Most of us think of the boss when we hear stories of workplace
bullying. They are the ones with the power, the ones with the
authority to fire you, the ones in charge of the way things are
run.
Statistics tend to back this up. Studies have found 72 per cent
of bullies were bosses, and that they mostly have lower ranked
mini-bullies who work with the boss to carry out the bullying. A
survey by the Know Bull group found half of employers take no
action when a workplace bullying claim is made.
The economic and social cost of bullying in the workplace in the
form of absenteeism, loss of productivity and legal costs has been
put at up to $36 billion a year by The Australian Human Rights
Commission.Research shows the impact of one serial bully in a
workplace can reduce performance of their victims by half, and
other workers by a third. Safe Work Australia found bullying in
Australian workplaces is substantially higher than international
rates. Occupational Health News
