The Bully-Free Workplace: Stop Jerks, Weasels, and Snakes From Killing Your Organization

Absenteeism/Presenteeism

Bullied targets use all of their paid time off—and then some. At first, they take mental health days. But as the bullying lingers or escalates, workers lose the ability to come to work daily. Collaborative projects are suspended while the key employee is off sick. Those with the strongest and proudest work ethic find it impossible to stay at work in the toxic work environment.

Presenteeism refers to workers coming to work sick. They underperform and tend to infect coworkers with viruses. In America, missing work is often grounds for termination by unforgiving employers. So, people refuse to miss work when they should. A second, more devious form of presenteeism is when the worker is physically onsite but is disengaged. Time at work is spent sending out resumes for the next good job or sabotaging the current employer to retaliate for some perceived injustice.