The Extent and Cost of Bullying in the Workplace

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health released a study last year that showed 24.5 percent of the 516 companies surveyed reported that bullying behavior had occurred there during the preceding year. And who was the aggressor? Of these incidents, 39.2 percent identified an employee, 24.5 percent a customer and 14.7 percent a supervisor. While the cost to morale and turn-over may be difficult to gauge, the civil liability may be more easy to identify. In March, an Indiana surgeon was ordered to pay a former hospital employee $325,000 in lost wages after a 2001 incident in which the doctor screamed and lunged at the worker.