1. 1
Harassment in the Workplace: The Effects of Psychological Harassment
and Bullying
Ian Manners
Steven Cates
Kaplan University
ABSTRACT
Over the past several decadesstrides have been made in the fight against discriminatory practices in the workplace.
This study examines the definition of what is the process of bullying as a form of harassment in the workplace.An
examination of the effects of bullying isconducted to determine the psychological effects it has on the US workforce
from a Human Resource Management perspective. This paper examines the bullying from responses of those
working in U.S. organizationstoday.The following hypotheses were tested. H1: Bullying is a form of Harassment in
the work environment.H2: Bullying is a form of Harassment defined as Hostile Work Environment.H3: The
Psychological Effects of Bullying have not been documented in US Organizations.A sample of 117 respondents
responded to a ten question survey via Survey Monkey.com. All three hypotheses were supported.
Implicationsfor management were provided.
Introduction
Over the past several decades strides have been made in the fight against discriminatory
practices in the workplace. The passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and title VII in particular
has helped to protect the rights of many individuals. In addition, the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 have
helped to broaden the definition of those in protected groups (Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, 2015).
Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including
pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
Harassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a
condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to
create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile,
or abusive (EEOC, 2015).
While discrimination is far from eradicated and there are tens of thousands of new claims
filed every year: 93,727 in 2013 and 88,778 in 2014 (EEOC, 2015), there is quite a bit of
visibility on what constitutes discrimination and how organizations should address these issues to
ensure fair treatment. Harassment is not limited to just discriminatory actions however;
workplace bullying is a rising issue with some major implications for employees and employers.
A survey of 3,000 people conducted by leadership consultancy, VitalSmarts, found that 96% of
respondents had experienced bullying at work, with 62% coming in the form of sabotage work or
reputation (Biro, 2014). Furthermore, with approximately 80% of U.S. jobs in the service
industry, bullying will become more and more prevalent due to the increased interaction between
people at work (Hall & Lewis, 2014, p. 129).
Clearly bullying is important in the harassment conversation and in terms of creating a
safe and welcoming work environment. Bullying does have even deeper implications for
businesses and managers through the potential cost of bullying can be significant.

2. 2
Purpose of the Study
This study examines the definition of what is the process of bullying as a form of
harassment in the workplace. An examination of the effects of bullying is conducted to
determine the psychological effects it has on the US workforce from a Human Resource
Management perspective. This paper examines the bullying from responses of those working in
U.S. organizations today.
Literature Review
The Potential Cost of Bullying
According to the Namie and Namie (n.d.), “workplace bullying is repeated, health-
harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators. It is
abusive conduct that is: threatening, humiliating, or intimidating, or work interference-sabotage-
which prevents work from getting done, or verbal abuse” (Namie & Namie, n.d.). Currently,
there aren’t any laws protecting individuals from workplace bullying on either the state or federal
level. This is in spite of the fact that cases of bullying are on the rise and employees are less
engaged than they have ever been in history. According to USA Today, in a poll conducted in
2011, half the people surveyed admitted to be mistreated at work weekly. This was an increase
from figures of similar surveys conducted in 1998 where only 25% of those questioned felt they
had been treated rudely (USA Today, 2013).
As there are no laws on the books, the legal ramifications for employers is somewhat
minimal at this time. That being said, if the situation is serious enough there is the possibility of
an individual filing a claim under hostile work environment or constructive discharge (Society
for Human Resource Management, 2015). A bigger risk for employers who allow bullying
behavior to continue is the impact it has on overall productivity.
Employers that choose not to take measures to identify and prevent such abuses of power
are allowing bullying to occur within their workplaces and may be exposing themselves to some
legal risk. In addition to possible legal exposure, allowing such behavior to occur will eventually
result in significant costs to the employer due to lowered employee morale, reduced productivity,
increased absenteeism and turnover, not to mention possible filings of stress-related disability or
workers compensation claims (SHRM, 2015).
There is definitely some significant costs associated with allowing bullying to take place
within your organization, but what does this equate to for employers?
Cost Analysis of Bullying
Starting with the last effect of bullying listed by the SHRM, workers compensation and
disability is estimated to cost employers $1 billion per week in the United States (CDC, 2015).
This estimate includes both the direct costs associated with claims: the actual payments
themselves, medical expenses, and legal expenses. Also included is the indirect expenses
associated with claims: training replacements, accident investigation, implementation of
corrective measures, lost productivity, repairs of damaged equipment & property, lower
employee morale, and absenteeism (OSHA, 2015).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, employees that are
mistreated at work on average miss significantly more time from work than those who aren’t.
The difference is estimated to be approximately two and half days more with individuals who are
mistreated which equates out to more than $4 billion per year in absenteeism costs associated
with bullying (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2013).

