Workplace Bullying

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Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace
The following report answers six questions about harassment and bullying in the workplace. It will also describe the role and steps to be taken by the Occupational Health and Safety professional in handling the problem.
What is workplace bullying?
Workplace bullying can be defined as an act or verbal behavior that is persistent and continuous with intent to mentally hurt or isolate a person in the workplace (Ontario Safety Association for Community & Healthcare, 2009). In most cases, bullying may involve negative physical contact or a repeated pattern of behavior that is intended to intimidate, offend, degrade or humiliate a person or group of people (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, …show more content…

Bullying has a detrimental effect on the overall health of an organization by its direct impact on the individual or group. Its effect on the individual can be psychological, physiological and, psychosomatic. It may also affect the workers, productivity, morale and overall performance in the workplace (Ontario Safety Association for Community & Healthcare, 2009).
Bullying has also been related to the increased risk for accidents/incidents in the workplace (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2015). The ability of bullying to affect feelings, sense of vulnerability, stress levels, sleep pattern, concentration and attitude of the individual could affect the overall “health” of the organization (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2015).
In addition, bullying has the tendency to affect the overall mental state of the affected individual leading to disenchantment, demoralization, demotivation, dysfunctional behavior, inefficient organizations and workplace violence which could be a safety concern in a workforce (Ontario Safety Association for Community & Healthcare, …show more content…

Furthermore, offering an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to affected employees could be part of the workplace bullying prevention program (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2015).
What specific actions should a safety professional take if he/she suspects someone is being bullied?
Upon suspecting that an employee is being bullied, the OHS professional should carry out an investigation into the matter, promptly and diligently in a thorough manner (Work Safe BC, 2015). In the event that the affected worker is not willing to disclose the identity of the bully, interviews with witnesses could be conducted to support the findings.
In addition, following the internal report process set up by the company and requesting a meeting with the bully in a professional setting with the support of the Human resources professionals could be considered as a vital step (Canada Safety Council,

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