Notes

Thank you Celine. As she has mentioned, there are two dependent variables linked with bullying, one of which is absenteeism. So, what is bullying? Bullying is a form of physical or verbal harassment, and recent studies have suggested that it has become increasingly rampant, and in most cases, left unchecked. This is due to the intimidating nature of the bully, who is most likely to inflict harm onto his victim should one divulge his actions or wrongdoings. As a result, in fear of being hurt, the victim would choose to remain silent instead. Consequently, he would call in sick instead of asking for professional or personal help, in extreme cases, he would even skip schools or work, eventually leading to absenteeism. For example, a student who is considered the odd one out, the black sheep, would most likely be picked on by his fellow peers. Whenever he tries to speak out against those who verbally insult him, he would be physically assaulted. No longer able to handle the constant bullying, he stops going to school, even forging his own medical certificates in the process. He becomes highly distrustful and unsociable, ultimately leading to his absenteeism.

Another variable we will be looking at would be productivity. When a bully constantly picks on a victim, the victim would most likely be affected psychologically. This is due to his constant fear of being bullied again; when and how he would be bullied. Consequently, instead of concentrating on work, he would, at any cost, try to avoid the bully so as not to be victimized again. This leads to high self-doubt and decreased confidence as the victim feeling inferior to the bully. This would then lead to reduced productivity. One example would be a new employee, who is constantly picked on, verbally insulted by the older employees, would feel insecure about himself and his own work. He develops a mentality that his work are of poor quality standards and deems what the rest say true. In result, he becomes overly distracted by the older employees' insults, and his work gradually deteriorates in standards over time, leading to high unproductive performance.

I'll now pass the time on to Debbi, who will share with you one individual level concept related to bullying.