3. 3
For individuals who are bullied at work there is also the possibility of dealing with
presenteeism costs. This occurs when employees continue to show up for work even though they
are completely disengaged due to the treatment they have been receiving. One way to estimate
this cost is to take all of the affected employees in the organization, add up all of their hours, and
then cut that number in half. That is the amount of time considered lost in productivity for
bullied individuals (Workplace Bullying Institute, 2014).
In many instances, bullied individuals will leave the company for an opportunity to
escape the abuse they have been subjected to. When workers leave, there are a slew of costs that
come with that transition. You have: the loss of productivity while the vacancy is open, the cost
of recruiting new talent, time spent meeting and interviewing candidates, time and costs
associated with training replacement employees, etc. There is a simple estimate to use when
calculating these costs; take the departing employees salary and multiple it by 1.5 times (WBI,
2014).
The costs of bullying are staggering and seem to be multiplying exponentially with every
instance they are allowed to exist. Employers need to eliminate these issues and the costs
associated with them if they want to remain strong organizations in terms of both fiscal forecasts
and desirable places to work. In order to identify bullying in the workplace, administration
should be aware of the different types of bullying behavior.
What Kinds of Bullying Exists?
While it may be easier to identify the actions of someone in a position of power towards
direct reports, it isn’t something that takes place exclusively in that kind of relationship.
Bullying can take place between co-workers, direct reports and their superiors, or between
individuals from different departments. Bullying can be broken down into four main groups of
abusers: the screaming mimi, the constant critic, the two-headed snake, and the gatekeeper
(Namie, 2011).
The screaming mimi prefers to harass individuals in a very public fashion. By showing
their power and authority publicly, they wish to control the emotional environment of the office
not just for their targets but also for other individuals within the department or group. The goal
is to create a paralysis of the workforce and take complete control. This kind of bully is the
rarest, but also the easiest to identify (Namie, 2011).
The constant critic works behind closed doors where there is the most plausible
deniability available. They look to create a situation where it boils down to a he said/ she said
scenario. The most common way this bully operates is through the misuse of performance
appraisals. The ultimate goal of the constant critic is to actually take over the psyche of the
target (Namie, 2011).
The two-headed snake demonstrates very passive aggressive behavior and tactics. They
are most commonly characterized by backstabbing and perpetuating rumors about their targets.
The goal of this kind of bully is to damage or control the reputation of those they single out.
They wish to keep individuals from being able to succeed where they are now and potentially
wherever they move to in the future (Namie, 2011).
Finally, the gatekeeper is a person that is in a position of control when it comes to
information distribution. They use this power to release information in a very selective way.
They can also withhold important information to put others into a bad situation. The primary
tactic of these individuals is to control deadlines and make them unrealistic or to withhold
interaction between employees that might be able to offer beneficial insights (Namie, 2011).

