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| Thu, 10-01-2009 - 9:24pm |
Understanding the Reasons for Workplace Bullying
by BNET Editorial
http://www.bnet.com/2410-13068_23-95609.html
There are many different issues that motivate bullies to abuse their victims. Although tactics may vary from person to person, bullies share common psychological characteristics that cause them to behave badly toward their colleagues.
Understanding what incites a bully’s behavior may help you deal with it in your workplace more effectively. This will also help you identify abusive situations, and prepare you to help bullies resolve their issues without reverting to abuse.
What You Need to Know
What motivates a bully?
Most incidents of bullying are motivated by the bully’s own lack of self-esteem rather than the specific actions, appearance, or personality of the victim. Many bullies feel that they cannot cope with certain aspects of their own job. They feel threatened by a highly competent colleague or a colleague who receives praise from a manager.
Ultimately, bullies operate to hide their own incompetence. They view their victims as direct threats and bully them in an attempt to prevent their own inadequacies being revealed to other colleagues and managers.
How do bullies choose their targets?
Bullying is motivated by the insecurities and inadequacies of the bully, so any colleague who, unwittingly, threatens to highlight or expose those failings is a potential target.
In addition, certain personality traits are common to the targets of bullies. Such characteristics may include some of the following:
- being popular with colleagues, perhaps because of a vivacious personality and a good sense of humor
- being recognized (by praise or promotion) for professional competence
- being well-known and rewarded for trustworthiness and integrity (perhaps by having increased responsibility)
- being helpful, sensitive and known as someone that colleagues can talk to about professional or personal issues
- finding it difficult to say no and frequently offering to help others with projects or deadlines
- Being unwilling to gossip or engage in malicious discussion about the incompetence of others
- Being quick to apologize when accused of something, even if not guilty
Bullies are also opportunistic and may choose a particular victim in order advance their own career. Many bullies select vulnerable victims that they can intimidate more easily than more confident colleagues—perhaps a new hire, a younger or older colleague, or someone that is shy or reserved. Targeting such people allows bullies to manipulate events and actions in their favor, transferring blame for incompetence from themselves to vulnerable victims.
What to Do
Recognize a Bully
Bullies may be motivated by different issues and operate in a different ways, but there are some key personality traits and actions that indicate a potential bully. These include:
- personal or professional insecurities
- an “extreme†personality, that can shift quickly from one mood to another
- controlling or obsessive tendencies
- an inability to accept responsibility for their own actions and professional conduct
Workplace bullies will often try to transfer responsibility to their victims, and place blame for any professional failings with other colleagues. Even when questioned, bullies will deny their involvement and use their victims as scapegoats for their incompetence.
Recognize Bullying Incidents
Bullying is difficult to recognize, as it involves a range of psychological and covert abuse that is often visible only to the victim. Workplace bullying is particularly difficult to spot because of the environment in which it occurs. E-mail and cell phones allow bullies to abuse their victims electronically and in private; and victims can easily go unnoticed among the many other employees with urgent demands and queries.
However, there are a number of actions, signs, and activities that can indicate that bullying is occurring in your workplace. For example, you may find that someone is being subjected to one or more of the following:
- deliberate exclusion from meetings, conversations, or social gatherings
- the spreading of malicious rumors about them
- the imposition of increasingly unrealistic deadlines
- persistent assignment of unrealistic workloads; or, conversely, a sudden reduction in their duties or level of responsibility
- unwarranted criticism or interrogation, especially in front of other people
- unnecessary comments about their job security
- continued opposition to their promotion or development
- unwarranted subjection to disciplinary procedures or formal warnings for trivial or fabricated reasons
In isolation, these incidents may not constitute bullying; however, when they happen on multiple occasions over a period of time, they can become in a serious and damaging campaign of abuse. It is important to be vigilant about such activities and to investigate any tension, discomfort or disputes between colleagues in order to prevent such incidents escalating into serious workplace bullying.
What to Avoid
You Ignore Bullies
Bullying is a serious issue and it will not go away unless dealt with properly. Ignoring a workplace bully can suggest to your employees that you condone such behavior and that aggressive, abusive, and offensive practices are acceptable in your business. This will adversely effect the rest of your staff, who may seek employment elsewhere in order to avoid falling victim to such abuse or who, alternatively, may feel that bullying is acceptable and begin to treat colleagues in a similar way.
