1. The Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) Defines Workplace Bullying Workplace Bullying is 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 (including nonverbal) which are threatening, humiliating, or intimidating -Work interference - sabotage - which prevents work from getting done. It is a problem that has invaded the lives of 37% of adult Americans without invitation. In its more severe forms, it triggers a host of stress-related health complications--hypertension, auto-immune disorders, depression, anxiety to PTSD. The person's immediate job and often career are often disrupted. Bullying is mistreatment severe enough to compromise a targeted worker's health, jeopardize her or his job and career, and strain relationships with friends and family. It is a laser-focused, systematic campaign of interpersonal destruction. It has nothing to do with work itself. It is driven by the bully's personal ag Befoenda and actually prevents work from getting done. It begins with one person singling out the target. Before long, the bully easily and swiftly recruits others to gang up on the target, which increases the sense of isolation. Technically, bullying is a form of violence--certainly verbal, but non-physical. One of our preferred synonyms for workplace bullying is "psychological violence." However, violence policies and laws always focus on the acts and threats of physical violence--striking someone (battery), or threatening someone so that they fear being physically hurt (assault). The one exception is the inclusion of verbal abuse in violence policies. So bullying that is verbal, but not physical, is completely legal. Namie, G. (2015). The WBI Defines Workplace Bullying. In Workplace Bullying Institute. Retrieved from http://workplacebullying.org/individuals/problems/definition

2. Society of Human Resource Managment (SHRM) Opposes Anti-Bullying Workplace Bill Human resource professionals, by the very nature of their professions, are dedicated to advocating for the interests of all employees in their organizations. One of the many daily tasks of an effective HR practitioner is ensuring a positive work environment for all. Recognizing that an abusive work environment can have a serious effect on both the morale and health of their employees, while alos seriously impacting the image and profitability of an organization, most employers (through their HR departments) have conducted extensive educational/awareness programs on the negative impact "bullying" can have in the workplace. [The Healthy Workplace Bill] as currently drafted, could have serious ramification for employers doing business in New York State. In short, the bill could: -Strain the day-to-day employer/employee relations in workplaced throughout the Empire State. Many employers make great efforts to provide a positive work environment, backing these efforts with formal dispute resolution processes, written codes of conduct, and open door policies. -Create an incentive for certain individuals to "game the system" in an effort to seek monetary gain. With the possibility of reaping a windfall from civil awards of compensatory and punitive damages, unscrupulous individuals could be tempted to claim physical or psychological harm due to an abusive work environment, requiring their employer to incur legal fees and lost work time defending themselves against such charges. -Prove as a deterrent to drawing business to New York State. Given that New York would be the first state in the country to provide such a right, this legislation could have a chilling effect on the business climate of our state. Corcoran, S. and Carragher, R. (2010). SHRM Opposes Anti-Bullying Healthy Workplace Bill. In The Healthy Workplace Campaign. Retrieved from http://healthyworkplacebill.org/blog/shrm-opposes-anti-bullying-healthy-workplace-bill/

3. Workplace Bullying is a Huge Problem Workplace bullying is a serious issue. It's an issue that I don't think gets enough attention, considering how big of a problem it is. I was really shocked and surprised when I learned how often bullying in the workplace takes place. A recent survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute shed some important light on this issue. The two numbers that really stuck out at me, are the fact that 56% of the time, it comes from a manager or senior leader, and that most employers deny or discount (25% and 16% respectively). This is why I'm such a fan of having a flat hierarchy. It's been proven many times that power corrupts, and so it doesn't surprise me that most of the bullying comes from someone in a higher position of power than you. For the employer to hide or discount it as not being serious is so stupid. It's incredibly serious, because it has a major effect on your company culture. According to a study from the Saunder School of Business at UCB, workers who witness bullying have a stronger urge to quit than those who experience it firsthand. A lot of people don't stop to think about this. The bullying doesn't only affect the person that was bullied. It has a terrible effect on morale. And as the study showed, just witnessing workplace bullying gets people to want to quit. This is what happened to me personally at a company I used to work for. I was treated very well, but my coworkers (dare I say my friends) were treated horribly, and as much as you could argue that I had no reason to leave, since I was treated so well, I couldn't stand the fact that they were treated so poorly. In the UCB study, they also mention that even if the witnesses don't quit their jobs, productivity suffers, because they're not engaged anymore. Ultimately bullies can hurt the bottom line and need to be dealt with quickly and publicly so that justice is restored in the workplace. Shriar, J. (2014).Workplace Bullying is a Huge Problem. In Office Vibe. Retrieved from https://www.officevibe.com/blog/workplacebullying-is-a-huge-problem/

