Power in the workplace can have both positive and negative effects. A person of power has the ability to influence a great amount of people, which can be a positive thing, if the person of power is a good leader. However, what if this superior uses their authority as a way for personal gain only and looks down on their subordinates? How does this affect the workplace environment? Power is not only in the hands of the superior, but in the hands of our co-workers as well. Our work is where we spend the majority of our days, therefore it is important that we recognize issues such as bullying in the workplace and work on interventions to help those experiencing it. As mentioned in our commentary notes, a powerholder may view themselves as special or better than others, as seen as a reflection of the fundamental attribution error. This can cause one to not consider others’ inputs or opinions and can be seen as a situation of control (Nelson, 2018).
Bullying in the workplace may be seen as a “silent epidemic”, as it is not often discussed. According to Benedict Carey, a reporter for The New York Times “subordinates know the high cost of going around a boss, even if it simply to file a complaint with the human resource department” (2004). They are concerned with being seen as someone who goes behind another person’s back or seen as a complainer or even an attention seeker. Another big issue is that good jobs are very hard to come by and people may tend to sit back and let things happen to them in fear that they may lose their job.
As a result, it is important to look at ways to help combat bullying in the workplace. One way to do so is to promote positive power in the workplace through developing relationships with employees, creating an open door policy, and teaching teamwork building exercises. These things can help to encourage open communication, feedback and discussions.
Benedict, C. (2004 June 22). Fear in the workplace: The bullying boss. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/22/health/fear-in-the-workplace-the-bullying-boss.html
Nelson, A. (2018). Penn State World Campus. PSYCH 424 Applied Social Psychology. Lesson 7: Organizational Life AND Teams. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1942493/modules/items/25002516
Amazing when the topic of bullying comes up on the news or from people around me the workplace has never came up. Interestingly enough I couldn’t agree with you more, the workplace can be a very toxic environment and can lead to stress, hypertension, heart disease and diabetes. (How stress affects your body and behavior. 2016, April 28) Like you said we spend most of our time at work and being in a place that is toxic is it really worth it?
Reading this has triggered my memory, I have worked in the same place for 11 years and including myself there has only been 3 managers. The first manager she was the one who hired me was amazing, everyone was treated equally and was very approachable if issues raised. When she left the second manager was promoted, she was the lead medical assistant for about 5 years and had started with the office since it first opened. She was completely different, she showed preference to certain employees and as soon as she took over morale began to decline. I was lucky that I was on her good side and I never felt pressure from her in any way. I did however notice that a lot of the employees would not go to her when they had issues, they would bypass her and go straight to me. At that time, I was not part of management, so it was strange, I always got along with my co-workers, but this was new to me. I asked them in private why they would speak with the manager instead they all would say that she didn’t like them, and they felt like they were being picked on. This is when I started to notice the turmoil building and as a result we lost a lot of great employees.
Now as the acting manager I take my experiences and learn from them, our morale is up, and my doors are always open to my staff. I do not condone any belittling and treat my staff as equals. Our goal is to provide the best care to our patients and I believe we are doing a great job as a team.
How stress affects your body and behavior. (2016, April 28). Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987