Workplace bullying is on the rise. Learn how to stop it.

What is workplace bullying?

Workplace bullying happens when an employer or group of employees is mistreated, harassed, or intimidated by one or more individuals in the workplace. They can range from subtle forms of bullying to overt threats.

Some of the most common types of workplace harassment include exclusion, power plays, sexual harassment, cyberbullying, aggression, or verbal abuse.

What are the different types of workplace bullying?

Having an awareness of bullying strategies can minimize this negative behavior. Here are some of the types of bullying and how this behavior can manifest:

1. Aggressive behavior

This is the first thing that comes to mind when most people hear the word 'bully'. Intimidation takes the form of aggressive communication, verbal abuse, or even violence. When it comes to behavior, physical violence or open aggression isn't always a factor. In fact, intimidation can often be a more subtle and pervasive type of workplace bullying.

These types of bullies may invade the victim's personal space, make veiled threats, or other underhanded means of intimidation. This covert bullying is an insidious form of psychological harassment that can leave the victim with a sense that they've been targeted.

2. Exclusion

Another type of covert bullying, exclusion involves ignoring a person while engaging with other co-workers at lunchtime, during team meetings, and so on.

The bully might exclude a coworker from gatherings by not inviting them even though they've got as much a right to attend as anyone else. If questioned about it, they might brush it off as a simple oversight.

3. Power plays

These power dynamics are displays of dominance and aggression that involve a misuse of power, or lauding a position of dominance, over another employee.

This kind of bully might deploy this tactic with negative behaviors such as trying to take credit for someone else's work or swooping in to take opportunities that should really be given to someone else.

4. Sexual harassment

Sadly, workplace sexual harassment is common, and in some cases, it can become embedded in a workplace culture3. This may include offensive jokes, inappropriate comments or compliments, or unwanted flirting. In more serious cases, inappropriate conduct may include harassment, sexual advances, or sexual assault.

Why is it important to deal with workplace bullying?

Bullying, and its effects, can result in employee mental health issues, bad management, undesirable company culture, and reduced overall productivity².

If abusive conduct becomes widespread, stories can leak out to the public and damage your firm's reputation. Nobody wants to do business with a company of bullies, and not many people want to work in a place where bullies can get away with aggressive behavior. That is why adopting a zero-tolerance policy toward bullying is essential.

The detrimental effects of workplace bullying on mental health

Some of the mental health effects and other costs of bullying on an employee include³:

• Low morale/loss of motivation
• The inability to concentrate or complete tasks
• Lowered productivity
• Decreased job performance
• Social anxiety and avoiding people
• Anxiety and depression
• Stress, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and other mental health issues
• Reduced confidence and self-esteem
• Other consequences of stress such as high blood pressure, digestive issues, and a weakened immune system
• More frequent absences from work due to the above issues

Repeated bullying incidents can also cause trust issues within your team. Not just directly between the workplace bully and the targeted employee, but across the organization. If unchecked, this can foster a culture of secrecy, gossip, and paranoia.‍

Workplace bullying statistics

Workplace bullying is not specific to any single culture. In fact, statistics show that bullying is a common workplace issue across the globe.

A 2021 US workplace bullying survey found that 30% of adult Americans have been bullied at work⁴. 1 in 5 American workers have experienced threats, sexual harassment, or humiliation⁵. The most common form of bullying is same-gender bullying, which amounts to 61.3% of cases. The Covid-19 pandemic also gave rise to cyberbullying. In fact, 43% of US remote workers report being bullied. With more people working at home, there are more avenues for workplace bullying. These include emails, instant messages, calls, text messages, and even the use of social media networks.

In the United Kingdom, 1 in 4 workers have been bullied at work. In Australia, 37% of workers said that they have been cursed or yelled at in the workplace⁶. This verbal bullying costs employers up to $36 billion each year⁷. This figure includes both direct costs, such as legal action, and indirect costs, such as lost productivity and absenteeism.

Bullying is prevalent across the world, and creates a counterproductive workplace, taking a toll on employees and causing poor performance.

What are the main causes of bullying in the workplace?

Just as bullying behavior takes on many forms, it also has multiple causes⁸. These include organizational culture, individual, interpersonal, and cultural factors.

