Social Norms In The Workplace

717 Words2 Pages

From the data that was collected, the women of this study described themselves as competent employees. They experienced emotional, verbal, and physical bullying that included incivility, intimidation, manipulation, criticism, blame, deceit, exclusion, aggression, yelling, slamming doors, throwing objects, stomping and even being shaken (Macintosh, p. 51). Along with these episodes, their roles and responsibilities at work became more undermined, minimized, and sometimes they were removed from their jobs altogether. These episodes made them feel that their reputations were in question and any kind of opportunity that they would have for advancement within the company was compromised.
During these episodes of bullying, the women experienced …show more content…

When someone experiences workplace bullying, that sense of social validation is taken away. The bullying victim struggles to reason with why this is happening to them and why they are being ostracized. These feelings lead to helplessness, despair, and alienation in the victims. Most victims find it hard to let go of the bullying situation and to leave it at work. They bring these feelings and frustrations home with them and are constantly obsessing over what their fate will be. This takes a toll not only on the victim, but their family, friends, and other support groups as well. They worry about their finances, other coworker relationships, and even whether or not they can still be productive on their job. It is not easy balancing a work and home life to begin with and adding workplace bullying to that just adds more to the daily …show more content…

The former Chairperson of the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women, Ginette Petipas-Taylor, wrote an article, (2009) Naming workplace bullying: Women workers speak out, concerning the fact that Canadian female employees reported a much higher level of work stress than their male counterparts due to workplace bullying and that they experienced more of the negative health effects than men (p. 20). In June 2004, Quebec was the first province in Canada to put a law into effect concerning workplace bullying which protects workers. Part of that law states that “every employee has a right to a work environment free from psychological harassment,” and that employers must take “reasonable action” to prevent it and must stop it when they become aware (p. 21). For this law to be passed, it should bring awareness to the fact that workplace bullying is more prevalent than we realize and the effects are devastating, harmful, and can be felt long-term for

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