Workplace Bullying Has Become the Object of Ever Increasing Attention Over the Past Few Years

Workplace bullying has become the object of ever-increasing attention over the past few years. Research indicates that workplace bullying is widespread. The issue of workplace bullying has attracted an increasing amount of attention in the past decade with a move towards international collaboration on the part of researchers and practitioners to understand the phenomenon in more depth.

A great deal of effort initially concentrated on the nature of bullying, its definition, its incidence and frequency, and on the characteristics of individual perpetrators and victims. However, workplace bullying is also a problem that can be difficult to define and evaluate accurately. Recently, the statement which indicates that workplace bullying which is simply the result of an abuse of power by managers can be explained very easily has been issued. In related to this statement, there are two perspectives. First of all, the statement indicates that workplace bullying is easily verified and explained. Bullying is intangible and transient. It cannot be seen or touched. When it has been done, all that remains afterwards are the feelings and memories of those involved. It is obvious that workplace bullying is not easily to be explained. Bullying has different concepts to be described, such as mobbing, emotional abuse, harassment, mistreatment and victimization. However, all are seem to refer to the same phenomenon. Workplace bullying is the systematic persecution of a colleague, a subordinate or a superior, which, if continued, may cause severe social, psychological and psychosomatic problems for the victim.

Bullying is a serious workplace issue affecting many workers in a wide variety of organizations. Previous research indicates that employee at all positional levels experience bullying more frequently than sexual discrimination, sexual harassment or racial harassment. Interestingly, studies investigating the prevalence of bullying in the workplace have found that despite being subjected to frequent bullying behavior, most targets of bullying are disinclined to label themselves as "bullied". However, it is evident that bullying in the workplace effects worker's daily work performance, finally their health.

In conclusion, it seems that bullying affects individuals at all management levels. Some study indicates that the effects of bullying have been classified as incorporating the victims' abilities to retain communication skills, social contact, and the respect of others; the effect on work and life situations; and finally the effect on health. Thus, workplace bullying that seems to be an unimportant matter has to be address by organization with the aim to reduce such negative impact.