1. Toxic work environment

Some organizations directly or indirectly encourage bullying and a hostile work environment. In one Indonesian business, for example, managers resorted to intimidation because it was encouraged⁹. A competitive work environment may lead employees to bring one another down through bullying. A high-stress environment may cause some employees to lash out via bullying to cope with the high workload and expectations.

Organizations with unclear policies on bullying can't manage the harmful effects of the behavior.

Bullying may be worsened by the economic climate. In the UK, 84% of employees across the country are experiencing stress from inflation. Despite this fact, two-thirds of employers are not offering any kind of emotional or financial support. 62.5% of workers are considering resignation if employers do not provide more assistance in this time of crisis.¹⁰

2. Cultural factors

Some cultures, such as the United States, value competition and individualism. These can be healthy traits in the workplace or they can lead to bullying¹¹. For example, a colleague up for a promotion may become insecure about the accomplishments of another candidate. To undermine that person, the colleague may start to spread false rumors or use unfair tactics to ensure their own promotion.

Sub-groups can also have their own cultures, which can promote bullying in different ways, and this can start in youth¹². For women, bullying is often accomplished via reputational damage. Victims experience bullying through gossip or through bullying events focused on humiliation. For men, bullying is often accomplished via power plays, such as taking undue credit for another’s work. Bullying, in other words, is gendered, rather than gender-neutral¹³. In the workplace, men and women face varying instances of bullying¹⁴ as well as effects on mental health¹⁵.

3. Individual factors

People are not just products of their culture, colleagues, and organization. The strongest issue when it comes to bullying is environmental factors. For example, a bully might have witnessed or experienced an abusive home life or school bullying in the past²¹. These bullies often lack empathy and self-esteem due to this abuse. As a result, they suffer from long-term effects such as poor mental health. They can showcase aggressive behavior as a means of gaining power over others, usually through bullying. There is a victim mentality at work here. They believe the only way to protect themselves from being a victim again is to become the aggressor.

4. Interpersonal factors

Bullying is often not just the individual or the organization, it's the intersection between the two. In this case, bullying is a crime of opportunity¹⁶.

When a person with low self-control and poor emotional skills joins a well-managed organization, there is less of a chance bullying will be tolerated – so it’s less likely to happen at all. When the same person enters into a poorly run organization, they have a window of opportunity for bullying and bad behavior. Since their actions will be overlooked, or even encouraged, the toxic employee can bully colleagues with impunity.

There is more nuance to these interpersonal factors. Workplace bullies tend to be mediocre performers¹⁷. These bullies target their high-performing colleagues because they are jealous. They want to do whatever they can to bring high-performers down, so the power differential lessens. These bullies may steal credit, spread rumors, or engage in other underhand tactics. The best way to shut down this type of bullying is transparency. Asynchronous tools such as Trello create a paper trail that prevents credit stealing. Organizations must have a clear way of giving promotions, raises, awards, and other benefits to minimize the impact of bullying. This way, victims of bullying will not suffer from any long-lasting effects.

Mediocre performers also tend to bully low performers¹⁸. The goal here is the same. By bringing these people down, the bullies hope to use the power imbalance to bolster themselves in the workplace. Since low performers may fear speaking out, companies should try to read between the lines on any employee survey. Promoting an inclusive workplace will also curb instances of bullying¹⁹.

Unfortunately, interpersonal factors may be worsened by remote work. Employees may have trouble communicating on formal channels such as Slack or on social media platforms. Some colleagues may be sensitive, finding offense in critical comments that were intended constructively. Other colleagues may phrase messages that can be misinterpreted²⁰.

Thankfully, crucial skills such as emotional intelligence (EQ) can be improved for remote and office work environments. Honing in on these skills can help you, whether you are being bullied or find yourself bullying others. Learn more about yourself in relation to your team by taking the free F4S assessment. You can set up a team and invite your team members or key stakeholders to join. F4S can be used by teams to better understand one another.

This can aid collaboration and conflict resolution. Improved EQ will lessen the prevalence of bullying, reduce social exclusion, and prevent other harmful behaviors. Conversely, a higher EQ will promote positive behaviors among colleagues, which will strengthen peer relationships.

Once you’ve identified key areas for growth, F4S can help you improve your emotional skills with a self-paced coaching program.

Once you have set a goal you’ll receive a detailed guide with personalized insights to support your success. Our people analytics will help you understand how you think, act, and communicate at work.