The cost of violence and bullying at work |
| [ Violence at work ] |
A growing amount of evidence from studies across the world is now indicating that a very substantial proportion of workplace stress in general, and violence in particular, may be accounted for by negative behaviour and abuse of a less physical nature. Due to the wide range of different labels in use in the various countries to describe similar problems, such as mobbing (in Scandinavia, Germany and Italy), bullying (in Australia and the United Kingdom) and emotional abuse or mistreatment in the United States, an overview of the problem has only started to emerge very recently.
With this in mind, the ILO has commissioned Cary Cooper and Helge Hoel, in collaboration with Kate Sparks, from Manchester School of Management, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, United Kingdom, to undertake a comprehensive review of the safety and health costs of violence and bullying at the workplace for the individual, the organization and society in general.
In addition to describing the problem, the report will explore the relationship between violence/bullying and stress at work. It will study the costs of violence and bullying to the individual, in terms of stigmatisation, physical and mental health problems, employment implications, including the risk of job loss, and the home/work interface. It will examine and endeavour to quantify the costs to the organization. These include direct costs, such as increased absenteeism and staff turnover rates, reduced productivity, internal transfers and training, as well as the indirect costs of reduced motivation, satisfaction and creativity, and public relations problems. It will also look into the costs to society of the resulting long-term absenteeism, unemployment and disability, and the loss of productive citizens and competitiveness.
In endeavouring to quantify the costs of workplace violence and bullying to the individual, the organization and to society as a whole, the report will gather empirical evidence and develop estimates.
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