What factors do you believe contribute to workplace bullying Are bullies a product of the situations and what personality factors might contribute to the presence of bullies?
Factors that contribute to workplace bullying can be the company where the person is working where profit comes first and the needs of the employee are low on the food chain. From different studies some Managers or Supervisors are the main bullies; some believing that inducing stress or threats of being fired will produce more work from an employee. Then there is a coworker or a group of coworkers that can induce gossip; threats or even threats to the victim. It is not so much the bullying at random that does the damage, but the constant bullying that can actually cause Post Traumatic Stress in some employees. Some Managers and Supervisors are trained in sternness or even threats or an overload of work that they know a certain employee cannot possibly complete if they choose to get rid of that employee. The other side of the coin is coworker dating which is high on the list. It is not wise to date a boss; Manager; Supervisor or even a coworker because if the relationship does not go well then in some cases bullying may start by gossip alone. If an employee (most often women) get raises more often than others or put into a higher position other employees can start gossip that the person is sleeping with the boss when it may well not be true. A coworker may blame another coworker (the victim) of making a mistake when it was the coworker themselves and Supervisors or even Managers can blame an employee or employees for their own short comings. Power in a company can often be misused to bully employees. High stress in Management down to organizational changes within the company can be cause for anxiety and stress leading to some forms of bullying. Companies are well aware of their power and some use it wisely, while unfortunately, many do not and use it as a powerhouse against employees to produce more work.
