Workplace Bullying Costs U.S. Business Billions in Lost Revenue From Personnel Turnover, Low Efficiency and Destroyed Morale
CLEARWATER, Fla., Oct. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Whether it occurs in the schoolyard or in a place of business, the emotional costs of bullying are the same—but in the workplace, it's a major factor in annual revenue losses of $450-$550 billion due to a "disengaged" American workforce.(1) A significant role is played in this disengagement by employees who—regardless of position—abuse (verbally or otherwise), threaten, harass (sexually or otherwise), humiliate, intimidate, or outright sabotage other employees. Patrick Valtin, CEO of results-based testing platform HireBox.com, notes, "When an employee is a target of workplace bullying, the threat to personal security makes him or her feel powerless, and far less willing to engage and contribute to organizational success."
This erosion of organizational efficiency and productivity doesn't stop with the targeted victim.(2) Further toxifying of the work environment occurs when employee bystanders witness bullying but keep silent, or the company tolerates and fails to control the situation. It's dangerously contagious and difficult to assess, but one indication of its impact, per a long-term Gallup survey, is that only 30% of American workers can be considered fully engaged, or "involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their workplace."(3)
Of the remaining 70%, it's the 18% who are actively disengaged—not simply unhappy, but "acting out their unhappiness" while trying to undermine the accomplishments of their coworkers—who should be the greatest concern to business owners. In great measure due to the influence of actively disengaged personnel, a staggering 52% of an average business' workforce are disinterestedly "sleepwalking" through their workdays.
These numbers apply only to the employees who remain with the organization. In terms of personnel turnover, 30% of bullied employees can be expected to resign from their jobs, as can 20% of those who witness it.(4) These startling percentages can run even higher for today's growing ranks of independent contractors, freelancers and other contingent workers.(5)
"The question isn't whether an average mid-sized business is sustaining revenue and personnel losses, but, rather, the extent to which they are," says Valtin. "It's vital for business leaders to create an organizational culture that encourages reporting of workplace bullying, starting with knowing how to evaluate prospective personnel and prevent bullying from happening at all."(6)
About HireBox.com
HireBox is a results-based testing platform utilizing legal quality control to give hiring missions the best outcome. Founded by Patrick Valtin, the job-matching assessments and internal evaluations provide vital information about potential and current employees to human resource professionals, executive coaches, management consultants and CPAs.
Specifically, the Recru-Tec™ pre-hire assessment can detect bully personalities. Based on the evaluation of over 25,000 applicants, Patrick Valtin has come to the conclusion that no matter the talent, competencies or experience, the odds of a successful hire are very, very low if willingness AND ability to contribute to one's team success and happiness as selection criteria are missing.
For more information on HireBox and its successful tools for recruitment, assessment, hiring, onboarding and retention, visit http://www.hirebox.com.
About Patrick Valtin
Patrick Valtin is the president and CEO of New Era Management and HireBox, as well as an international speaker and author. Considered an industry leader in recruiting, pre-employment assessment, personnel performance evaluation and human resources development, he has trained more than 125,000 people in more than 35 countries over the last 29 years.
Patrick Valtin was an international business consultant for the Belgian government between 1986 and 1988, later starting his Belgian company, U-MAN, in 1988. The company remains today the largest training company in the country for small businesses.
Valtin received an MBA in International Business Studies from the Moore Business School at the University of South Carolina in 1982; his clients over the past 22 years have included Ford Motor Co., BMW, Mercedes, Motorola, IBM and Century 21. His book, No-Fail Hiring 2.0, is a bestseller on Amazon.
(1) Gallup, Inc. "Companies Are Missing Opportunities for Growth and Revenue." Gallup.com, 28 Apr. 2015.
(2) Bolden-Barrett, Valerie. "Researchers: Workplace Bullying Impact Reaches beyond the Victims." HR Dive, 21 June 2017.
(3) Gallup, Inc. "How to Tackle U.S. Employees' Stagnating Engagement." Gallup.com, 11 June 2013.
(4) Fowler, Janet. "Financial Impacts Of Workplace Bullying." Investopedia, 8 July 2012.
(5) "Discrimination and Harassment Recovery for Independent Contractors." KHS Lawyers, 6 Apr. 2015.
(6) "How to Detect the Bully Personality at Work, A Quick Glimpse at a Grow." PRWeb, 1 June 2017, http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/04/prweb14262044.htm.
Media Contact: Karla Jo Helms, JoTo PR, 888-202-4614, [email protected]
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SOURCE HireBox
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