Workplace Bullying and Employee Outcomes †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Workplace Bullying and Employee Outcomes. Answer: Introduction Bullying is an act of demonstrating an unwanted or aggressive behaviour towards another person as a result of real or perceived power imbalance. In an organisational setting, bullying is defined as an unwanted or aggressive behaviour that an employee demonstrates towards another employee working in the same workplace. Bullying at workplace is a problem that has become very common in the past few decades and is creating an alarming situation because of the emotional and physical harm that it causes to the employees (McCabe, Sheehan, Garavan, 2018). Bullying at workplace can be done using a number of tactics, such as verbal or non-verbal, physical, psychological abuse and humiliation in extreme cases. NSW Ambulance service is an organisation that offers emergency services to the victims stuck in natural or man-made disasters. Like many other of the emergency responding organisations, NSW too has been facing a number of problems related to workplace bullying, which has been having a huge impact on the personal lives of the employees working in the company. Over the past few years, the local media has published regular articles that have been pointing out the ongoing bullying issues in the company. In one of the extreme cases, an employee reported that he received negligible counselling from his seniors in his 28-year service period, in which he worked as a single crew ambulance officer. The situation became so worse for Mr. Wallace that he attempted suicide later on. Even after that, a manager told him to cowboy up and passed comments like its all in your mind. Even though Mr. Wallace filed a complained against the manager, the management took no action and the manager was promoted instead. Similarly, when another employee John McCornack was dealing with a post-traumatic stress situation, his seniors kept on calling him and asking him to join back his duty instead of understanding his situation. His seniors kept on pressurising his doctors to sign off on his leave, which was an immense torture for him. The situation in the company has worsen to such an extent that some of the female employees have described the organisation as a boys club that paid no heed to aggressive employee behaviour, humiliating pranks or misogynistic behaviour. According to human resource managers, such bullying behaviour show by employees, in an organisation, can be very destructive for the organisational as a whole as the employees lose their morale and become dissatisfied with their jobs, which results in high employee turnover rates and a spoiled reputation as an employer. Even though multiple queries, related to the issue of bullying, have been coming in from the government, the company has done nothing more than making false promises. Since a new human resource manager has been hired by the organisation, the human resource director of the company now wants the human resource manager to conduct a review of the companys bullying policies and review the performance of the organisation. Therefore, this report is aimed at gaining a deeper insight into the issue of bullying prevailing in NSW Ambulance Services and come up with certain strategies that could help the management in dealing with these issues. Identifying bullying issues in the organisation Workplace bullying is a problem that is hitting the entire globe. According to Dr. Gray Namie, Director of the Workaplce Bullying Institute, more than 54 million people got bullied in U.S. workplaces in 2012 (OBrien, 2012). Such facts create and urgency to understand the issues in business organisations that promote bullying and should be dealt with by formulating strict workplace bullying policies. Certain issues that can be identified in the case of NSW Ambulance service are discussed below: First of all, one of the biggest issues in the organisation, that has to such extreme bullying conditions has been the absence of proper human resource management systems. The present day human resource management systems provide a great deal of importance to the well-being of their employees and consider it is an important duty to keep a check on them. An employee who experiences workplace bullying, it is impossible for him or her to not to show certain signs. Employees being bullied will always show poor performance levels, increased absenteeism, a greater tendency to quit their companies, lack of job satisfaction, etc. which can be a sign to the human resource managers if they are capable enough to recognize them. It becomes an important duty of the human resource managers to keep a check on the behaviour of employees and identify irregularities (Barrow, 2012). If such irregularities are identified in case of any employee, human resource managers can conduct counselling sessions w here the employee can be asked to discuss his or her problems related to the workplace. Furthermore, human resource management departments should consider workplace bullying as a serious issue and should avoid escaping from it. If there was an effective human resource management department at place in NSW Ambulance service, the human resource managers would not have failed the bullied employees and would have taken the situation seriously, which would have prevented the situation from worsening. Lack of support from the human resource managers not only motivates workplace bullies but also increases the feeling of being victimised amongst the employees being bullied (Moneywatch, 