Silent destruction in the company. Does bullying block innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises?.
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the foundation of the Polish economy, having a significant contribution to GDP creation - 28.2% for micro-enterprises and 17.1% for small and medium-sized companies respectively (according to the Polish Entrepreneurship Agency report, 2024). Unfortunately, these values are lower than a year earlier, which experts explain by the effects of the pandemic and dynamic economic and technological changes.
The SME sector, despite its limited resources, plays an important role in the innovation process - as many as one third of companies with 10 to 49 employees and half of medium-sized companies (50-250 employees) are active in innovation. However, success is not determined solely by financial outlay, but also - and perhaps above all - organisational climate and psychological factors: team creativity, level of commitment, work culture and management style.
Why does the working environment matter for innovation?
As the ICAN Institute points out, companies wishing to stay in the market should take special care of three pillars: organisational culture, leadership i employee involvement. It is these elements that create the space for growth and creativity that underpin innovation in SMEs.
The problem remains the phenomenon of the so-called ''green'. quiet quitting, i.e. quiet withdrawal - employees perform only the bare minimum, forgoing commitment and initiative. According to the report State of the Global Workplace As many as 72% of employees in Europe are in the process, and 15% openly manifests a lack of motivation. In extreme cases there is a phenomenon of revenge quitting, i.e. demonstrative departures in response to toxic conditions - often being the effect of mobbing.
Bullying - a threat to stability and the development of innovation
Bullying not only lowers morale and increases staff turnoverbut can completely stifle innovation processes in an organisation. In the SME sector, where every highly qualified employee has a real impact on the development of the company, Creating a working environment based on trust and cooperation is becoming a necessity.
It was these challenges, determinants and consequences that Dr Marika Szymanska, Director of the Institute of Management and Quality Sciences, and Mehmet Omurlu, M.Sc., Programme Director of the Management and Business Psychology course at the College of Vocational Training, discussed at the online conference. "Bullying as a destructive aspect of the working environment". Experts agreed that understanding the impact of workplace atmosphere on innovation is no longer just a question of ethicsbut a real business need for the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector.