Bullying
Bullying is a forceful act used to coerce, threaten and aggressively dominate or intimidate others. The act can be repetitive and can occur in children and adults. Together with victimization, the acts are widespread phenomena and can happen in many ways for example gossiping, calling of names, physical violence and exclusion. Bullying is repeatedly linked and associated with negative effects in adulthood(cited). The act is thought to be conducted by an offender who is stronger than the victim in some aspects for example higher social status, physically bigger and more popular.
Bullying at work is a form of mistreatment which goes beyond mere incivility and comprises of repetitive and deliberate acts towards individuals which results to oppressive work environments ( Aulia, 2016). In a period of 5 years, 95 per cent of workers reported being subjected to bullying at workplace(cited). The act forms a pattern which tends to be directed at one person or a few people. Some of bullying examples that take place at work include denial of requests for time off, excessive monitoring, unjust criticism meant to humiliate and intimidate, purposely being misled about work schedules and targeted practical jokes. More than 60 million workers are affected by bullying in the United States(cited). The federal and state laws is only applicable to workers involved in physical harm or if one belongs to a protected group for example those living with disabilities. Bullying might not always be visible to others since it is often verbal or psychological in nature and can be subtle. Bullying behaviors can be verbal for example mockery(cited). They can also be intimidating which might include acts such as threatening, spying or other invasion of privacy. Talking about it can sometimes lead further exclusion, lying or other retaliation. Institutional bullying occurs when a workplace encourages bullying which includes unrealistic production of goals. Early signs of bullying include being asked to perform tasks outside typical duties without training, a pattern of documents going missing, being asked to do pointless tasks and in turn get criticized for not getting them done. Bullying at work can take place in environments that have unclear policies, poor employee communication, and have heavy workloads. It can result in serious effects on physical and mental health for example feeling anxious, high blood pressure, trouble waking up, low self-esteem, depression and dreading work
Victims can take action against bullying at workplace by reporting the act to a designated person or supervisor, confronting the perpetrator in a calm and polite manner, keeping physical evidence for example threatening emails, keeping track of bullying actions in writing. In case one witnesses bullying act, he or she can help by being supportive for example by availing oneself as a witness in case the victim wants to stop the bully, listening and reporting the incident.