Although my past columns have mentioned the role diversity plays in bullying in middle and high schools, as well as how diversity creates the need for culturally competent mental healthcare services, I have not discussed the need for considering diversity in both postsecondary schools and the workplace in order to prevent bullying as well as discriminatory practices. While race and sexual orientation are two commonly noted areas of diversity, there are many other ways individuals can identify that diversifies them, including, but not limited to: gender identity, veteran status, disability status, ethnicity, national origin, religion and age. Unfortunately, research has shown that identifying with one or more of these factors increases the chances of experiencing bullying in the postsecondary education system (Swearer, Espelage, Vaillancourt, & Hymel, 2010). Even though bullying prevalence rates tend to decrease from secondary to postsecondary schools, 43 percent of college freshman from a handful of Midwestern colleges and universities reported being bullied on campus (Rospenda, Richman, Wolff, & Burke, 2013). In addition, 33 percent of students from this study also reported experiencing bullying at their places of work. Although many aspects of diversity play a role in bullying in education contexts, in the workplace, bullying typically occurs due to matters of competence or incompetence (Comaford, 2016). However, when it does occur and issues of competence are not relevant, differences in bullying rates can be seen most commonly for gender. Specifically, in 2015 the RAND Corporation found that women reported more instances of overall bullying in the workplace within the span of a year (11 percent) than men did (9.6 percent) as well as receiving more unwanted sexual attention (4.9 percent) compared to men (0.8 percent) (McCarthy, 2017).
Even though bullying rates do decrease from secondary to postsecondary educational environments and motivations to bully and/or discriminate in the workplace are not typically the same as those seen in schools, it is still important to work towards programs and policies that prevent future instances of bullying and discrimination from occurring in both of these contexts, since bullying in adulthood has been linked to numerous negative outcomes including high blood pressure, headaches, anxiety, increased alcohol problems and increased suicidal ideation (Colino, 2017; Rospenda et al., 2013). At the postsecondary education level, prevention efforts have included the enactment of governmental policies including Title VI and Title IX, which prohibit discrimination based on national origin, race and sex from any institution that receives federal funding (National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments [NCSSLE], 2019). In addition to these federal policies, individual colleges and universities also provide services to students that further these policy’s goals by teaching acceptable versus unacceptable behavior in reference to discrimination and bullying (NCSSLE, 2019). For discriminatory behaviors in the workplace, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces multiple policies that work to prevent discrimination based on such characteristics as age and race. Individual companies and corporations may also choose to supplement federal policies against discrimination with additional training for employees.
References
Colino, S. (2017). The long reach of adult bullying. U.S. News. Retrieved from https://health.usnews.com/wellness/mind/articles/2017-12-15/how-adult-bullying-impacts-your-mental-and-physical-heathopens in new window
Comaford, C. (2016). 75% of workers are affected by bullying – Here’s what to do about it. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecomaford/2016/08/27/the-enormous-toll-workplace-bullying-takes-on-your-bottom-line/#5ced74995595opens in new window
McCarthy, N. (2017). How often do U.S. workers experience abuse & harassment? Statista. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/chart/10693/how-often-do-us-workers-experience-abuse-harassment/opens in new window
National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments. (2019). Preventing and responding to discriminatory behavior: Schools and campuses. Washington, D.C: American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/hot-topics/preventing-and-responding-discriminatory-behavior-schools-and-campusesopens in new window
Rospenda, K. M., Richman, J. A., Wolff, J. M., & Burke, L. A. (2013). Bullying victimization among college students: Negative consequences for alcohol use. Journal of Addiction Diseases, 32(4).
Swearer, S., Espelage, D., Vaillancourt, T., & Hymel, S. (2010). What can be done about school bullying? Linking research to educational practices. Educational Researcher, 39(1), 38-47.
United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Laws enforced by EEOC. Washington, D.C: EEOC. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/opens in new window