It could certainly be argued that this blog is suddenly paying too much attention to the subject of bullies at work yet, when you consider the very real cost of workplace bullying to organizations and businesses – in dollars – maybe we’re not.
From reduced productivity to lost time, employee turnover, medical problems, the effect on your company’s reputation, and potential legal costs, there is definitely a financial impact to workplace bullying.
Workplace bullying can include verbal abuse, intimidation, humiliation, and sabotage. As a side note, it’s an interesting characteristic of human nature that, when we do become aware of bullying, we tend to tell the victim to “grow up” or “get a pair”, instead of confronting the instigator and demanding they change their behavior. Needless to say, this must change.
From the smallest microaggression to out-and-out physical intimidation, “These mistreatments are typically not one-time occurrences; they happen over a significant length of time and cause the victim to suffer a loss of self-esteem and possibly even long-term physical or mental health issues. Aside from the damages to the victims of bullying, organizations are finding that workplace bullying costs money as well.” (Investopedia.com) (emphasis added)
Why You Can’t Afford to Keep a Workplace Bully
Regardless of job description, workplace bullies are simply too expensive to keep on the payroll. In fact, because 61% of bullies are bosses, it’s important for every business to take action to protect employees from them – or pay the price.
Unfortunately, putting an actual dollar value on the cost of workplace bullying is not easy. Thankfully, author Sophie Henshaw, DPsych, at PsychCentral.com has developed a way to get it done, with her “cost of bullying calculator”.
Yet, as she writes, “The most powerful argument you can make to get rid of a workplace bully is to build a financial case for why the person is just too expensive to keep. Surprisingly, it is a strategy that is rarely, if ever, used and… A financial case will take some time to prepare and requires due diligence in collecting the evidence. However, [a financial argument] trumps an emotional argument every time.” (emphasis added)
Ms. Henshaw goes into great detail as she explains how to develop your financial case against workplace bullying, and to whom you should present your findings but, essentially, she makes the case that a team with a bully for a boss will suffer a significant loss of productivity:
- Bullied employees work at 40% capacity
- Team members work at 70% capacity
This loss is due to what she labels “soft” costs that are not easy to place a value on:
- Less innovation and creativity
- Less constructive ideas and feedback
- Less learning from mistakes
- Less forthright discussion / honesty
- Less motivation and energy
- Reduced cooperation and cohesion
- Employee potential blocked
- Increase of physical and mental illness
- Cost of retaliation
- Management resources to deal with the bullying
- Burnout (physical and mental)
- Medical expenses
- Loss of reputation
- Failure to attract best and brightest staff
- Less customer satisfaction
- Less repeat business and referrals
Beyond the real cost of workplace bullying to your business, she argues, you will also lose the increase in productivity that research has shown can result from a “mentally healthy” workplace, at some 230%.
I can help you improve the leadership skills required to end workplace bullying while building high performance teams, work to improve emotional intelligence, and improve both the personal and professional relationships in your life. Click here to schedule your FREE Discovery Call.
