Bullying Prevention Training and Other Strategies To Overcome Workplace Bullying

Bullying and harassment in organizations continues to be a challenge for employers and managers across the globe. Human resources managers, when responding to the Paychex Pulse HR Survey 2018, listed training for harassment and discrimination prevention as one of the top tasks.

As many HR managers know, bullying and discrimination in the workplace may have severe implications for the mental health of employees. It may include lower trust levels, decreased morale, and increased levels of employee depression and stress. Not only this, but there can also be severe legal risks and implications associated with workplace bullying in some situations. That is what makes implementing effective strategies necessary to overcome workplace bullying.

We offer some strategies to help organizations address and prevent bullying in the workplace. Let’s begin by looking at the impact of workplace bullying on employees.

Impact of Workplace Bullying

Conflicts happen in the workplace and having clear processes and open communication can help employees resolve them. But what if these conflicts turn into bullying?

Bullying occurs when employees or colleagues harass or intimidate other employees. Bullying can be physical or verbal abuse.

The results may include:

• Health-related impact or stress.

• Diminished status in the organization.

• Long-lasting financial, economic, and career-related issues.

Employee attrition and loss of productivity due to bullying negatively impact an organization’s bottom line. When dealing with these types of incidents, companies can face the risk of losing their reputation and brand name due to employees’ poor performance. That is why businesses or companies cannot afford to ignore or dismiss workplace bullies.

Strategies to Overcome Workplace Bullying

1. Create a Zero Tolerance Policy

The HR department must craft an easy-to-understand, comprehensive, anti-workplace harassment policy that covers all employees. It must be based on the advice of the company's legal counselor so that it complies with local and federal laws.

2. Bullying Prevention Training

Bullying prevention training for employees is an effective strategy that organizations are incorporating nowadays to eliminate behavior issues like bullying. Victims of bullying are often afraid to speak about what they are going through.

Many employers are not sure how to talk about or address their bullying case when working among the people who bully them. Training educates staff on how they can deal with bullies via non-harassment policies.

Carefully selected bullying prevention training boosts employees’ confidence and encourages them to voice their issues. Companies, with the help of bullying prevention training, devise mechanisms to report incidents of this kind.

3. Build a Healthy Culture to Reduce Bullying

Business leaders and employers should mold a culture where employees and managers behave professionally, including in off-hour gatherings. In this culture, bullying and harassment have no place.

Managers must accept responsibility for communicating a commitment to ensure a bully-free environment.

Bottom Line

In conclusion, workplace bullying can have a severe impact on the culture of an organization and employees’ health. Thus, the strategies outlined above if implemented in a sustained way are useful for reducing bullying and building a healthy environment in the workplace.

My name is Ranny Watson. I'm a professional Digital Marketing Expert.