Employment Law and Bullying in the Workplace

Workplace bullying is on the rise.  It isn't something new; it's just becoming more prevalent.  According to a recent study, 35 percent of workers said they felt bullied from work.  Last year, only 27 percent had felt this way.

     So who is doing the bullying?  According to the study, most who felt bullied pointed to incidents with their bosses (48 percent) or co-workers (45 percent).  Thirty-one percent felt bullied by customers, and 26 percent by someone higher up in the company other than their boss.  Also, fifty-four percent of those bullied said the bully was someone older than them, while twenty-nine percent said the person was younger.

     So what type of bullying are we seeing?  We're seeing employees falsely accused of mistakes, being ignored, having different standards or policies used towards them than other workers, being constantly criticized, being yelled at by their boss in front of co-workers, having belittling comments made about them about their work at meetings, being gossiped about, having their bosses assign their tasks to other workers, being excluded from projects or meetings, and being picked on for personal attributes.

     According to the study, many of those bullied confronted their bully or spoke with human resources about the incidents.  Unfortunately, for some of those bullied, the situation got worse or human resources did nothing.  But remember, unless you report the incident, there may be no chance that the bullying will ever stop, so reporting the incidents and and the bully is the best solution.

If you are the subject of discrimination or harassment in the workplace, contact Ambuter Law for a free confidential consultation.