4. Workplace Bullying and Employee Performance While researchers have intuitively suggested that workplace bullying will likely lead to lower levels of employee performance (e.g. M. Harvey, Treadway, Heames & Duke, 2009; Vega & Comer, 2005), others have suggested that perpetrators may use bullying to increase the performance of their employees. Interestingly, researchers have hinted at the possibility of positive interpretations of both bullying as well as other negative behavior experiences by targets, while targets who recognize the negative intent of the perpetrator may still increase performance under certain circumstances. Hence, even when targets recognize the negative intent underlying bullying behavior, their coping style may help explain their response in terms of performance. To illustrate, research on coping behaviors reveals that individuals may use “positive thinking” in response to workplace stressors (Halvovic & Keenean, 1991; Rotondo, Carlson & Kincaid, 2003). This behavior enables individuals to “exercise great control to manage their cognitions in an optimistic fashion” (Rotondo et al., 2003, p. 278). Employees may also actively manipulate their interpretations of their work environment, which directs their thoughts in a more positive direction. (Hochwater & Thompson, 2012). For example, this can result in the mentality of “whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.” The target may also actively cope with the bullying behavior by increasing work effort and motivation to get ahead and out from under the supervision or range of the perpetrator. Finally, targets who use positive thinking as a coping mechanism may also attempt to build a stronger network with others (e.g. group members). Individuals desire a sense of belongingness (Baumeister & Leary, 1995), which can be treated by bullying behavior (Strandmark & Hallberg, 2007). Hence, targets may seek belongingness from other group members to compensate for the treatment from the perpetrator… Al-Karim Samnani, A., Sing, P. and Ezzedeen, S. (2013). Workplace Bullying and Employee Performance. Organizational Psychology Review 3(4) 337-359 (351-352).

5. Four Reasons Why Ayn Rand and "Atlas Shrugged" Should Guide Your Career Choices Believe it or not, your company and/or your business need you to be selfish and do what's in your self interest. When you use your talents to help yourself, lots of other people win, including your family. It's the career version of why America needs business owners and shouldn't chase ownership off with high taxes. I'm not telling you to be nasty to others. I'm telling you not to be afraid to take what's yours from a performance standpoint... Stop being scared and start being selfish regarding your performance. The gifted should do what's in their self-interest. If you have a sharp mind, it is your moral responsibility to make yourself happy. The weak are not your problem. Do what you're good at aggressively and without appology... Don't worry about offending someone you're better than. Remember that it's OK to be selfish with your own performance. I'm not telling you to run over everyone in the workplace or to be uncaring to those who have lost jobs, etc. I'm telling you not to get frozen from a career standpoint because you see the body count climbing around you. The quickest way to become a part of the body count? Not bringing your A-game and being selfish when it comes to demanding top performance and creativity when you're on the job. Dunn, K. (2009).Four Reasons Why Ayn Rand and "Atlas Shrugged" Should Guide Your Career Choices. In The HR Capitalist. Retrieved from http://www.hrcapitalist.com/2009/03/5-four-reasons-why-ayn-rand-and-atlas-shrugged-should-guide-your-careerchoices.html

6. The Problem The U.S. is the last of the western democracies not to have a law forbidding bullying-like conduct in the workplace. Scandinavian nations have explicit anti-bullying laws (since 1994). Many of the EU nations have substantially more legal employee protections, which compel employers to prevent or correct bullying. Britain, the home of the term "workplace bullying," has broader anti-harrassment laws than the U.S. to cover bullying. Ireland has a strong health and safety code (2005) to address bullying. Canada's first provincial law was enacted in 2004, the second ind 2007, another in 2010, and the occupational health code for federal employees in 2008. Yet currently, none of the United States has an anti-bullying law for the workplace. Anti-discrimination laws do exist, but in only 20% of these cases do these laws actually apply. In order to claim sexual harassment, racial discrimination, or hostile work environment, the recipient of the mistreatment must be a member of a protected status group (based on gender, race, disability, ethnicity, religion, etc.). For example, if you are a white female being bullied by a white female or a man of color being bullied by another man of color you are not protected. The true purpose of the WBI Healthy Workplace Bill is to get employers to prevent bullying with policies and procedures that apply to all employees. The Bill, crafted by law professor David Yamada for the Healthy Workplace Campaign, gives good employers incentives to do the right thing by avoiding expensive litigation. The bill turned law require evidence of serious health harm, or a pattern tof cardiovascular disease or some other stress-related health complication that prevents them from being a productive worker.

Namie, G. (2014).The Problem. In The Healthy Workplace Bill. Retrieved from http://www.healthyworkplacebill.org/problem.php