Bullying is a serious issue in workplaces and can affect your business on many levels. Workplace bullying is where repeated and unreasonable behaviour is directed towards an individual or group of employees. It is considered to be workplace bullying where it poses a risk to health and safety.

Examples of bullying behaviour include verbal abusive, unjustified or unreasonable criticism, singling someone out, spreading misinformation or malicious rumours, or humiliating someone. Workplace bullying doesn’t just affect those involved. The wider workplace can suffer through lost productivity, low morale, and toxic company culture. Here are some of the ways that bullying can negatively impact on your business.

Reduced productivity:
As people don’t perform well in high stress and anxiety situations, businesses will face a loss of productivity due to workplace bullying. When workers are distracted by bullying, research suggests that productivity could decline by 40%. Employees who are being bullied may also experience a loss in motivation, which will cause them to avoid putting in any effort or time into their work.

Higher staff turnover:
People that do not feel comfortable at work due to the effect of bullying will be inclined to look for work elsewhere. This can cause a business to have high rates of employee turnover, which will have significant economic impacts on the employer. This includes the replacement costs associated with recruiting, hiring and training new staff. A culture of bullying within a workplace can also create low morale, making the business even more susceptible to high turnover rates.

Financial impacts:
There can be many legal costs and other financial impacts associated with bullying within a business. In some cases, employers may be found to be liable for the bullying that takes place within their organisation. They may be required to pay for damages, costs of legal proceedings, or even settlements in more extreme cases. Further financial impacts may be associated with rehabilitation costs if the bullied worker chooses to stay with the business. These costs may include counselling fees, team-building activities or anger-management training.