Impact of Workplace Bullying on Staff Engagement

Question: Describe about the Impact of Workplace Bullying on Staff Engagement. Answer: Introduction The extent of workplace bullying is a serious concern considering the organizational and social context. It has been found that the practice of the workplace bully is very much effective towards the discrimination of the morale value so the workers in an organization and it certainly affect the financial performance of the organization (Way et al., 2013). One significant part of the workplace bully is associated with the consideration of the fact that the identification of the bullying is difficult to consider as it happens covertly and many times it happens out of the sites of the supervisors and other co-workers. This research study is concerned with the fact of involvement problem the staffs properly in the working environment of organizations. Background of the research The major concern regarding the development of the research is associated with the central finding of the other researchers that mainly concerned with the specific type of mistreatment and negative acts performed towards a target. In addition, it is also associated with understanding the frequency of the occurrence of the workplace bullying and determination of the physical and mental stress on the employees (Francioli et al., 2015). Existing research has shown the fact that in the case of certain industries such as ICT industry the mental stress the employees gain is actually affecting the performance and overall progression of the organization or the industry. Aim and Objective In this particular research, the major aim is associated with the determination of the impact of the workplace bullying on the engagement of the staff in the working environment of an organization. In this context, the researcher has focussed on the difficulties the staffs faced in a bully environment. The objectives are- To understand the nature of bullying in working environment To find out the extent of the difficulties the staff faced in the working environment due to the practice of bully To understand the impact of bullying on the proper engagement of the staffs To recommend some process that can reduce the extent of bullying in the working environment Research Questions What are the natures of bullying in working environment? What types of difficulties the staff faced in the working environment due to the practice of bully? What is the impact of bullying on the proper engagement of the staffs? Significance of the Research The conductance of the current research is associated with the understanding of the relationship between the workplace bullying and the effect of bulling practice on the job satisfaction and the productivity maintenance. In this regard, it has been found that the factors associated with the workplace bulling are mainly concerned with the extent of the recruitment process, promotion; limited performance-based cultural aspects and internal process of managing the grievance and harassment. This research is associated with the consideration of the factors that ultimately leads to the extent of the bullying practice in the organizational scenario (Houck Colbert, 2016). Moreover, the involvement of the management is one of the major reasons that encourage the practice of the bullying due to several reasons. The reasons are mainly a range of the lifestyle of the individuals that are mainly concerned with the healthy eating, physical activity, smoking and stress awareness of the employees. Research gap and problem statement Concentrating on the research work of the other researchers, the researcher has developed the problem statement for the current research that needs to be addressed by the subsequent development of the research aspects. Considering the research work of Oladapo from the Webster University it has been highlighted the extent of the management bullies and its effect on the employees the research work is mainly concerned about the effect of bullying on the physical status of the employees It highlights the social impact and health wellbeing of the individuals. On the other hand, the research work published from the workplace bullying institute it has highlighted the types of bullying practiced in an organization. However, the research has highlighted the problem statement and the research gap regarding the impact on the working engagement by the staffs. The research is intended to fill the gap. Part B: Literature Review Introduction Literature Review as a chapter would help the researcher in evaluating the studies of past researchers regarding bullying in work place. The researcher would scrutinize the principles and approaches adopted by past researchers based on theories, models, and concepts in a systematic and logical manner. Nature of Workplace Bullying The research study laid by Woodrow and Guest (2014), clearly projects on the fact that most of the international workers of Europe face the issue of employee bully in various work field grounds. As estimated by the researcher, nearly 23-27% of the employees faces the issue on a regular basis and at any point of time. This factor of workplace bullying adds to excessive work stress and undesirable mental torture for the workers. The acts of aggression along with harassment among the lives of the European workers are affecting the working quality and engagement of the staffs in the work. As per the Dispute related concept along with Predatory Bullying effects. It can be stated that the factor of employee bullying can be subjected to two distinct phases. The despite related a highly escalated interpersonal conflict between two members or a group of members mainly subjects bullying (Nielsen Einarsen, 2012). This tends to evolve out an interpersonal despite between the two parties resulting in the effect of the minority or inferior group. On the other hand, it can be stated that predatory bullying effect tends to refer the cases where a victim is not subjected to any act, which can support him/her to be stated as a predator. In this case, someone is abusing his/her own powers and thereby tend to develop a management system based on altercative policies. As reported by Nielson et al. (2014), the most common forms of predatory bullying include aggressive leadership style along with acting out prejudice. Denying the humanity of the opponent and thereby clarifying the protocol for utilization, destruction, elimination and manipulation is another subjective form of bullying which mainly triggers for a high rated conflict (D'Cruz et al., 2014). When one of the parties is at a disadvantageous