Let's talk about the workplace

Researchers have found a growing national trend in employees experiencing some form of negative behavior in the work environment. Schat, Frone & Kelloway reported in 2006 in a prominent study of U.S. workers that 41.4% or approximately 47 million American workers reported being involved at their workplace with psychological antagonism over the past 12 months (Schat et al., 2006). In a survey conducted by the U.S. government of federal employees, out of forty-two thousand or 58% of those participating in the survey, 13% or 1 in 8 witnessed some kind of form of negative behavior in the workplace (Federal Government, 2012).
Studies into negative work behaviors and their environments have researchers looking at the relationship of work-related psychosocial hazards and relationship to psychological illness. Negative behaviors aimed at an individual or a group of co-workers have various labels such as manipulation and exploitation, bullying, degrading and humiliation, and harassment (Zapf & Einarsen, 2003).
Most recent research has linked negative behaviors to the health of the employee. In a study by Bowling and Beehr (2006), found that various behaviors such as depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms had a significant relationship. Other researchers found bullying or negative behavior in the workplace and that employee intention to leave the organization has an indirect link to ill health (Djurkovic et al., 2004).
These studies confirm that when employees experience the negative effects of psychological workplace hazards and the above-mentioned behaviors are prominently displayed amongst the individual or group, it results in high absenteeism and huge turnover rates in the organization.
In a recent study done by the University of Copenhagen psychology department, 2,154 healthcare workers were followed for three years to investigate the risk of turnover when exposed to a negative environment at the workplace. In the first year, the study found that 9.2% of the workers responded to a negative environment on a frequent basis. In years two and three, they saw a strong correlation between frequent exposure to a negative work environment and high turnover rates. This study also pointed out the correlation between the health of the worker and work Conditions (Hogh A, Hoel H, Caneiro IG, 2011b).
Three factors stood out in this study regarding why these workers wanted to quit: poor leadership, constant exposure to negative behavior, and health problems, which can affect the worker in the long term (Hogh A, Hoel H, Caneiro IG, 2011b).
As a result, organizations experience high absenteeism, and high turnover that ultimately end up with low productivity, poor creativity and a decline in work quality (Hogh A, Hoel H,
Caneiro IG, 2011b).
All of this hampers an organization’s ability to compete in a competitive environment, their ability to hire and retain talented individuals, and the fostering of a healthy work environment. Negative behaviors should not be tolerated in the workplace. It is too costly for the organization and the individual. Additionally, it undermines the goals, vision and ultimately the success of the organization.
Whenever this negative behavior is exposed in an organization, a zero-tolerance policy should be implemented throughout the organization. Managers and leaders should monitor the work environment on a constant basis. Managers need to keep an open door policy for all employees to talk about problems they may be experiencing in the organization. Seniors managers should conduct town hall meetings with all employees to understand the work climate. Senior managers should be approachable without being judgmental at all times.
In conclusion, a negative workplace environment affects all employees in both the private and government sector. Mitigating and eliminating a negative work environment may save the organization costly medical bills and decrease absenteeism. Negative behaviors can arise in every workplace environment and need to be dealt with swiftly by upper management and leader.
Further research is needed to understand the nature, causes, and consequences of negative workplace behaviors, such as aggression, and perhaps most importantly, policies and interventions to reduce such behaviors.
References:
Bowling N.A. & Beehr T.A. (2006) Workplace harassment from the victim’s perspective: a theoretical model and meta-analysis. The Journal of Applied Psychology 91 (5), 998–1012
Djurkovic N., McCormack D. & Casimir G. (2004). The physical and psychological effects of workplace bullying and their relationship to intention to leave: a test of the psychosomatic and disability hypotheses. International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior 7 (4), 469–497.
Federal government (2012). One in eight feds have witnessed workplace violence in past two years. Federal Government Publication, Baltimore, MD.
Hogh A, Hoel H, Caneiro IG (2011b) Bullying and employee turnover among health-care workers. A three-wave prospective study. Journal of Nursing Management, 19,742-751.
Schat, A.C.H., Frone, M.R., & Kelloway, E.K. (2006). Prevalence of workplace aggression in the U.S workforce: Findings from a national study. In E.K. Kelloway, J. Barling, and J. Hurrell (Eds.), Handbook of workplace violence. Thousand Oaks, CA:SAGE.
Zapf D., Einarsen S., Hoel H. & Vartia M. (2003). Empirical findings on bullying in the workplace. In Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace. International Perspectives in Research and Practice, 1st edn., Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 44, 103- 126.

My book was featured alone with twenty-five other authors from the writer’s group, “Written By Veterans”. This was a great honor…

                                                                                                                                                          What makes an individual employee feel satisfied on the job? What makes an employee increase in productivity and creativity? It’s called Empowerment. The employee becomes satisfied in the workplace when they are empowered and given the opportunity to have ownership over their projects and careers. When you empower an individual employee, you, the manager, relinquish control over the situation. Empowerment allows the individual control over their own fate. Empowerment gives an individual control over not only their work assignments, projects or assigned tasking, but it gives control over their destiny.
When employers delegate authority and responsibility over to their employees, this not only increases job enrichment, along with job satisfaction and the decreased turnover within the organization, but it develops the individual employee for future jobs within the organization. This assures that the organization maintains its competitive edge amongst their industry (Lepak & Gowan, 2016).
When reflecting on my own experience as a team leader, I emphasize to each member to have a sense of ownership when it comes to their assigned work- in other words, become responsible for the task you were given. This ownership gives the team member a sense of empowerment, making their part in whatever project or task essential and it puts them on notice to achieve beyond expectations.
As a leader, I follow five principles that empower my team members;
Trust in individuals- Each member of the team has talents and abilities. When joined with other talented individuals, you have collective abilities and knowledge that can accomplish results in their own ways. Give them the autonomy to take charge of the situation or task. Have faith in your people.
Equip individuals with the necessary tools of success- give them the latitude to connect with others within the company and outside the company such as vendors, customer and potential future customers.
Acknowledge achievements- My organization has monthly gatherings for hail and farewells, but also to recognize the professional achievements of teams and individuals.
Decentralize Decision Making –As a team leader, my supervisor gives me the latitude in charting the course for my team. I also encourage my members to collaborate not only with each other, but with other teams within the organization. This assures individual growth, encourages creativity, and increases productivity and job satisfaction within the individual and the collective team.
Encourages Collaboration – The workplace should be viewed as a collective and cooperative effort and not an environment of hard labor at the hands of the task master. As mentioned, my team work with other teams within the organization, being isolated and forbidden to speak with others inhibits growth and creativity for individuals and the organization. Remember, one does not succeed alone.
To conclude, empowerment of individuals assures individual success and organizational success. This translates into the organization as a whole having a competitive advantage amongst its industry. This also enhances the workplace culture within the organization. Remember whatever leadership role you play in the organization, if you allow people the opportunity to be creative and become responsible for themselves, they will grow and make your job easy. As Leaders, think of yourself as a servant and not the task Master.

Reference:
Lepak. D & Gowan, M. (2016). Human Resource Management: Managing Employees for Competitive Advantage (2nd ed). Chicago Business Press