A 2015 research study found that people who experience more workplace bullying also report more depression, anxiety, and general stress-related problems. This pattern is supported by even more recent research: a 2017 research study indicated people who report more workplace bullying also report more emotional exhaustion and less psychological well-being, and all of this decreases concentration. Interestingly, a 2015 research study found that workplace bullying increases risk for mental health problems over the next five years, but only for men. We still have a lot to learn about workplace bullying and how it varies across gender, race, ethnicity, age, workplace setting, educational achievement, disability status, sexual orientation, etc., but we know for sure workplace bullying is a clear risk factor for mental health struggles.
If you think you might be experiencing workplace bullying, talk to your psychologist to problem-solve resolution and coping strategies.
Resources: The Workplace Bullying Institute has a wealth of information available to folks who are being victimized by workplace bullying. Check out their website, YouTube channel, or book (The Bully at Work) for more information and resources.
Hayden C. Finch, PhD,
is a practicing psychologist
in Des Moines, Iowa.