point and is thereby subjected to an intensive interpersonal and social dispute, then he or she can e subjected to this level of bully within the corporate sector itself (Nielsen et al., 2014). Although the studies based on the nature of bullying are quite effective and based on the true theoretical concept, however, the root source of bullying was not explained. In the concept of predatory bullying, although the researcher targeted for the factor of randomization and power difference, still it is not backed up with enough proofs and evidence. It was just an assumption of the researcher, which was portrayed in the study (Hansen et al., 2014). Staff Engagement in a Bullying Environment Staff Engagement in Bullying Environment is considered to be one of the most controversial factors in the corporate culture. The factor of bullying is observed to be a common aspect, especially in the developed countries, such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. As per the quantitative survey reports of Branch et al., (2013), it can be stated that organizations which are subjected to higher employee bullying parameters have the tendency of achieving high employee turnover rate. In the competitive market, every organization seeks to achieve an effective outcome in the globalized market in order to achieve competitor advantage. Hence, the job opportunities in companies are quite higher in the last three years, as compared to the early times. Thus, maintaining an effective and efficient working condition is considered an important parameter. As per the opinion of Power et al., (2013), it was stated that the definition of an effective and effi cient working condition projects to a healthy work-life balance along with minimum employee bully within the corporate premises. The researcher clearly designated towards the parameter of employee satisfaction and thus projected the fact that staff engagement would be minimum under the conditions of employee bullying activities and thus, the management will have to bear all the responsibilities regarding high turnovers due to this (Qureshi et al., 2014). Nature of difficulties in working process of the Staffs During the course of the research study led by Nielson et al. (2016), it was projected that a staff member might be subjected to both physical and mental issues while working under an excessive stress working condition, especially when it is subjected to employee bullying. Since the researchers consider bullying to be an additional and unwanted parameter related to employee dissatisfaction within a work place, it definitely earns an extra dimension of influence among the lives of these entities. The factor of neurological disorders is common among the employees working under such conditions. Moreover, psychological disorders such as delirium and dementia are also observed to be common among these people. Gap Analysis In the entire study, it can be stated that all the factors of mental health and physical health associated with bullying factors only and no other relevant situation are completely based on assumptions. No effective or supportive theories or models are there to support these factors. Moreover, the root cause of bullying is not specified and is perfectly based on assumptions of the past researchers. Thus, an in-depth analysis regarding the actual involvement of the stress that is exerting pressure on the staffs is necessary to highlight with proper literature findings and necessary development of the data analysis. This research thus intended to address the research gap. Methodology Research method overview The researcher has intended to address the research objectives with the generation of appropriate data with the help of the research methodology (Bryman, 2015). It is associated with the development of the appropriate germane process of the research collection. Research Philosophy For this particular research relying on the epistemology is believed to be helpful for providing necessary establishment of the existing facts regarding the problem the staffs faced in work engagement due to workplace bullying. In this aspect, the paradigm of positivism is essential for addressing the hidden facts that are associated with the practice of bullying (Wahyuni, 2012). Research Approach The researcher has considered the deductive research approach over the inductive research approach as it will help in the process to avoid the problem of time constraints (Whong Wright, 2013). In this regard, the researcher has depicted on the existing theories developed by the other researchers to establish the fact with the aid of appropriate data collection and analysis (Graham et al., 2012). Research Design In this particular research, the researcher has intended towards the application of the exploratory research design over the explanatory and descriptive research design (Taylor et al., 2015). In this case, the exploratory research design will help to explore the appropriate reasons associated with the understanding of the impact of certain buying on the mental approach of the employees that alter the approach of the workers towards working behavior. Moreover, the exploratory research design will provide a necessary blueprint for the research to progress with. Data collection and Research Method Research data collection is dependent on two major data collection process such as primary and secondary research collection. In this aspect, the researcher will collect the literature knowledge with the help of the secondary research process by concentrating on the relevant journals and articles (Kenney, 2010). On the other hand, the data collection will concentrate towards the mixed approach in which both the quantitative and qualitative research data collection need to be developed to gather necessary data regarding the completion of the research (Tran, 2016). Expected Outcome Quantitative research collection is helpful for developing the numerical data and qualitative data collection is useful for developing the descriptive analysis regarding the change in the engagement pattern of the staffs due to the extent of the workplace bullying. Sampling Method and Data analysis Sampling is an essential part of a research that helps in the process of appropriate data collection. In this research 50 workers have been chosen randomly form the XYZ organization of Australia. The respondents are subjected to perform a survey based questionnaire to generate the numerical data that are subjected to statistical analysis. In addition, 5 workers also subjected for qualitative analysis to develop descriptive information. The research is associated with the