4. 4
As we continue into the age of technology, we are more and more reliant on new forms of
communication. As a result, the way we interact at the office has also changed drastically over
the past fifteen years and there is no signs of that slowing down anytime soon. We have
discussed what characteristics to look for in bullies inside the office, but how does this translate
in the new landscape of social media and cyber bullying?
Cyber Bullying in the Workplace
The message can be delivered via e-mail, message board, or text message just the same as
it would be in person. Actually, this makes bullying even easier in a few of real ways. To begin
with, people now have virtually 24 hour access to one another, so there is never truly a time
when bullies can’t be operating. Secondly, it can be much easier for someone to deny intent and
context of the interaction without witnesses. Lastly, individuals can tend to become even more
empowered with the sense of anonymity they feel when detached from the actual interaction
through social media. Regardless of the way the message is delivered, the purpose remains the
same. “Whatever shape the message takes, a cyberbully hides behind a computer with an intent
to injure the receiver. And the computer attack has the same effect as face-to-face bullying: to
snub, badger, browbeat, or intimidate” (Gannett, 2013).
Once more, cyberbullying is trending upward in the workplace. As a survey conducted
by the University of Sheffield and Nottingham University shows, 8 out of 10 people have
experienced cyberbullying at work within the last 6 months and 14-20 percent of people feel they
have been a victim at least once per week (Cyberbullying in the workplace, 2013). According to
Borstorff, Graham, and Marker (2007), E-harassment has evolved into one of the most prevalent
types of harassment in the workplace (p. 49).
Now that we have examined why workplace bullying is important, the costs associated
with it, and the different kinds of harassment involved, let’s explore potential ways to deal with
the issue and stop it from happening in first place.
ResearchQuestion and Hypotheses
Based on the review of the literature the following Research Question is offered.
How Does Bullying Affect the Psychological Harassment of Employees in the Workplace?
Given this Research Question the following hypotheses are proposed.
H1: Bullying is a form of Harassment in the work environment
H2: Bullying is a form of Harassment defined as Hostile Work Environment.
H3: The Psychological Effects of Bullying have not been documented in US Organizations.
Methodology
The questions in this research design were examined by the collection of data using a
survey instrument. The questions were used to determine the sample population perception of
bullying in their respective organizations. A survey questionnaire was placed on Survey Monkey
and asked people to participate in this study. A total of 117 persons complete responses were
collected and analyzed.
The research design utilized a survey inquiry approach to examine the relationship of
employees and the level of harassment in the form of bullying found in the workplace.
These three hypotheses were tested by collecting data using a survey technique. The
collected data was analyzed to assess if there was support for the hypotheses or they were
rejected.

5. 5
Data was summarized based on each Question and coded mathematically to determine
real values of each response.
Analysis was done on the collected responses to each question to address the support of
lack of support for each hypothesis.
The survey questionnaire can be found in Appendix I. The survey questions and sample
population responses can be found in Appendix II.
Sanple Demogtaphics
The following represents the demographics of the sample used in this research. The total
sample size is n=117.
Gender: Age: Race
Males 27 18-24 2 American Indian/Inuit 1
Females 87 25-34 23 Asian 3
35-44 61 Black 10
45-54 14 Hispanic 5
55-64 14 White 96
65-74 2 Multiple 1
Findings
Survey Question One asks respondents if they work in an organization where people
bully other employees. The response of 67 of the 117 of the sample indicated they work in an
organization where bullying exists now. This represents 57% of the sample. There were 38 who
felt they worked in an environment where bullying did not exist which represented 32% of the
sample. Bullying is present at an almost double rate in the organizations sampled in this
question. This high rate indicates bullying would appear to be a common occurrence in then
organizations samples in this research.
Survey Question Two asks respondents if they have been subjected to bullying at work.
The response of 60 of the 117 of the sample indicated they had been victims of bullying in the
workplace. This represents 51% of the sample population compared to 34 respondents who had
no experienced in bullying personally which accounts for 29% of the respondents. This indicates
that a large number of people are possibly being harassed in the workplace and bullying would
appear to be a common form of harassment.
Survey Question Three asks respondents if fellow employees who have bullied others
have received disciplinary action by the organization. Surprisingly, only 20 respondents (17%)
indicated the organization had taken corrective and punitive steps to address the bullying taking
place in these organizations. Seventy-One (71) respondents indicated they had not experienced
any disciplinary action in their organizations which represents 61% of the total respondents.
Survey Question Four asks respondents if employees who have bullied others have been
terminated for their behaviors by the organization. Respondents indicated 11 (9%) had
experienced severe discipline. Eighty-Two (70%) indicated they had not experienced any
terminations for this type of harassment. This indicates that most respondents have not
experienced any major issues in their organizations with bullying to the extent it became a
terminal issue for employees.
Survey Question Five asks respondents if employees who have been bullied have left the
organization due to their treatment. Respondents indicated that 78 (66.7%) of them have either

