LETTER | Workplace bullies are harmful to an organisation

LETTER | Workplace bullying refers to repeated actions and practices that are directed against one or more workers.

The workers are unwanted by the target and bullying may be carried out deliberately or unconsciously, but clearly cause humiliation, offence and distress, affecting work performance and causing an unpleasant working environment.

It has been a growing concern over the years but rarely highlighted due to victim stigmatisation. In most cases, victims who stand up to the bullies are shamed, ridiculed and subjugated to psychological evaluation.

A study in 2019 indicated that contrary to the general perception, it is the work bullies who require psychological evaluation.

The article reports that work bullies score high on Dark Triad personality traits. The Dark Triad test is a set of questions used as a tool to determine the practice of socially aversive traits of narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism.

The concept of Machiavellianism originates from a 16th-century Italian politician, Niccolo Machiavelli.

Manipulative and unethical

Typically, the personality traits justify their act of fulfilling their personal agenda by any means possible including unethical behaviour, manipulative lies, low morality, hostility and power abuse.

While on the other hand, Honesty-Humility is one of the traditional personality traits in the Hexaco model and is known as the H-factor.

Bullies have a high tendency to exhibit low Honesty-Humility scores with a particular proclivity to be selfish, haughty, deceitful and hypocritical with a deep sense of entitlement and superiority.

The consequences of workplace bullying are not isolated to the victims, the bullies who are left unchecked will subsequently bring ruin to the organisation.

Organisations with a pervasive bullying culture see higher turnover rates, lower productivity, increased healthcare costs, higher levels of absenteeism, lower levels of morale, a lack of trust in management and higher litigation costs.

To put it simply, a workplace bully is never an asset but the worst form of liability to an organisation. Workbullies create an environment of hostility and toxicity using intimidation, humiliation and subjugation.

As such, the bullies should be taken seriously and acted upon. Unfortunately, the issue of work bullying is largely swept under the carpet.

In most cases, the victims are subjugated into getting therapy while the perpetrators freely roam around, inflicting further damage.

As much as a victim needs to stand up against the harassment, the organisation too should come forward and take active initiatives to ensure a healthier working environment to ensure organisational prosperity.

The writer is a research officer at Universiti Malaya.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.