What’s your experience with #bullying, specifically bullying in the #workplace? Governmental statistics show that 43% of the workforce have been victims of bullying. However, experiencing bullying doesn’t stop there. Many years ago I read the book, “The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander,” by Barbara Coloroso. That book talks about 3 groups that are involved in bullying. When you add the number of people who have been bullies and bystanders, the rate of experience is 69%.
What is a bystander? We often think of bystanders as the #witnesses. Witnesses are affected by the bullying that they see. It causes anxiety, stress, and stress-related illnesses, just as it does for victims. However, there is a second type of bystander. That is the person who is aware of the problem, in a position to correct it, and does not. They don’t do anything.
Whew! Think about that. That’s heavy. There are people who can fix this and do not. What causes that situation? What pressure are they under that they won’t report and fix? Is it something else? Many of these people are administrators. Most staff members don’t have a clear idea of what administrators do and what stress they endure. How much better would our workplace be if we all understood one another? Hm.
Studies done on children who were bullied in school show that the effects of being victimized last well over 30 years. This can be devastating. Think of the trauma responses that these individuals deal with every day.
The #WHO has studied bullying, and I have some information from them on #bullyinginhealthcare. The two biggest risk factors for being bullied, worldwide, are being female and working in the US.
Healthcare has a crisis. It has a burnout crisis. It has a people-management crisis. It has a bullying crisis. Bullying is a huge driver of #burnout and poor #staffretention.
Let me ask again, what is your experience with bullying?
The follow up question is “What are you doing about it?”
