BBC Suffers From Bullying Epidemic
Bullying Epidemic in the BBC
After a huge bullying epidemic scandal at the BBC €" Britain's public broadcasting system €" the broadcast company announced it is making changes to its harassment and bullying policies.
The bullying epidemic scandal involved Jimmy Savile €" more formally known as Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile €" a former DJ and BBC television host. While he was alive, there had been rumors that he sexually abused children. After he died in October 2011, the truth started to come out. Savile had abused hundreds of children, and senior managers had covered it up.
The bullying epidemic scandal prompted the BBC to conduct an internal review called the Rose Review. Although the review found there were 37 sexual harassment claims over the past six years, investigators found that the problems of bullying and other inappropriate behavior were even worse.
From now on, the BBC plans to cut the amount of time it takes to process a complaint by two-thirds, and managers outside the department where the complaints arose will be dealing with the complaints. The BBC says that it is committed to creating a workplace culture where employees are comfortable speaking freely and can feel confident that their issues will be addressed fairly.
What the BBC bullying Epidemic scandal shows us is that harassment and workplace bullying can take place in any organization and that bullies and harassers can be anyone. Wealth, fame, and even being knighted are no indication that someone could not be a harasser and/or a bully.
The BBC is a prestigious place to work, but it has its share of bad apples. The problem went well beyond Jimmy Savile and affected the organization on many levels. The BBC bullying Epidemic report indicated that there are 140 cases still being investigated. One manager alone had more than 20 complaints of bullying made against him.
Workplace bullying creates severe problems for both the victims and the organizations where they work. In the United States, surveys have shown that almost half of all workers say they have been affected by bullying, either by being a direct target themselves or by seeing someone else be bullied.
Workplace bullies intimidate their victims in many different ways. The most common tactics, according to research, are falsely accusing victims of making mistakes, using non-verbal means of intimidation, such as staring at victims, verbally putting victims down in public situations, and giving victims the silent treatment. Workplace bullying may involve a threat to the victims' professional status; or it may involve a threat to their personal integrity. It may involve isolating victims or overworking or destabilizing them.
When people are bullied in the workplace, it can affect their physical and emotional health. They may need to take more sick days, and their ability to concentrate at work can be negatively affected as well. All of this takes a toll on the productivity of the organization. Some companies are realizing this and are creating or revamping their bullying policies to make it easier for victims to come forward and to have their concerns addressed seriously.
Other organizations, unfortunately, are not dealing as well with the problem. As we saw with the BBC, it can take a major scandal to shake an organization up enough for it to face up to the problem and deal with it.
If you are a victim of workplace bullying, the first step is to acknowledge that the other person is a bully who is attacking you, and that it is not your fault. Victims of bullying may blame themselves, which is not only unfair to them but also makes it less likely that they will actively seek a solution. You should keep a written record of all bullying incidents. This will be very helpful if you later decide that you want to file a claim against the bully.
Experts suggest various ways of dealing with workplace bullying. One tactic, which takes courage, is to stand your ground with a bully. Describe the objectionable behavior, and tell the bully how that behavior is affecting your ability to do your work. Tell the bully that you will not tolerate that behavior in the future
If dealing with the bully yourself doesn't work, consider filing a complaint with your human resources department or your manager. You may want to talk to other employees who have also been victims of the same bully or who have witnessed that bully intimidating others.
Hopefully, your company will be more responsive to complaints of bullying than the BBC was in the past. It's unfortunate that it took such a horrible bullying Epidemic scandal for the BBC to start investigating its policies, but at least some good came out of the tragedy. Maybe it will also inspire other organizations to take a closer look at how they handle employee complaints, and how they could be doing a better job.
After a huge bullying epidemic scandal at the BBC €" Britain's public broadcasting system €" the broadcast company announced it is making changes to its harassment and bullying policies.
The bullying epidemic scandal involved Jimmy Savile €" more formally known as Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile €" a former DJ and BBC television host. While he was alive, there had been rumors that he sexually abused children. After he died in October 2011, the truth started to come out. Savile had abused hundreds of children, and senior managers had covered it up.
The bullying epidemic scandal prompted the BBC to conduct an internal review called the Rose Review. Although the review found there were 37 sexual harassment claims over the past six years, investigators found that the problems of bullying and other inappropriate behavior were even worse.
From now on, the BBC plans to cut the amount of time it takes to process a complaint by two-thirds, and managers outside the department where the complaints arose will be dealing with the complaints. The BBC says that it is committed to creating a workplace culture where employees are comfortable speaking freely and can feel confident that their issues will be addressed fairly.
What the BBC bullying Epidemic scandal shows us is that harassment and workplace bullying can take place in any organization and that bullies and harassers can be anyone. Wealth, fame, and even being knighted are no indication that someone could not be a harasser and/or a bully.
The BBC is a prestigious place to work, but it has its share of bad apples. The problem went well beyond Jimmy Savile and affected the organization on many levels. The BBC bullying Epidemic report indicated that there are 140 cases still being investigated. One manager alone had more than 20 complaints of bullying made against him.
Workplace bullying creates severe problems for both the victims and the organizations where they work. In the United States, surveys have shown that almost half of all workers say they have been affected by bullying, either by being a direct target themselves or by seeing someone else be bullied.
Workplace bullies intimidate their victims in many different ways. The most common tactics, according to research, are falsely accusing victims of making mistakes, using non-verbal means of intimidation, such as staring at victims, verbally putting victims down in public situations, and giving victims the silent treatment. Workplace bullying may involve a threat to the victims' professional status; or it may involve a threat to their personal integrity. It may involve isolating victims or overworking or destabilizing them.
When people are bullied in the workplace, it can affect their physical and emotional health. They may need to take more sick days, and their ability to concentrate at work can be negatively affected as well. All of this takes a toll on the productivity of the organization. Some companies are realizing this and are creating or revamping their bullying policies to make it easier for victims to come forward and to have their concerns addressed seriously.
Other organizations, unfortunately, are not dealing as well with the problem. As we saw with the BBC, it can take a major scandal to shake an organization up enough for it to face up to the problem and deal with it.
If you are a victim of workplace bullying, the first step is to acknowledge that the other person is a bully who is attacking you, and that it is not your fault. Victims of bullying may blame themselves, which is not only unfair to them but also makes it less likely that they will actively seek a solution. You should keep a written record of all bullying incidents. This will be very helpful if you later decide that you want to file a claim against the bully.
Experts suggest various ways of dealing with workplace bullying. One tactic, which takes courage, is to stand your ground with a bully. Describe the objectionable behavior, and tell the bully how that behavior is affecting your ability to do your work. Tell the bully that you will not tolerate that behavior in the future
If dealing with the bully yourself doesn't work, consider filing a complaint with your human resources department or your manager. You may want to talk to other employees who have also been victims of the same bully or who have witnessed that bully intimidating others.
Hopefully, your company will be more responsive to complaints of bullying than the BBC was in the past. It's unfortunate that it took such a horrible bullying Epidemic scandal for the BBC to start investigating its policies, but at least some good came out of the tragedy. Maybe it will also inspire other organizations to take a closer look at how they handle employee complaints, and how they could be doing a better job.
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