The Bystander Effect

 

Managers and administrators need to lift their gaze above the bullying event to determine the damage or aftermath of the bully event. For example, are employee survey ratings poor or perhaps avoided altogether? An analysis of the social environments in the workplace and participation rates in team-building and collaborative projects in the workplace will be another factor that might indicate that the organization has more bystanders than initially thought. The bystander effect suggests that the more witnesses there are concerning an emergency or adverse event, the less likely individuals will step forward and help. When a bully is left unchecked, bystanders feel that their intervention would be too costly on a personal level or so insignificant to promote change that the stress of remaining an apathetic bystander is considered a necessary tradeoff. The longer the situation goes without healthy organizational culture change, the more toxic and unstable the work environment will become.