6. 6
experienced leaving their employment or were aware of fellow employees who had left their
employers due to bullying. Only 10 responded this had not been the experience they had but
there was a very high neutrality response of 29 responses (24.7%). This could possibly be a
response where they were unsure of divulging the truth of job abandonment due to bullying by a
fellow employee or manager.
Survey Question Six asks respondents if they have specifically left a job due to being
bullied. Thirty-Two (27.3%) responded they had left a job due to bullying behaviors towards
them. Interesting is the fact that 78 (66.7%) said they had not experiencing leaving a job due to
bullying. This is the exact opposite response of the previous question where the respondents may
have known of someone else experiencing bullying and leaving the organization other than
themselves.
Survey Question Seven asks respondents if Bullying is a form of harassment including
Hostile Work Environment. One Hundred and Fifteen respondents (98.3%) indicated this type of
behavior was a form of discrimination under the 1964 Civil Rights Act and under the governance
of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This provides confirmation that employees
are aware of what constitutes harassment under the Law.
Survey Question Eight asks respondents if Bullying is a form of Psychological
Harassment. One Hundred and Fifteen (98.3%) of the One Hundred and Seventeen respondents
responded favorably to this Question. This confirms the respondents in this sample understood
the difference in physical and physiological harassment and the effects of those differences.
Survey Question Nine asks respondents if Bullying is not legal under the law. The
responses provided to this question were much different than the previous two questions. Only
53 respondents believed bullying was unlawful while 30 were unsure and 33 felt the behavior of
bullying did not come under the jurisdiction of the Law. The possibility exists the respondents
did not understand the term not legal versus the popular but incorrect word illegal. If the
respondents understood the term then the responses are opposite of earlier responses similar
questions on the legality of bullying.
Survey Question Ten asks respondents if their organization provides training against this
type of harassment. Thirty-Six respondents indicated their organizations provided training on
bullying and its negative effects both legally and ethically while Sixty-Two respondents
indicated their organizations provided no training on bullying as a form of harassment in the
workplace. This high level of lack of training on bullying is disturbing and could be a root cause
as to why bullying exists in so many organizations today.
The three hypotheses were tested to determine if there was support for each.
H1: Bullying is a form of Harassment in the work environment was tested using Questions
1,2,3,4, 5, 6, 9, and 10. Respondents to Questions 1 and 2 indicated the majority supported the
belief that bullying exists in the workplace and is a current issue. The majority of respondents to
Questions 3 and 4 indicated that their company did not address the issue of bullying with any
form of corrective actions or terminations for this illegal behavior. Respondents to Question 5
indicated they knew fellow workers who left the organization due to bullying which would
suggest the organizations are not addressing this behavior and the employee is forced to leave
their organization due to a lack of protections from this harassment. In Question 6 very few
respondents however had left the organization themselves due to being bullied. This is in
contradiction to the responses given in Question 2 where the majority of respondents indicated
they had been bullied. The result of this could be that respondents may have been bullied but not