2007). Thus, the lack of an effective human resource department at NSW Ambulance service has been one of the main issues that has worsen the situation of workplace bullying. Secondly, an important issue that can be seen in the organisation is the lack of an ethical work culture. Culture, in simple words, is defined as a set of values, ethics, morals, cuisines, language, etc. that governs the social behaviour of a group of people. In an organisational setting, work culture refers to the morals, ethics and values, which governs the behaviour of the employees towards each other and the stakeholders in the business. The behaviour that the employees at NSW Ambulance service have been demonstrating demonstrates the lack of an ethical work culture. The employees at NSW Ambulance service do not understand the importance of workplace relations and have a tendency to demonstrate their power over others using unethical ways. The culture of pulling each others leg is a huge problem in the company, as some senior level employees of the company have been being rude to employees who have been experiencing post-traumatic stress. Some employees have also gone to such an extent that they have tried to influence certain doctors to write-off holiday applications of those employees who have been experiencing high stress levels, just in order to get them back to the workplace (Allan, 2017). Further, it can also be observed that the managers at NSW Ambulance service have not being taking complaints against workplace bullying and harassment seriously and have neglected such complaints by terming them as interpersonal work conflicts. The lack of a workplace culture that takes bullying and harassment into account and treat it as a serious offence has spoiled the workplace culture at NSW Ambulance service, which makes powerful employees feel that they have complete authority over the others and can behave in whatever way that feels right to them (Glanville, 2017). Thirdly, lack of performance management and a feedback system has also been one of the prime reasons that has been making it tough for the organisation to keep a check on bullies. Performance management and feedback systems can help in identifying issues that are prevailing in the organisation as the employees feel comfortable in talking about their issues when they are asked for anonymous feedback. The management at the company turned a deaf ear to bullying allegations and in-turn, the management blamed the employees who were being bullied by the senior level managers (Workplacebullying, n.d.). Further, the management also made no efforts to ensure its employee well-being, which is one of the most important tasks for human resource managers working in such companies where the employees have to provide emergency services to people who are badly affected or are hurt. Treating people, who are at their worst, can obviously be disturbing for employees who are responsible for providing em ergency services and it becomes really important to ensure well-being of such employees as they are doing good for the society. Acting against bullying at workplace Bullying at workplace can be very harmful to the environment of an organisation and can have long lasting impact on the workforce. Given the nature of work at NSW Ambulance service, it is imperative for the management to deal with bullying issues as soon as possible because it cannot afford to lose its talented workforce, which works day and night to offer emergency service to people stuck in great difficulties. Bullying not only has its impact on the employees, but can also have certain long lasting impact on the organisation itself. Some important effects of bullying are discussed below: First of all, bullying can have long lasting psychological and emotional impact on the employees on the receiving end. Bullying can increase the stress levels amongst employees, who become alcoholic and use drugs to counter the stress caused due to humiliation or disrespect, which can cause serious health related issues amongst them, such as stress, anxiety, panic attacks, higher blood pressures, etc. Secondly, employees who are bullied by their co-workers are often found to lack job satisfaction and are not able to perform well because of the psychological effect that bullying has on them. Employees can experience loss of self-esteem, lower productivity, lack of concentration, etc., which can have an impact on the overall performance of an organisation (Gordon, 2018). Thirdly, an environment in the workplace, where bullying is a normal thing, the employees who are subjected to bullying have a tendency to show greater absenteeism, which ultimately leads to quitting jobs. As a result, companies can experience a very high employee turnover ratio if bullying is not taken as a serious issue. Fourthly, bullying is actually an illegal activity and can cause a lot of legal trouble for the employees who bully others as well as for the company, in case a company fails to take an action against such people (Namie Namie, 2004). Lastly, bullying is perceived as a very negative workplace habit and an organisation that turns a blind eye will definitely lose its reputation in the market as an employer, which will make it impossible for it to retain and attract talented employees. Thus, it is very important for organisations like NSW Ambulance Services to keep a constant check on bullying. Formulating a policy against bullying Bullying is illegal throughout the globe and business organisations are supposed to form policies and take necessary actions to prevent their employees from being