Workplace Bullying is Extremely Expensive for Employers

There are numerous campaigns floating around the country to fight against bullying in school. This is an enormous problem in the school systems, but it doesn’t stop upon graduation from high school. Incivility in the workplace isn’t uncommon; it is common, however, for the unfriendly behavior to go unaddressed. PayScale published a whitepaper – Incivility & Other Types of Workplace Aggression – which details the ramifications of aggression in the office. It’s not just the incident itself that affects an employee’s work – avoiding the investigators and the aggressors can also cause losses in productivity. Here are some effects of negative office behaviors:

48% of People Intentionally Decreased Their Effort at Work

Workplace aggression, in any form, is toxic. Although workplace incivility isn’t the same as workplace bullying, it still has no room in the office. It is defined as “Low-intensity behaviors that violate respectful workplace norms.”

47% Deliberately Spent Less Time at Work 

Employees who spend less time at work are often healthier — however, this is not the case if they are intentionally missing work because of impolite coworker behaviors.

80% Lost Time at Work while Worrying about the Incident

An overwhelming majority of employees who have been involved in an incident of incivility worry about the effects of the problem at work. Unfortunately, that means they waste time worrying about it while they are in the office.

63% Lost Work Time Trying to Avoiding the Bully

Employees lose time trying to find loopholes so they don’t have to work with the aggressor.

66% Said Their Performance Declined Because of the Incivility

When an employee is concerned about the incident and the one who caused it, their misplaced energy can cause their performance to slip.

78% Said They Were Less Committed to the Company

Aggressors in the workplace create cultural doubt within the employees affected by their behavior. If the poor behavior goes uncorrected, it begins to affect workplace culture overall.

What Can You Do to Prevent It?

Workplace incivility damages company culture, but it can be remedied. Some companies offer stress management as recourse for those affect. However, because many cases go unreported, there is little that many companies do about workplace incivility. The perpetrators are often savvy enough to refrain from uncivil actions in front of upper management. More over, many corporate leaders don’t see workplace aggression as a problem. If it isn’t addressed, it can turn into a much bigger problem — such as bullying.

To stop aggression before incivility turns into something worse, leaders have to take the first step. Modeling how employees should act not only helps to prevent incivility, but it also strengthens the company’s employer brand. Likewise, rewarding good behavior and penalizing negative behavior can reinforce the atmosphere leaders want to see in the office. Don’t confuse workplace conflict with aggression, though: they are two different entities. Conflict is bound to happen. Disagreements at work are natural, because employees spend 40 hours together every week.

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Maren Hogan

Maren Hogan is CEO of Red Branch and general Bad@$$

Maren Hogan is a seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting industry. Maren started Red Branch Media and, before she hired all the smiling faces you see below, she ran it on her own. In marketing for over 15 years, she has deep experience in strategic campaigns and a long-term, results-based operational approach.