The Real Cost of Bullying

By Natalie Bruckner

Bullying in the workplace is not just an interpersonal issue—it’s a financial, operational, and systemic one with far-reaching consequences. In the construction industry, where teamwork, safety, and skills are critical, the effects of bullying don’t just stay between individuals. They impact mental health, disrupt crew dynamics, affect retention and recruitment, reduce productivity, and undermine the reputation of the entire sector.

Across job sites and offices, the ripple effects can be seen in everything from absenteeism and substance use to turnover and long-term talent loss. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), toxic workplace culture has also contributed to $223 billion in turnover costs over the past five years alone.

SMART and SMACNA have always been leaders in addressing workplace bullying, and now they’re doubling down, taking even stronger steps to tackle it across the industry. Through a growing number of national and local initiatives, SMART and SMACNA are not only raising awareness but building a new foundation for workplace culture.

“We’ve done a lot of groundwork over the past several years,” explains Lisa Davis, field representative and MAP specialist at SMOHIT. “With SMART and SMACNA, we have the BE4ALL

Committee that specifically focuses on fostering respectful workplaces where everyone feels they belong. In addition to that, there are several committees offering support to different groups.

“The International runs an incredibly successful Women’s Committee that supports sister members, and the SMART and SMACNA Rise Committees [Respect, Integrity, Support, Empowerment] provide welcoming spaces for underrepresented members, embrace diverse cultures, lift up underrepresented voices, value different perspectives, and empower all members to reach their highest potential.”

SMOHIT also delivers mental health, culture, and harassment training and education resources to both SMART and SMACNA members.

Over time, the way employers and the workforce understand workplace bullying has started to shift. It’s not just about “bad behavior” between individuals—it goes far deeper than that. “It used to be seen as normal,” says Tammy Meyen, recruitment and retention specialist at the ITI. “There was this old idea that you had to tear people down to build them up, much like military training. But that kind of thinking doesn’t hold up anymore. Not in the military, not in construction, not anywhere.”

This shift in thinking is crucial, but it’s also complicated by new challenges, one being the rise of social media. As former SMACNA president and owner of EB&I Tony Kocurek explains, “For the contractor trying to control workplace bullying, the workplace environment is not only affected by what happens directly in the workplace, but social media can now make bullying possible 24/7 anywhere. There is no way the contractor can control this alone; it needs to be both management and labor working together to recognize it when it occurs, take action to stop it, and make it known to all that it is not tolerated.”

Despite these efforts and continual progress, harmful attitudes linger, shaped in part by today’s divisive political climate. Chris Carlough, SMART’s director of wellness and mental health support, notes how broader social dynamics can influence behavior on the job. “It’s sad to see how the divided political environment can empower people to express hate and negativity, which can come out in the workplace,” he says. “At least it helps to reveal where the real challenges lie, which allows us to build workplace supports where needed.”

Davis and Carlough share that at a recent SMACNAsupported training event, one discussion focused on the connection between loneliness, bullying, and substance use disorder. “One participant surprisingly suggested that bullying was okay because that’s how things have always been done,” Carlough says. “While it surprised us, that actually sparked a discussion so we could better learn about that mindset and then explain the impacts of bullying. These sessions open the door to deeper healing and connection, and will hopefully lead to a cultural change.”

The health costs of bullying have been highly publicized with studies showing that nearly half of those targeted experience stress-related health problems. Up to 70% show symptoms of PTSD and around 40% report debilitating anxiety or clinical depression. And the physical symptoms—ranging from insomnia and fatigue to gastrointestinal disorders and high blood pressure—can be long-lasting.

“It’s a health issue which in turn becomes a financial one on a national and global level,” Davis says. “Conservative estimates put the cost of bullying to American businesses at around $300 billion a year. When you add in mental health crises, addiction, and suicide, the number may be closer to $960 billion.”

And that’s before considering the HR toll: the time spent managing conflict, re-recruiting skilled workers, or dealing with absenteeism and productivity issues. In one landmark survey, 40% of bullying targets voluntarily left their jobs. In 64% of cases, the target is the one who either quits or is pushed out, and Davis adds that less than 10% of bullies are disciplined or removed.

That imbalance creates a toxic culture, and is a significant challenge to both recruitment and retention. “If you lose one person because of bullying, it’s not just about that one person,” Meyen says. “It’s about the message that sends. Other workers see what happened, and they think, ‘I’m next.’ Or they tell others to stay away from the industry. That hurts everyone—our crews, our contractors, our union.”

Kocurek, echoes this sentiment, adding, “For today’s contractor, bullying is not only something that cannot be allowed, but also truly cannot be afforded for not only the obvious reasons of how productivity, morale, and the project bottom line can be destroyed in the short term, but also, in the long term, in today’s job market where competition for workers in general is so intense, having something that creates a distasteful and intimidating work environment can literally mean the end to the industry’s workforce future.”

It’s a challenge with so many layers, and one that touches union identity itself. In smaller markets, where union contractors are competing daily with non-union employers, those reputational risks can be especially damaging.

“When someone gets organized into the union and then gets pushed out again because of bullying, it’s not just that we’ve lost that person and their skills,” says Meyen. “They go back to the non-union side and tell others not to bother. That makes it 10 times harder to recruit the next person.”

Carlough notes that outsider sentiment is indeed a challenge, especially for journey-level workers organized in from the nonunion sector. “I spent 20 years as a union organizer, so I was a little more in touch with what was going on in the non-union side a long time ago. There is already a perception out there that we have some dinosaur-type ways, and it’s true, we have a long way to go, but when it comes to mental health and this whole bullying, hazing, and harassment thing, I feel that SMART and SMACNA are ahead of that curve and we represent a movement because we have a lot riding on our shoulders.”

That forward momentum is being matched by local efforts on the ground. Western Washington Sheet Metal JATC, for example, recently hosted a peer training event that included sessions on mental health, self-regulation, and building a personal window of tolerance. Similar efforts have been launched in Utah and are planned for New Mexico. Through their partnership with SMOHIT, SMACNA Western Washington offer a Member Assistance Program (MAP) that provides mental health resources and support to SMART workers and their families.

While leaders on both sides are optimistic in their battle against bullying and see a cultural shift happening, they are realistic that change happens very slowly.

“Culture change is like drilling stainless steel,” Davis explains. “You have to go slow. If you rush it, you burn your bit and harden the steel. Education, recruiting, retention efforts, and committee momentum are all vital. We have to look at the whole person, the team, the company, the union—because if one part isn’t healthy, none of us are.”

Ultimately, Carlough, Davis, Meyen, and Kocurek agree that in an ideal world we would never have to have this conversation again. “In a dream world, we wouldn’t need BE4ALL or RISE or women’s committees,” Meyen says. “We’d just show up and be part of the whole.” 

Natalie is an award-winning writer who has worked in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Canada. She has nearly three decades' experience as a journalist, editor, and brand builder, specializing in construction and transportation. When she's not writing, you will likely find her snowboarding, mountain biking, or climbing mountains with her rescue dog.