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Workplace Bullies: A Rising Workplace Concern and Detriment to Career Success

Abstract

As engineering and technology students enter the workforce to begin their careers, they will encounter several obstacles to their future professional success. In addition to having to deal with career issues related to global competition and technological change, an additional concern students are likely to encounter is workplace bullying. During internships or as newly hired employees, students and graduates will eventually discover that career success is not solely dependent on technical competent, but on socialization factors, including the ability to effectively deal with workplace bullies.

Although bullying behavior is a common problem for many students at the primary and secondary educational levels, it has also become a major concern in the workplace. Every year, the number of employees being harassed by co-workers and supervisors has grown with detrimental effects on the organization and the career success of victimized employees. The constant, unprofessional and offensive behavior of workplace bullies can range from insensitive comments and inappropriate behavior to threats and physical violence. In addition to the psychological and sometimes physical effects harassed employees may experience, there are also organizational problems associated with this unacceptable behavior. Poor performance, low employee morale, job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, turnover and complaints of discrimination are just a few of the organizational effects associated with bullying behavior. The negative consequences resulting from workplace bullies have created the need for the faculty to make students aware of this problem and help them develop strategies to address this growing industry concern.

This paper will describe how engineering and technology faculty can help prepare students to cope with bullies in the 21st century workplace. The paper will focus on helping students become aware of the problem and strategies they can use to overcome offensive co-workers. Also, as future leaders of business organizations, the paper will help to prepare students for managerial positions by providing an understanding on how to address workplace bullying.

Introduction

Today’s workplace is filled with many career obstacles, some obvious and others obscure. Workplace bullies are a raising concern that students need to be aware of, along with how to deal with them1. Although many engineering and technology programs do an excellent job of preparing their students for the technical aspects of their professions, an area that is not adequately covered is how to deal with workplace bullies. Not only is this a concern for engineering and technology students, it’s a problem for graduates of every

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Ocon, R. (2009, June), Workplace Bullies: A Rising Workplace Concern And Detriment To Career Success Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--4988