Workplace Bully
What would you do if you felt that you were being bullied at work by a colleague or a boss? How would you handle that? What would you do? Ignore it, not engage, turn the other cheek, tell somebody, perhaps human resources? What if I were to tell you that all of those suggestions won’t help and might even escalate the bullying behavior.
Bullying is a complicated phenomenon; the trickiest part, the most complicated part of bullying, being the reciprocity that the bully shares with their environment. Bullying is interwoven into how organizations work, what its expectations are. All of these factors serve to reinforce bullying. These dynamics can even serve to keep the tormentor invisible to onlookers; unless you choose to look, bullying may seem to be completely normal. But it is not.
What does bullying look like? What are its symptoms, a bloodied nose? A broken arm? Sadness? Depression? A suicide attempt? People in general would disagree about what constitutes bullying, which in itself is interesting. One definition of workplace bullying is when a bully targets a power subordinate with “repeated, health-harming mistreatment. It is verbal or physical conduct that is: threatening, humiliating, or intimidating, or work interference — sabotage — which prevents work from getting done.
Bullying only has consequences for the targeted individual. It escalates to involve others who side with the bully, either by commission or omission. It undermines legitimate business interests when bullies personal agendas take precedence over work itself. And it is akin to domestic violence at work, only the abuser is on the payroll” And unlike playground bullying, adult bullies are playing for bigger stakes: employees have families who depend on their livelihood in order to survive.
What would you do if you felt that you were being bullied at work by a colleague or a boss? How would you handle that? What would you do? Ignore it, not engage, turn the other cheek, tell somebody, perhaps human resources? What if I were to tell you that all of those suggestions won’t help and might even escalate the bullying behavior.
Bullying is a complicated phenomenon; the trickiest part, the most complicated part of bullying, being the reciprocity that the bully shares with their environment. Bullying is interwoven into how organizations work, what its expectations are. All of these factors serve to reinforce bullying. These dynamics can even serve to keep the tormentor invisible to onlookers; unless you choose to look, bullying may seem to be completely normal. But it is not.
What does bullying look like? What are its symptoms, a bloodied nose? A broken arm? Sadness? Depression? A suicide attempt? People in general would disagree about what constitutes bullying, which in itself is interesting. One definition of workplace bullying is when a bully targets a power subordinate with “repeated, health-harming mistreatment. It is verbal or physical conduct that is: threatening, humiliating, or intimidating, or work interference — sabotage — which prevents work from getting done.
Bullying only has consequences for the targeted individual. It escalates to involve others who side with the bully, either by commission or omission. It undermines legitimate business interests when bullies personal agendas take precedence over work itself. And it is akin to domestic violence at work, only the abuser is on the payroll” And unlike playground bullying, adult bullies are playing for bigger stakes: employees have families who depend on their livelihood in order to survive.
This is what we do! Words2results will work with you to develope techniques and stratagies to diffuse a bully and get your workplace life back.