Being a high school teacher, I see the effects of bullying on a weekly, if not daily, basis. I see it in the words of bullied kids, and in the way it makes the lives of many a living hell. Thankfully, there are procedures and policies in place to deal with school bullying, and because of those, bullying rates have dropped from what they were years ago. But one place where bullying occurs, yet is rarely talked about, is the workplace, and that will be the focus of today’s article.

The Workplace Bullying Institute gives the following definition of workplace bullying:

Workplace Bullying is repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators. It is abusive conduct that is:

  • Threatening, humiliating, or intimidating, or
  • Work interference — sabotage — which prevents work from getting done, or
  • Verbal abuse

According to the institute’s website, workplace bullying’s causes and symptoms include:

    • a perpetrator’s need to control the targeted individual(s).
    • bullies who choose their targets, timing, location, and methods.
    • a set of acts of commission (doing things to others) or omission (withholding resources from others)
    • An act that has consequences for the targeted individual, such as physical health harm due to stress, loss of social status within the company, economic harm (possible loss of job), and lastly, physical harm to the victim or psychological harm to the victim.
    • an escalation involving others who side with the bully, either voluntarily or through coercion.
    • an undermining of legitimate business interests when bullies’ personal agendas take precedence over work itself.
    • situations that are akin to domestic violence at work, where the abuser is on the payroll.

Sadly, while workplace bullying is a relatively recently recognized problem, it has been going on for years in many different industries. And just like adolescent bullying it often is the result of an attempted exclusion, something like only people from this town or people who go to this church or belong to this club get to work here. People, who don’t match the mold of the usual worker, are the ones that oftentimes tend to be bullied, with the bullying being a way to push out the undesirable worker from the job.

While it is hard to quantify just how many people have been victims of workplace bullying, primarily because there is so little concrete proof of the action, it is something that happens quite often. The next question at that point is what to do about it. The first step would be to contact your supervisor or boss, or HR department, and report that activity. Do not be surprised though if you do not get help through these groups. All of them are there to serve the company, not the employee of the company, and if the bully is a member of the company’s inner circle, someone who is popular and experienced within the company, it is very likely that no action   will be taken, because no one will want to rid the company of someone who is that popular. So what can you do if you sense you might be a victim of workplace bullying? Here are some suggestions:

  • First, begin writing everything down that happens, along with the dates and times that bullying occurred. This record could be used to show a pattern of abuse, and journals like this have helped get criminals convicted of crimes in the past.
  • Contact your supervisor and the HR department of the company you work for and report the bullying, and go as high up the chain of command as necessary. As mentioned earlier, it might not work, but having a complaint on file with the company might be enough to start a pattern of complaints, which could get the bully fired eventually if enough people complain about what the bully is doing.
  • If you do not work with the bully, and the bully only bothers you when you enter their area, do your best to not go where they are, if you can avoid it. This is especially true if the bully doesn’t enter your normal workspace. Yes, it’s true that you shouldn’t have to deal with the situation, but if that one thing stops the bullying and the stress, it is worth it not to have to deal with that.
  • If it ever gets to the point of actual assault or a threat, do not be afraid to call the police. There are laws in every state forbidding assault or the threat of assault, and if the bully is engaging in those activities, he or she should be reported.

But to be completely honest, the only true option for you might be to switch jobs if you find yourself a victim of workplace bullying. It is not fair to you as the victim, as normally victims of bullying don’t do anything to cause what they get. But if you are dealing with a company that will not support you, or a bully who is entrenched in the company and will not be removed or talked to by his superiors due to the bullying, your best bet is to switch jobs and try to find a place that will have a better work environment.

Workplace bullying is a problem that has remained in the shadows for years. While it is still not a well-known subject, the consequences of the subject for anyone who is on the victim side of it can be enormous. Workplace bullying has caused people to have to quit their jobs, has caused elevated stress levels, and even threats of physical violence. Its causes and outcomes are not that much different from cyberbullying or schoolyard bullying, but it can be much more insidious because it can affect someone’s job, the very thing that they rely on to feed and clothe themselves and their family. If you are a victim of workplace bullying, you need to be sure to write down everything that happens, and tell your boss or your company’s HR department about it. If the bullying gets worse, contact the police and let them know about it. Sadly though, the only recourse for workplace bullying for many is to switch jobs, and while that might be a hassle and a headache, it might be worth it if it gains the person a safer and calmer workplace.

As mentioned earlier, workplace bullying does not get the attention it deserves. Hopefully, with more exposure, people will see the dangers of workplace bullying and not just accept it as happens so often with school bullying. Bullies attempt to intimidate and cause fear because they themselves are fearful and insecure in some major way.  But by standing up to bullies, all bullies,  and reporting their bad behavior to people who can do something about it, like bosses and the police, hopefully we can put a major dent in workplace bullying, one of the more obscure aspects of bullying, but also one of the most damaging kinds. No matter what, workplace bullying should not be tolerated, and the bullies need to be called out, and the victims supported, until this problem is no longer a problem at all.

 

An article by Larry Schatt

Reference:  https://www.workplacebullying.org