variables of bullying factors and impact on the change approach of employees (Williams, 2011). Research Limitations The major limitation of the research is the time constraints. Moreover, the research is also associated with a small number of respondents for providing necessary support towards the conclusion of the research. Timeline of the Research Considering the progression of the research, it has been found that the researches are mainly associated with the consideration of the longitudinal study and cross-sectional study. In this case, due to time limitation, the research is associated with the cross-sectional study. Main activities/ stages Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Topic Selection Data collection from secondary sources Creating layout Literature review Formation of the research Plan Selection of the Appropriate Research Techniques Primary data collection Analysis Interpretation of Data Collection Findings of the Data Conclusion of the Study Formation of Rough Draft Submission of Final Work Conclusion Thus, it can be concluded from the above discussion that the researcher has intended to understand the impact of bullying towards the staff engagement in the working environment. Development of the research aim and objective is completely based on the knowledge gathered to form the other researchers work. Moreover, positivism research philosophy helps to understand the extent of objective development. The literature review section has clearly indicated the factors influence the bullying practice in the organizational scenario that ultimately hampers the development of the proper working environment for certain employees. The research work of another researcher has indicated the fact that though the uses of samples are limited the findings of the research have suggested that the employees are associated with perceiving the organizational environment. The environment is correlated with the abusive bosses, co-workers, and negative acts of the other concerns. The existing studies are mai nly highlighting the toxic environment of the bullying practice. However, the current research is considering the mental stress that the employees feel due to excessive bullying. It is harmful to the employees to concentrate on the work and thus it also exerts a negative impact on the performance of the organization in operating industry. During the development of the research, it has been found that the other research works are associated with inconsistencies in providing the data regarding the impact of bullying. Some research has also highlighted the positive impact of bullying in the organizational and personal development context. The research gaps are mainly in the mental stress the employees suffer due to bullying. This research is intended to develop effective results with the help of the appropriate research methodologies that can shed light on the new aspect of the academic research. The future scope of the research can encourage the researcher to arrange the research in a broad manner and the data collected can help in the process of academic research progression. References Branch, S., Ramsay, S., Barker, M. (2013). Workplace bullying, mobbing and general harassment: A review.International Journal of Management Reviews,15(3), 280-299. Bryman, A. (2015).Social research methods. Oxford university press. D'Cruz, P., Noronha, E., Beale, D. (2014). The workplace bullying-organizational change interface: Emerging challenges for human resource management.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,25(10), 1434-1459. Francioli, L., Hgh, A., Conway, P. M., Costa, G., Karasek, R., Hansen, . M. (2015). Do Personal Dispositions Affect the Relationship Between Psychosocial Working Conditions and Workplace Bullying?.Ethics Behavior, 1-19. Graham, J.E., Karmarkar, A.M. Ottenbacher, K.J., (2012). Small sample research designs for evidence-based rehabilitation: issues methods.Archives of physical medicine rehabilitation,93(8), pp.S111-S116. Hansen, . M., Hogh, A., Garde, A. H., Persson, R. (2014). Workplace bullying and sleep difficulties: a 2-year follow-up study.International archives of occupational and environmental health,87(3), 285-294. Houck, N. M., Colbert, A. M. (2016). Patient safety and workplace bullying: an integrative review.Journal of nursing care quality. Kenney, K., (2010).Visual communication research designs. Routledge. Nielsen, M. B., Einarsen, S. (2012). Outcomes of exposure to workplace bullying: A meta-analytic review.Work Stress,26(4), 309-332. Nielsen, M. B., Einarsen, S., Notelaers, G., Nielsen, G. H. (2016). Does exposure to bullying behaviors at the workplace contribute to later suicidal ideation? A three-wave longitudinal study.Scandinavian journal of work, environment and health,42(3), 246-250. Nielsen, M. B., Magery, N., Gjerstad, J., Einarsen, S. (2014). Workplace bullying and subsequent health problems.Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening: tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke,134(12-13), 1233-1238. Power, J. L., Brotheridge, C. M., Blenkinsopp, J., Bowes-Sperry, L., Bozionelos, N., Buzdy, Z., ... Madero, S. M. (2013). Acceptability of workplace bullying: A comparative study on six continents.Journal of Business Research,66(3), 374-380. Qureshi, M. I., Rasli, A. M., Zaman, K. (2014). A new trilogy to understand the relationship among organizational climate, workplace bullying and employee health.Arab Economic and Business Journal,9(2), 133-146. Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. DeVault, M., (2015).Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook resource. John Wiley Sons. Tran, B., (2016). The Nature of Research Methodologies: Terms Usage within Quantitative.Mixed Methods Research for Improved Scientific Study, p.1. Wahyuni, D. (2012). The research design maze: Understing paradigms, cases, methods methodologies.Journal of Applied Management Accounting Research,10(1), 69-80. Way, K. A., Jimmieson, N. L., Bordia, P., Hepworth, G. (2013). Self-labelling versus behavioural experience of workplace bullying: differences in sector-and industry-level prevalence and sources.Journal of health, safety and environment,29(2), 83-102. Whong, M.K. Wright, C., (2013). Scope research methodologies. Williams, C., 2011. Research methods.Journal of Business Economics Research (JBER),5(3). Williams, C., (2011). Research methods.Journal of Business Economics Research (JBER),5(3). Woodrow, C., Guest, D. E. (2014). When good HR gets bad results: exploring the challenge of HR implementation in the case of workplace bullying.Human Resource Management Journal,24(1), 38-56.