Bullying and Behaviors of Concern
For the last several years, the problems that stem from behaviors of concern and bullying in the workplace have gained national attention. No state has yet enacted legislation that would legally define this issue, but several states are on their way to doing so. As of January 2013, 21 states have introduced a version of the Healthy Workplace Bill, including Maryland.
Johns Hopkins has defined workplace bullying as repeated mistreatment of a person that may result in harm to one’s health, that takes one or more of the following forms: verbal abuse; offensive conduct/behaviors that are threatening, intimidating or humiliating; or interference that prevents work from getting done.
In 2010, the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) commissioned Zogby International to collect data for the second representative study of all adult Americans on the topic of workplace bullying. The 2007 and 2010 studies demonstrated that bullying is a problem for over one third of the population. The complete results of the 2010 survey can be downloaded for additional findings.
In April 2011, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries issued a report titled: Workplace Bullying and Disruptive Behavior: What Everyone Needs to Know.
