Plea over 'cancer' of workplace bullying

Workplace bullying is a cancer in society which is leading to suicide and marriage break-ups, it was claimed today.

A recent advisory group found that an estimated 140,000 employees experience bullying in the workplace every day.

Behavioural psychologist Dr Mark Harrold, who is organising a conference on the issue, said it was a cancer in society.

“Families are losing loved ones through suicide from it and marriages are breaking up. It’s a phenomenon that everyone knows about but nobody seems to know what to do about it. We literally now have to tackle the menace because it’s of epidemic proportions,” he said.

The conference will be held at the Burlington Hotel on October 4 and will include presentations on the psychological, medical and legal issues involved in workplace banking.

Dr Harrold said he believed workplace bullying was a symptom of the new economic prosperity.

“People are becoming disposable and are just tossed aside by whatever means, environmental push, tap on the shoulder you name it, without regard for the impact on the individual.”

Around 70% of employees who are bullied leave their job rather than confront the problem.

Jacinta Kitt, who will be a keynote speaker at the forthcoming conference, said companies needed to create an environment where bullying was unacceptable.

“We’ll be looking at that environment and it’s not rocket science, it’s really a common sense balance between getting the job done and gaining the commitment of your people.”

She said companies had a fear of workplace bullying because of the potential litigation costs involved.

“They think about paying out big money but 90% of victims do not want revenge or retribution, they merely want something to be done. So if you provide the widest range of options, you have less people going down the cul de sac of the more formal routes.”

Ms Kitt works as organisational advisor to companies on positive work environments and also lectures part time in Trinity College Dublin.

She that it was a common myth that people who complained of bullying were just not able to cope with the pressures of work when in reality they were being prevented from doing their work by bullies.

She added that although companies with a bullying culture might make profits in the short term, they would pay a heavy price in the long term through staff turnover and low morale.

More information on the conference is at www.bravo.ie/workplacebullying.