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April 28, 2009

Matusiak to present findings on Workplace Bullying

Matthew M. Matusiak, assistant professor of health studies at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, will present research on Workplace Bullying at two upcoming professional conferences.

On April 29, he will appear at the Louisiana Society of Clinical Laboratory Sciences in Alexandria, and from May 5-7, he will be present at the Association of Public Health Laboratories in Anchorage, Alaska.

Matusiak, also a fellow with both the Royal Institute of Public Health and the American Institute of Chemistry, completed the research with Lauren Rau of Houma, a health studies marketing management junior in ULM’s Emerging Scholars Program.

Their work is titled, “Prevalence of workplace bullying in recent graduates of healthcare professional programs at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, a pilot study.” They conducted an Internet-based survey, examining various behaviors in the workplace and individuals’ reactions regarding WB.

Matusiak and Rau ultimately concluded that the phenomenon known as WB does happen in the United States, notably in health professions, although they concede that more research and study should follow concerning specific professions in the U.S.

Matusiak stated that, “The results of the survey were unexpected. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents either witnessed or experienced Workplace Bullying in the past six months, and a majority felt negatively about the Workplace Bullying problem. In fact, three percent of the respondents were actively looking for new employment.”

The acknowledgement of WB was given a boost by the Indiana State Supreme Court ruling upholding a monetary fine to a Workplace Bully. The first known domestic civil legal action was filed in 2002 in Indiana, and the first state legislation was introduced in 2003 in California. No state has yet enacted its ruling.

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