What is Bullying at Work, It`s Causes and Consequences

The case study is quite shocking because no one should be forced into sex in any way may it be physical, or to get a promotion, or to get hired, or to avoid losing a job. It really is quite similar to rape in certain cases and the worst part of the case study is that the judge forgave the inappropriate action with the excuse that it is necessary to continue the breeding of our specie. This reminds me of ancient Greeks that kept women isolated and gave them no power at all and were just used as breeding machines (Graham, n.d.). A part from being a very sexist judgement since breeding happens even without sexual harassment the world is overpopulated. Therefore if the judge really thinks that sexual harassment will increase human breeding, then it is a reason more to eliminate it.

Introduction

As we read in the article (Einarsen ,2005) five to ten percent of Europeans are facing bullying. Sexual harassment is a type of bullying and we know that eighty percent of women in Russia are facing sexual harassment. That means that the percentage of overall bullied people in Russia is extremely high.

What is Bullying at Work?

This section of the article defines bullying. Bullying is considered as a repetitive negative action towards a person that feels he/she has no recourse. Furthermore, the section explains an important aspect about the misuse of words. The misuse of words leads to a loss of their value in conveying important concepts. By labeling playful joking as bullying, real bullying gets swept under the rug because people think that it's just as minor as a basic, harmless, social interaction that often occurs. Misusing words creates long-term communication difficulties, so we need to be careful not to misuse words.

Next, the article discusses the two main categories of bullying. One type arises from a dispute. Two parties disagree with one another and have a falling out. From there, one becomes a bully to the other out of dislike for that person. The other, predatory bullying, comes unprovoked. The victim might belong to some outside group or might be an easy target. This second category exactly describes the sexual harassment of Russian women. They didn't do anything, but they belong to a group (females) outside the group doing the bullying (males). Additionally, because of how Russian society seems to be set up, women are an easy target as they have nothing they can do to remedy the situation. Lastly, the section confirms that male-centric (as opposed to balanced) cultures tend to be high in predatory bullying.

Causes of Bullying at Work

This section notes that bullying won't occur in environments that don't tolerate it. From the sounds of it, most of Russia is allowing this to happen. The most effective way to prevent this sexual harassment would be to replace the judges with ones that will actually stand up for women. If legal action was actually effective against sexual harassment in Russia, it'd greatly lessen the problem. Of course, individual workplace cultures would still be a problem and need to be fixed, but fixing the laws and replacing the judges would be a good start.

High-stress, boring, and high-ambiguity environments also seem to be more prone to bullying. Frustration leads to conflict. However, if the workplace doesn't permit bullying, it still won't happen. Reducing workplace stress is a very good idea, but taking action against bullies and making an example of them is more important.

Consequences of Bullying at Work

Being a victim of bullying at work is said to produce severe emotions such as:

• fear
• anxiety
• helplessness
• depression
• shock

It's also said that being a victim of bullying changes one's outlook of the workplace and outlook on life in general to one of:

• threat
• danger
• insecurity
• self-questioning

Victims of bullying at work are also said to have:

• significantly higher levels of burnout
• lower job-satisfaction
• lower psychological well-being

It seems that victims of bullying also often suffer from PTSD. Being bullied has also been linked to:

• psychological health problems
• psychosomatic health problems
• musculoskeletal health problems

It seems too that normal people, people not victims of bullying, usually have three core beliefs:

• the world is benevolent
• the world is meaningful
• the self is worthy

As far as the case study goes, it's pretty clear that this sexual abuse that often basically amounts to rape is highly damaging to the victims in Russia. I can only imagine that these Russian women suffer from great psychological damage. Furthermore, these women are bullied by society itself and most if not all males that outrank them in the workforce. That's a lot of bullies.

In conclusion, this article covers many types of discrimination. From racial, to gender, to ethnicity. These are all types of bullying that in my opinion show a lack of knowledge and unethical way of thinking. No form of bullying, be it sexual harassment or racial and so on can be accepted anymore. If people would look back in history and learn from it, maybe there would be less bullying and more respect. As I also said in my discussion post, I think the only way to avoid all this, it would be to have a common purpose to bring forth humanity. People are always in search for the purpose of life. But if they were given a nice purpose in life, maybe they would be concentrating in achieving that with the help of others. However, I guess people are too competitive and egoistic to be able to reach harmony.

I think after many years of wars and people standing up for their rights, we have reached a better situation than it used to be. However, I think that only when all countries become civilized with laws on equality, we will reach a harmonious way of living.