7. 7
to the extent it caused them to leave their jobs or they may not be in a position to leave and
accept the bullying as a part of the job relationship at the time of the response. In response to
Question 9 respondents provided a mixed response to the illegality of bullying. This could mean
employees are not aware of what the Law encompasses and therefore ae not aware of their rights
to protection. Given the responses as a whole there is support for this hypothesis.
H2: Bullying is a form of Harassment defined as Hostile Work Environment was tested
using Question 7. Respondents to this Question overwhelmingly stated they knew that bullying
was a form of harassment. Therefore this hypothesis is supported.
H3: The Psychological Effects of Bullying have not been documented in US Organizations was
tested using Question 8. Respondents indicated that 98% of them believed that bullying is a
psychological form of harassment. Therefore this hypothesis is supported.
Limitations of the Study
This research used a Survey that comes from the research but needs to be scrutinized
using chromback alpha testing to determine the validity and reliability of the instruments and the
questions contained in the survey itself.
A convenience sample was selected for this research and more random sampling would
improve the potential for a more valid sampling and higher levels of confidence the results
reported are representative of the total population.
The demographics were heavily skewed towards Caucasians. A more diverse sampling
would provide clarity of how bullying may affect employers across gender differences.
The sample consisted of 117 respondents. This is close to being a representative sampling
but greater numbers of respondents would improve the confidence level of the results.
Implications for Managers
How do you Protect Your Employees and Business?
It is your responsibility as an employer to maintain a safe and harassment free
environment for your employees (Keeling, Quigley, & Roberts, 2006, p. 620). This can be easier
said than done when it comes to the potentially covert actions of workplace bullies. If bullying
isn’t addressed from the outset however; the behavior will continue to get worse. “The bully's
behavior is left unaddressed, and if a bully's behavior remains unchallenged over a long period of
time, it becomes a normative behavioral pattern. When finally confronted with their behavior, the
bully may initially perceive themselves as a victim” (Keeling, et al., 2006, p. 620).
Failing to react properly to acts of bullying is one of the leading causes for its continued
existence and growth within the workplace (Hall & Lewis, 2014, p. 130). Companies need to
provide thorough and well communicated policies on bullying and harassment to their
employees. These policies should include the use of social media and lay out specific penalties
and repercussions for violating these policies (Hall & Lewis, 2014, p. 135). Managers also need
to take regular temperature checks of their employees and the workplace.
In order to properly identify when bullying exists or if there are issues with horizontal
violence, managers need to be able to recognize the signs. According to Bartholomew (2014),
poor employee satisfaction scores, high turnover, increased absenteeism, cliques, and dueling
shifts can all be signs of harassment that leaders need to look out for (Brunt, 2015, p. 12).

