Workplace Bullying- Will Millennials Take it?
Workplace bullying is known as repetitive, abusive misconduct in which a target is often humiliated, threatened, and/ or intimidated by a perpetrator; the bullying is not only health-harming to the target, but it can also intervene with the quality of the work produced or the amount of work getting done. With the globalization of the workplace, cultural differences may be a reason for the rise in workplace bullying. How will this apply to Millennials?
Well, we all know that one grumpy elder that would come up with a laundry list of negative characteristics for the Millennial generation if he/she could. Whether or not you yourself are one of the grumpy bosses, the parent or grandparent to a Millennial, or a Millennial yourself, one can recognize selfishness, outspokenness, and disrespect as negative stereotypes that often label the cohort. It is important to understand this when approaching this topic because these attributes lead people to think that Millennials are more willing to put their foot down when it comes to issues like workplace bullying. Besides the overall notion that Millennials are less likely to let themselves get walked on, experts point out that most members of this generation have grown up with anti-bullying campaigns in schools, giving them solutions for bullying at an early age. Therefore, because they also value open communication, they will likely be more at ease with finding ways to confront perpetrators head-on.
A Millennial approach in dealing with workplace bullying largely depends on cultural values just as much as personality (i.e. an extrovert, raised to “speak her mind” would likely handle bullying differently than an introvert who maintains cultural values of respecting authority). Furthermore, although Millennials as a whole may be less tolerant, its up to the company to fix the issue. Sadly, only six percent of respondents in a WBI survey said their organizations had a defined policy against bullying. Companies can take stands against workplace bullying by defining the issue and changing the culture of their organization.
Millennial Monologue
This week’s Millennial Monologue features Baruch College senior, Joshua Altamirano. Joshua is a Hispanic Millennial and proudly identifies himself with the LGBTQ community. He plans to enter the corporate workforce this upcoming summer.
Q: How do you think you will deal with workplace bullying if you are confronted with the issue?
** Millennial Monologue is an opportunity for Millennials in or entering the workplace to voice their experiences and opinions on weekly questions through submitting their own video responses. The most insightful responses are chosen by our board of bloggers and posted the following week. This week’s question was “How Do You Think You Will Deal With Workplace Bullying if You are Confronted With the Issue?”.
Stay tuned, and submit your videos for next week’s question about workplace gossip at [email protected]!
Q: “Do you think Millennials engage more in workplace gossip? Why or why not?”
The Psychology of Workplace Bullying
Dr. Susan Locke, a clinical psychologist, now entering her 44th year as a psychology professor at Baruch College and former head of the Honors Program has a tremendous background and experience in the workplace teaching Millennials. Listen as she gives us the psych perspective on workplace bullying, how Millennials will handle it differently, and what solutions are available.