bullied by their co-workers. Certain policies that can help NSW Ambulance Services to act against bullying in the workplace are discussed below: First of all, the company needs to accept the fact that its employees are being subjected to bullying, which is actually having a negative impact on their mental condition. The management at NSW Ambulance services needs to start considering all the complaints that have been made in regard to bullying in the past and should start gathering feedback from its staff as the very first step (Einarsen, Hoel, Cooper, Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in research and practice, 2003). Secondly, the organisations need to form a team comprising of employees from different hierarchical levels. This team will handle all claims related to bullying and will be responsible for keeping a check on any bullying activity that takes place in the organisation. The newly formed team will also take necessary steps to spread information amongst the employees that bullying will no longer be acceptable in the workplace and any employee found bullying another employee will be terminated from the job, if proven, and could also be legally challenged by the organisation (Bully Zero Australia Foundation , n.d.). Thirdly, the management at NSW Ambulance Services should make arrangements for training and development programs that will be aimed at increasing awareness amongst its employees in relation to bullying, its harmful effects and how it can be dealt with (Florentine, 2015). The employees of the organisation should be informed about the illegal aspects of bullying and what action can they take in case they feel that a co-worker is trying to bully them and the management fails to respond to their claims (Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf, Cooper, 2010). This will not only instil a fear in the minds of employees who possess a tendency to bully others but will also promote the establishment of a workplace environment where bullying is considered as a serious offence, which can involve legal action and termination. Fourthly, the management of the organisation should start taking feedbacks from the employees at regular intervals, where questions related to the workplace environment and cultures should be asked. In certain places, the management can include questions related to bullying at workplace and can even make the feedback anonymous, in order to maximise the effectiveness of the survey feedback (Salin, 2008). Further, the management should conduct interviews, where outgoing employees should be questioned about their work experience with the organisation and instances where they have experienced bullying in the workplace. This would not only help the management in dealing with issues related to bullying, but will also help in discovering many other issues that might have been having an impact on the workforce. Lastly, checking the tendency of an employee to bully his or her co-workers should be considered right from the recruitment and selection process. The management at NSW Ambulance Services should strengthen its human resource management department and should make it compulsory for them to test the tendency of candidates, who appear in the recruitment programs, to bully others. Some importance questions that can be included in the screening process can be: Do shortcomings of other people frustrate you? Are you concerned about the impact that your words can have on your co-workers? Do you normally yell at work? Is losing an argument acceptable to you? Do you think appreciating other peoples work and efforts is necessary at work? Likewise, there is a huge list of questions that can be smartly included in the questionnaires to identify people with bullying tendencies. Further, human resource managers can also make use of verbal as well as non-verbal cues given by candidates during the recruitment process to identify their tendency to bully others (Zundel, 2017). Conclusion NSW Ambulance Services is an organisation that operates in an environment where emotional and psychological well-being of the workforce is extremely important for achieving the desired performance levels. Bullying in such organisations can cause a lot of serious issues for the employees as well as for the employers. The prevailing conditions at NSW Ambulance Services has been having a great impact on the emotional and psychological wellness of its employees. The impact of bullying on employees has increased to such an extent that some of the employees have attempted suicides while some have resigned from their jobs. Those who are in a state of trauma, are still being bullied by their seniors in some way or the other while the employees who have left the organisation are spoiling the reputation of the company as an employer. If the management still fails to consider the situation as an alarm, it will become difficult for the organisation to retain and attract new employees, which woul d ultimately result in the closure of the company. As a result, it is important for the management at NSW Ambulance Services to formulate strict policies against bullying and to treat bullying at workplace as a serious offence. Bibliography Allan, L. (2017, September 22). NSW Ambulance has huge problem: bullying inquiry told . Retrieved April 19, 2018, from www.theherald.com.au: https://www.theherald.com.au/story/4942776/nsw-ambulance-has-huge-problem-bullying-inquiry-told/ Barrow, D. L. (2012, January 30). Workplace Bullying and the Role of Human Resource Management . 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