8. 8
Managers also have a great opportunity to curb these behaviors by the kind of culture they
encourage in the workplace. “To deal with HV, managers need to decrease negativity, gossip,
and a culture of blame by maintaining zero tolerance for any communication that is unhealthy,
disrespectful or spoken to people other than the person(s) directly involved” (Brunt, 2015, p. 12).
A real potential short coming for anti-bullying policies lies in the way complaints are
received and addressed by supervisors when they occur. It can be common for managers to
avoid dealing with issues of conflict because they are uncomfortable and difficult to decipher.
Managers can also fear being implicated in the complaint themselves and attempt to convince the
targeted employee from making any complaint. This lack of implementation of the policy can
ultimately leave employees feeling unsupported and allow the situation to become worse
(Woodrow & Guest, 2014, p. 48).
It is clear that a strong policy needs to be in place to be successful with minimizing the
exposure to workplace bullying, but it also is apparent that a policy alone will not correct the
issue. HRM leaders will need to implement proper support systems to ensure the success of
these policies.
There are at least three strategies available to organizations to tackle the challenge of
workplace bullying in the absence of specific legislation: (a) specific organizational antibullying
and fair policies, (b) training, and (c) the design and implementation of conflict management and
ADR programs and systems (Fox & Stallworth, 2009, p. 228).
We have already discussed what a sound policy should look and feel like. One key
component missing in many organizations is the effective training of leadership and employees.
Individuals need to be able to identify what bullying behavior looks like and recognize it in
themselves. Both managers and employees also need to be trained in how to address bullies and
their targets when they witness this activity. If there is truly going to be a zero tolerance policy,
then all members of the team need to feel comfortable and empowered to stop bullying activity
when they see it. Mock scenarios and role plays would go a long way to help in accomplishing
this.
Conflict management and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has been successfully
utilized to find cost effective and simple solutions to many workplace problems (Fox &
Stallworth, 2009, p. 226). Fox and Stallworth (2009) go onto say that adopting a conflict
management system makes sense in four major ways: it is significantly cheaper than the costs
associated with potential damages awarded and legal costs, it helps alleviate some of the
psychological consequences suffered by the target employee, many times bullying is linked to
other protected minority groups, and it is 70% more likely that the targeted employee leaves
while the bully remains with the organization (p. 227).
In order for an ADR system to be viewed as fair and legitimate by employees, there is
considerable work to be done before implementing (Fox & Stallworth, 2009, p.228).
Determining who the workplace neutrals are going to be or if the use of external neutrals are
necessary is essential. There also has to be careful measures taken to ensure that all groups are
properly represented (Fox & Stallworth, 2009, p. 228).
Conclusion
Workplace bullying is a real problem in organizations across the country, and the
world for that matter. There is yet to be any legislation passed on a state or federal level to
protect employees from the detriments of bullying or to guide employers on how to deal with it.
If left unchecked, bullying can cost an organization substantially in a number of ways. With the
changing nature of the U.S. economy and the increase in service industry positions, bullying is

9. 9
becoming an even bigger issue than it has been in the past. That increase has been compounded
by the rise of social media, the constant availability of everyone, and the potential to remain
anonymous.
Companies seeking to eliminate the negative culture and loss in productivity need to
establish a strong anti-bullying policy. There also needs to be meaningful training provided to
leaders and employees alike to help them understand what bullying looks like and how to deal
with situations appropriately when they arise. Finally, organizations should develop an ADR
system to show their employees they want a legitimate and fair process and to avoid the potential
legal costs of claims in the future.
REFERENCES
Brio, M. (2014, July, 27). The real-world implications of workplace and cyber bullying. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2014/07/27/the-real-world-implications-of-workplace-
and-cyberbullying/
Brunt, B. (2015). Breaking the cycle of horizontal violence. Ohio Nurses Review, 8(3), 12-15 4p.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013, October, 26). Workplace mistreatment and sickness
absenteeism from work: results from the 2010 national health interview survey. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24166763
Cyberbullying in the workplace. (2013, May, 13). Retrieved from
http://www.northeastern.edu/securenu/cyberbullying-in-the-workplace/
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Charge statistics fy 1997 through fy 2014.
Retrieved from http://eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/charges.cfm
Fox, S., & Stallworth, L. E. (2009). Building a framework for two internal organizational approaches to
resolving and preventing workplace bullying: alternative dispute resolution and
training. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice And Research, 61(3), 220-241.
doi:10.1037/a0016637
Gannett, A. (2013, June, 8). At work: cyberbullies graduate to the workplace. Retrieved from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/kay/2013/06/08/at-work-office-
cyberbullies/2398671/
Hall, R., & Lewis, S. (2014). Managing workplace bullying and social media policy: implications for
employee engagement. Academy Of Business Research Journal, 1128-138.
Keeling, J., Quigley, J., & Roberts, T. (2006). Bullying in the workplace: what it is and how to deal with
it. British Journal Of Midwifery, 14(10), 616-621 4p.
Lebowitz, S. (2013, October, 8). What’s behind a rise in workplace bullying? Retrieved from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2013/10/08/hostile-workplace-less-
productive/2945833/
Namie, G. (2012, September, 20). The four workplace bully types [video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvPqSn-W7QY

