Workplace Harassment and Bullying

This document discusses workplace harassment and bullying, including its impact on physical and psychological health. It proposes solutions such as developing a policy, raising awareness, and providing training to prevent workplace bullying.

Running Head: SOCIOLOGY 1
Workplace Harassment and bullying
Author's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Prop0sal

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Situation:
Workplace harassment and bullying demonstrate injustice, discrimination, and abuse at
the workplace. The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
safeguards its workers from any kind of injustice at workplace based on age, national origin,
gender, sex, race or religion (Okechukwu, Souza, Davis, & de Castro, 2013). Workplace
harassment is different from discrimination as it involves specific actions taken towards a worker
and demonstrates workplace injustice. Despite strict rules and regulations, workplace bullying,
and harassment is on the rise and is associated with a stressful work environment that can lead to
physical and psychological symptoms (Taniguchi, Takaki, Hirokawa, Fujii, & Harano, 2015).
Proposed solution
The first step is to discuss workplace harassment and bullying and study the level of
awareness. The next step is to develop a policy that includes relevant legislation regarding
workplace harassment and bullying. The workplace owner, manager, and employees should be
educated about the policy with clearly stated goals and objectives. The policy should clearly
explain formal and informal interactions of bullying and harassment conduct. Each and every
employee and the senior personnel would be handed a copy of the policy. The interventions at
the organizational level are more effective than individual-level interventions and can prevent
workplace bullying (Johnson, 2015).
Goals and objectives
The major goals are to raise awareness regarding workplace bullying and harassment at
the organizational, managerial and individual level. Appropriate training and education can help
prevent workplace bullying and shape better behaviors. Employees should be given the
confidence to come forward and report any case of bullying and harassment without fear of

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embarrassment or reprisal. The workers should know whom to talk to and the specific
procedures for reporting an incident. The organization leaders and managers should be aware of
what is expected of them in case of an incident and how to carry out the policy. The prime
objective is to synthesize and evaluate research that shows the level of perceptions towards
workplace injustice and the impact of the discrimination and harassment on physical and
psychological health.
The targeted audience
The policy to control workplace harassment and bullying are targeted at the whole
organization, its leaders and the employees. With the right organizational structures, bullying
behaviors can be discouraged. The organization leadership, managers and employees are the
targeted audiences here as they are essential members of the workplace environment. The
effective prevention of workplace bullying will necessitate departmental and organizational
initiatives. Key players include workplace owners, leaders, managers, HRD and workers.
The scope of the research
The scope of the research for the current study would focus on workplace harassment and
bullying. It would cover both big and small workplaces and gather data on harassment and
bullying at the workplace. The study will involve interviews on the phone, face to face
discussions and questionnaire sent via email to the organization leadership, managers and
workers. The data collected would be used to evaluate the workplace harassment and bullying at
different workplaces and the level of awareness and perception among the participants.
The key deliverables and resource needs
There is a growing body of research that suggests rising incidents of workplace
harassment and bullying. In order to prevent such behaviors, it is essential to understand the root

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causes behind and what encourages such incidents at the workplace. The purpose of this study is
to evaluate the level of awareness and understanding of the subject regarding workplace injustice
and how they can influence workers’ health and workplace environment negatively.
Assumptions and dependencies
It can be assumed that because of the suggests rising incidents of workplace harassment
and bullying; there is limited awareness on the subject. The organization leadership lacks the will
to take steps in this direction to control and prevent workplace harassment. The progress of the
project relies on the successful and timely response of the participants and the authenticity of
their responses. The research is dependent on the willingness to respond to the questionnaire,
discussions and telephone interviews and provide information on workplace harassment and
bullying.
Major activities
The major activity of the study will focus on data collection and trailing research in the
database. Relevant literature, publications, and studies would be reviewed to get in-depth
information on workplace harassment and bullying. The key players involved would be surveyed
through a combination of questionnaires, face-to-face discussions and telephone interviews.
Based on collected data material, the research projects may focus on assessing the level of
awareness and education on workplace harassment and bullying. The next step would be to
design a policy for the organization leaders and workers that can guide them on how to control
workplace harassment and bullying. It is essential to highlight the role of workplace injustice
towards the negative health status of working people and their families.
References

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Johnson S. L. (2015). Workplace bullying prevention: a critical discourse analysis. Journal of
advanced nursing, 71(10), 2384–2392.
Okechukwu, C. A., Souza, K., Davis, K. D., & de Castro, A. B. (2013). Discrimination,
harassment, abuse, and bullying in the workplace: contribution of workplace injustice to
occupational health disparities. American journal of industrial medicine, 57(5), 573–586.
Taniguchi, T., Takaki, J., Hirokawa, K., Fujii, Y., & Harano, K. (2015). Associations of
workplace bullying and harassment with stress reactions: a two-year follow-up study.
Industrial health, 54(2), 131–138.