Mention bullying, and the image that comes to most people’s minds is either young kids on the playground or teens in the high school cafeteria. Makes sense, I suppose, since that’s probably where a lot of people experienced bullying for the first time, and first impressions are lasting.
But another place where bullying is rampant is the workplace, and this is bullying that not only affects us all, even if we only witness it, but it can also hurt an organization’s performance and have a consequent impact on a nation’s economy.
In 2025, in the United States alone, for example, 30 to 32 percent of employees reported experiencing it directly, and 60 to 72 percent reported witnessing it. In total, over 52 million American workers were directly or indirectly affected out of a total workforce of just over 170 million, or roughly 31 percent. If you think bullying is traumatic, that’s a large percentage of the workforce that is suffering. Worse, because of fear of retaliation or lack of trust in the organization, 75 percent of bullying goes unreported.
Workplace bullying takes many forms. There is verbal abuse, which is about 40 percent of cases; exclusion or isolation, for another 20 percent; micromanagement or unrealistic demands account for 25 percent; work sabotage for 20 percent, and digital harassment or cyberbullying for the final 15 percent.
Women are 51 percent of the targets of bullying, and 69 percent of the bullies are men. Bosses are 56 percent of the ones doing the bullying. Ethnic minorities, particularly African Americans, are 57 percent of those experiencing bullying either directly or indirectly.
In addition to a decline in self-esteem, bullying causes stress-related health issues, reduced job satisfaction, increased absence, and high employee turnover, all of which can negatively impact an organization’s productivity.
There are several reasons that people bully. Believe it or not, a feeling of low self-esteem is one. Bullies have it and bully others to feel better about themselves. There is also a desire for control and domination to improve social status, and feelings of insecurity and powerlessness, which are mitigated by bullying. Let’s not forget, either, that bullies in high school often become bullies in the workplace after they leave school unless action is taken when they’re young to identify the cause and treat it.
Legislation at the state and local level can address the issue, and some US states have anti-bullying laws, but enforcement has been weak, and too few organizations have consistent enforcement or anti-bullying training for managers.
As individuals, we can address the problem by becoming aware of it and advocating strenuously for state and federal laws and active enforcement. We can also do what I recall doing when I was a young high school student in the 1950s. We had a school bully, a senior at the time, who delighted in tormenting the younger kids, including physically accosting them.
I was a freshman, and a member of the school’s student council, and one of my duties was to supervise the junior high students assigned to pick up paper and trash from the school grounds. One day, when we were working, the bully began tormenting one of the smallest kids on the work crew. I was big for my age, but still smaller than the bully, and frankly, no match for him. But I was angry and determined to stop it. We were all armed with rakes with long wooden handles, and I had an idea. There were six of us in total. That’s six wooden rake handles.
I gathered them together, we formed a line, rake handles at the ready, and advanced on the bully. He was a bully, but he wasn’t stupid. While he could take any of us one-on-one, he realized that if he came at the six of us, some of those rake handles would find their mark. To my great relief, he backed down and was so embarrassed that he never harassed another work detail.
I’m not suggesting that employees gang up and beat the office bully. But if they join together and confront him, you might be surprised at the result. In the meantime, if you’re bullied or witness bullying, report it and insist that your organization take action. If enough of the workforce stands up to the bullies, they’ll back down. | NWI
