Have you ever been confronted by a manager or coworker who consistently uses aggressive behavior against you?

Do they make you feel threatened or uncomfortable in your own work environment? Unfortunately, you could be the victim of workplace bullying. The Workplace Bullying Institute defines workplace bullying as “repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators that takes one or more of the following forms: verbal abuse, offensive conduct/behaviors that are threatening, humiliating or intimidating and/or work interference to prevent productivity.”

In a survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com of over 5000 full-time employees, more than one-in-four admitted to having felt bullied in the workplace. The Workplace Bullying Institute increases this statistic and reports that one-in-three or a staggering 35% of workers confess to being bullied. Like childhood bullying, the bully looks for a target that is usually in a lower or more vulnerable position. Hence, women are slightly more at risk of being bullied than men. In today’s workplace, women are often in positions less senior than men and are thus targeted as a potential victim. There is also a generational issue that can affect employees. Employees over the age of 55 and under the age of 24, due to fear of firing and lack of confidence, are subjected to more workplace bullying than those in the mid-age range.

The Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire listed five ways an employee or company should respond to workplace bully. These include:

• recognizing the bully and his/her patterns
• responding with confidence and not hesitance
• showing powerful body language
• keeping a journal of occurrences
• as the employer, cutting your losses.

Mary Lou Quinlan, CEO of Just Ask A Woman, states, “I think the best way to defuse, especially the ignorance, but even the anger, is to walk in in an atmosphere of mutual respect. At least try the, ‘I’m here to be successful, and so are you. So let’s just put it on the table, and you’re going to have to knock it off.” Bullying can cause major negative effects on specific target employees as well as the general workplace. It can cause psychological affects, absenteeism and even potential lawsuits from the bully’s victim as well as overall low morale, performance and productivity from all employees.

The severity and widespread manner of workplace bullying is appalling and companies should take steps to protect employees from this occurrence. Many have anti-bullying workshops or no-tolerance bullying policies in place but a major preventative measure can be taken in the form of pre-employment background screening. Professionals such as Accu-Screen can help protect employees by revealing resume discrepancies or past warnings a potential employee may have received by previous employers. Through a thorough and accurate background screenings, we can help companies hire safe and qualified employees. If you have questions or would like to order a background check call us today at 800-689-2228.