Bullying doesn’t only happen on a playground. Adults experience bullying when dealing with people who continue to engage in overbearing, predatory behavior. Bullying may occur in a California workplace, creating problems for employees. Managers who overlook or contribute to bullying could find themselves facing a workplace harassment suit as such behavior comes with legal jeopardies.
Bullying in the workplace
Workplace bullying is not as rare as some may believe. Reports indicate roughly 30% of employees face bullying behavior at work, a troubling figure considering that number is almost one-third of the 76 million people in the workforce.
Not all companies take complaints about workplace bullying seriously. Some corporate cultures won’t change unless someone takes legal action or a public relations disaster unfolds.
Executives may take notice of the financial toll workplace bullying causes. People with other career options might outright quit when bullied. Turnover won’t help a business’s bottom line since losing valuable employees and searching for replacements come with costs.
Workers who remain in a terrible office environment could suffer from a dramatic decrease in productivity. Low morale hardly improves productivity, and low productivity impacts revenues and efficiency.
Legal matters and workplace bullying
Workplace discrimination and harassment could lead to lawsuits and EEOC complaints. Legal troubles and any resultant bad publicity may further agitate managers to address bullying. Sadly, some companies won’t take workplace bullying seriously until after they lose money.
Sexual harassment may be a problem in an office, leading to hostile work environment complaints. Victims of such harassment could follow legal steps to make an EEOC complaint and, possibly, pursue legal action. The same might be the case when someone suffers from workplace discrimination.
Laws exist to protect workers. Employees may find value in familiarizing themselves with their rights.