14th March 2016

Discrimination and Bullying in the Workplace

Bullying Against Individuals Harms the Entire Company

In many companies, employee satisfaction and, consequently, performance are severely impaired by discrimination and bullying from colleagues and supervisors. This primarily affects the victims of such discrimination, who may suffer from psychological problems, anxiety disorders and – according to the experience of our detectives in Nuremberg – resulting physical illnesses, but such bullying also has long-term consequences for the employer: employees no longer work together in the way good corporate policy and respectful interaction would require; this in turn has a negative impact on revenue and growth.

 

Not without reason, therefore, the biennial "Nuremberg Award for a Discrimination-Free Corporate Culture" is presented by the Human Rights Office of the City of Nuremberg, which promotes initiatives aimed at improving the working atmosphere and supporting human rights, including equal opportunities, inclusion of foreign and disabled employees, social engagement, rejection of child and forced labour, and more. The private and corporate detectives of Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg are also always committed to assisting both private clients who need help due to bullying or discrimination and employers who wish to prevent discrimination, catch possible perpetrators and dismiss them, and to work with them and for them to create an improved working climate: +49 911 3782 0154.

Bullying – No Longer an Isolated Case

As the detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg can confirm from many years of experience with their clients, bullying and discrimination in the workplace are no longer rare occurrences. According to two statistics collected in 2016 (personally experienced bullying and bullying in the workplace), one in seven working people (15 percent) has become a victim of bullying, most frequently manifested by the withholding of important information (63 percent) and disparagement in front of others (62 percent). Clients of Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg also reported, as did 56 percent of those surveyed for the statistics, lies spread about them within the company, as well as being deliberately led into traps by colleagues, and being set up to fail in as many as 53 percent of cases. Hardly any of those affected ultimately bring these problems to their manager’s office, especially not when senior colleagues or supervisors are involved in the bullying or discrimination.

Neither Discrimination Nor Bullying Are Trivial Matters

Managers of affected business units in particular should become aware of the already mentioned negative effects of discrimination and bullying on workforce morale and productivity: as shown by the Federal Government’s Bullying Report, bullying causes annual economic damage of 15 to 25 billion euros, not least due to declining work performance, but primarily as a result of sick leave caused by bullying and discrimination, where the psychological problems and worries of affected employees also manifest physically and can lead to burn-out or incapacity to work.

 

Thus, not only our private detectives from Nuremberg are engaged by affected employees to document recurring discrimination or bullying attacks, but also our corporate detectives, who offer their services to company management to identify those responsible. The options available to both groups of detectives are diverse: from simple documentation of written abuse such as discriminatory emails, to the potentially permissible equipping of workplaces with microphones or cameras, through to the insertion of a detective for direct observation and documentation of bullying, and much more.

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Employees who swim against the current are often among the most important sources of ideas and catalysts within companies, but they also frequently encounter resistance. When their initiatives are ridiculed instead of encouraged, the effect is reversed.

The Victim Is Not Automatically the "Weaker Sex"

Contrary to the common assumption that bullying victims are predominantly female, expert opinion in the literature states that "a comparable level of impact on both genders can be assumed". The Federal Government’s Bullying Report, based on a representative telephone survey, nevertheless concludes that 75 percent more women than men are affected. The Federal Government sees a paradox in the high number of female victims given the low proportion of women in many workplaces; however, the argument should actually be the opposite: it is precisely the still limited equality and equal treatment of women in working life that gives rise to bullying of this magnitude against the supposedly weaker sex, as male perpetrators may feel more secure in their numerical dominance than women who find themselves in the minority.

 

The impression that women are more frequently affected by discrimination and bullying in the workplace probably also results from the fact that women have a lower inhibition threshold when it comes to seeking external help than men, meaning more women are recorded by institutions. Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg and Franconia can confirm this impression, as they also receive enquiries from female clients more frequently. However, the level of suffering is likely to be the same for both genders: one in four affected individuals is bullied daily, one in three several times a week, which hardly anyone can simply shrug off, especially when the bully is a supervisor – and according to the Federal Government’s Bullying Report, this is a worrying 38.2 percent of cases.

Escaping the Spiral – Nuremberg Detectives Provide Assistance

In addition to the obvious psychological (and possible physical) consequences, the effects of bullying are also far-reaching for the affected employee, the operational structure and the financial losses of the employing company: bullying often results in a change of position within the company or even a (in-)voluntary dismissal, which may represent a blessing or a curse (sometimes both at the same time) for the person concerned; in addition, 43.9 percent of bullying victims surveyed by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health had to take sick leave at least once due to the consequences of bullying (including 20.1 percent with an illness duration of more than six weeks).

 

In any case, those affected are encouraged to confide either in the next higher-level supervisor (hierarchically above the bully), the works council or our corporate detectives from Nuremberg, so that they can provide the necessary documentation of bullying or discrimination and thus offer victims evidence admissible in court against the bullies. Company management should also realise that corporate success cannot be achieved at the expense of individuals who must suffer as collateral damage. To protect their own company from financial setbacks, those responsible should be aware that eliminating bullying within their own organisation is of inestimable value – the private and corporate detectives of Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg stand actively by your side: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de.

Author: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

 

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

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