10. 10
Namie, G. and Namie, R. (n.d.). The wbi definition of workplace bullying. Retrieved from
http://www.workplacebullying.org/individuals/problem/definition/
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.). Business case for safety and health. Retrieved
from https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/products/topics/businesscase/costs.html
Piotrowski, C. (2012). From workplace bullying to cyberbullying: the enigma of e-harassment in
modern organizations.Organization Development Journal, 30(4), 44-53.
Society for Human Resource Management. (2012, December, 3). Harassment: bullying: what to
consider when there is workplace bullying. Retrieved from
http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/hrqa/pages/yellinganddegrading.aspx
Van Dusen, A. (2008, March, 24). Ten signs you’re being bullied at work. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/2008/03/22/health-bullying-office-forbeslife-cx_avd_0324health.html
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. doi:10.1111/1748-8583.12021

11. 11
APPENDIX I
SURVEY USED IN THIS STUDY
This Survey is an attempt to collect your impressions on the subject of bullying and
harassment in the work environment. Please read each of the following questions carefully.
Please circle that number that most closely reflects your actual response to that question.
Please be honest with your responses. These responses will be held confidential and will not
identify you in any way. Thank you for responding to these questions. You will note your
responses can be from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. If you have no opinion please
circle the number “3” or N for Neutral.
1. I work in an organization where we have people who bully other employees
SD D N A SA
1 2 3 4 5
2. I have been subjected to being bullied at work
SD D N A SA
1 2 3 4 5
3. Employees who have bullied others have received disciplinary action form their
behaviors
SD D N A SA
1 2 3 4 5
4. Employees who have bullied others have been terminated for this behavior
SD D N A SA
1 2 3 4 5
5. Employees who have been bullied have left the organization due to this treatment
SD D N A SA
1 2 3 4 5
6. I have left a job due to being bullied
SD D N A SA
1 2 3 4 5

12. 12
7. Bullying is a form of Harassment including Hostile Work Environment
SD D N A SA
1 2 3 4 5
8. Bullying is a form of Psychological Harassment
SD D N A SA
1 2 3 4 5
9. Bullying is not legal under the Law
SD D N A SA
1 2 3 4 5
10. My organization provides training against this type of harassment.
Here is some information about myself:
I am
Male___ Female___
I am
White_____Black_____Asian____Hispanic_____Oriental_____Other_____
I am between
20-25_____ 26-30_____31-35_____36-40_____41-45_____46-50_____51-55_____
56-60_____61-65_____66-70

13. 13
APPENDIX II
SURVEY RESULTS
Question
# Strongly
Disagree
Responses
# Disagree
Responses
# Neutral
Responses
# Agree
Responses
# Strongly
Agree
Responses
I work in an organization where
people bully other employees. 21 17 12 52 15
I have been subjected to bullyingat
work. 21 23 13 43 17
Employees who have bullied others
have received disciplinary action. 22 49 25 16 4
Employees who have bullied others
have been terminated for their
behaviors. 35 47 24 7 4
Employees who have been bullied
have left the organization due to
their treatment. 2 8 29 53 25
I have left a job due to being bullied. 41 37 7 24 8
Bullyingis a formof harassment
includingHostileWork
Environment. 2 0 0 40 75
Bullyingis a formof Psychological
Harassment 1 0 1 39 76
Bullyingis notlegal under the law. 9 24 30 34 19
My organization provides training
againstthis type of harassment. 24 38 18 27 9
Gender
# of
Respondents
Males 27
Females 87
Total Respondents 114

14. 14
Race/ Ethnicity # of
Respondents
American Indian or Alaskan Native 1
Asian/ PacificIslander 3
Black or African American 10
Hispanic 5
White Caucasian 96
Multipleethnicity 1
Total Respondents 116
Age Group
# of
Respondents
18 to 24 2
25 to 34 23
35 to 44 61
45 to 54 14
55 to 64 14
65 to 74 2
75 or older 0
Total Respondents 116