You Don’t Have a Clear Policy
Make it clear that bullying will not be tolerated in your business, that employees must treat each other with respect. You can do this in the following ways:
- Set good standards of behavior yourself and encourage senior staff to do the same.
- Treat complaints of bullying seriously and objectively.
- Ensure all reported cases of bullying are dealt with quickly and in strict confidence.
- Develop and publish an anti-bullying policy and distribute it to all staff and new hires, making a copy available in the employee handbook or on a shared bulletin board.
Where to Learn More
Web Sites:
Bully Busters: http://bullybusters.org
Leading Edition, “Dealing with Workplace Bulliesâ€: www.purdue.edu/HR/LeadingEdition/LEdi_705_workplace_bullies.htm
Workplace Bullying Institute: www.bullyinginstitute.org

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This is an interesting topic because I think we're
Great post sugarbaby. It hit home with me particularly because I work with a person who is a bully in the work place, yet he has still maintained employment here for over 12 years running. I have been to HR numerous times concerning his bad behavior over the years, but met with blank stares and non-commital attitudes.
I work for a major Fortune 500 company that requires every employee to have annual training to ensure everyone knows the proper channels to go through when they witness any type of bullying in the shop. Even though the corporation takes it seriously, it is left to the individual plants as to how they react to it.
This particular person has had altercations with at least a 1/4 of the people who work here, yet in each case it's always "their" fault and not his. About a year ago he threw a metal object at another employee, after verbally accosting him. I immediately made it clear to him that I was taking this to HR and the Plant Manager, and that there would be disciplinary action taken. Well, nothing became of it except he was advised to "apologize" to the co-worker. Afterward, this bully waited until I was walking to my car after work and pulled out of his parking space and came within a couple feet of running me over. I again went to HR and the PM and informed them of what just happened. Nothing was done. The bully claimed I over-reacted!!
Oh, did I tell you he has brought numerous weapons on company property and shown co-workers his arsenal of guns, rifles, shotguns and knives?
It has got so bad that I told my wife once that if anything ever happened to me, and I was found dead, to contact a lawyer and give him this person's name.
The training classes we all go through outlines in detail what to look for when determining who has the potential to be a bully in the work place. People here chuckle after reading through this list of things to look out for because each and every one of them mention this guy's name!! I eventually told the HR representatives here that when, not if, this bully finally kills someone here, they can expect a lawsuit from me personally, and the family of the worker killed, that will be so costly we will all be able to retire comfortably to any place on earth.
Thanks again for your post. This is an ongoing problem for many workers who have to be subjected to this form of harassment. What a shame.
Thanks sugarbaby_gal for the information.
Well, thank you for the support starlite. The bad thing about it is I hired this joker 12 years ago to be a machinist for me. He was later promoted into a salary job, and that's when the "power" went to his head. He thinks everyone should bow down and kiss him where the sun don't shine, ya know.
When I hired him, I used to call him "biscuit".......as in a biscuit shy of 400 lbs.!! I did that in a joking kind of way since he was always proud of the fact he was so much bigger than everyone else (big as in not fat....all muscle.....he was enormous, and always used it to greater advantage over his co-workers). Since that time, he had surgery to lose weight.....he now looks very sickly, and weighs about 185. He still thinks of himself as this huge, muscle-bound man who can intimidate people, but it doesn't work anymore. Folks are pushing back on his bullying now, and he can't handle it. It's the main reason he now is a licensed firearm carrier in our state, and lets everyone know he's "packing". Ridiculous if you ask me.
I'm not as large as he is, but he knows I won't take any of his bullying. We've had our "disagreements" many times here, and I guess he has figured out over the years that I'm as crazy as he is....lol. I
Bullying in the workplace...UGH!
How grade school is that?
In our small town we don't usually have this problem...it's gossip that's the problem here.
It's interesting to know how some people in our society never grow up. Bullying is juvenile and should never be tolorated. If these people are going to behave like children, then perhaps they should be treated like children.
That's just downright scary!
I wanted to add that I read a very sad story about a 15 y.o. in Dallas committing suicide last week because he was bullied.
His poor parents.
Mine (now 20) went through a bullying phase until the ranch hands taught him to fight.
How terrible for you. Sounds like your bully has some special place in the hearts of management where you work. My first thought is "who's he sleeping with?"
Well, he's not "sleeping" with anyone here, that's for sure...lol. He lives close by our former plant manager, and they would ride in to work together occasionally. That, coupled with the fact everyone here seems to be afraid of him, and what he may do to them if he's crossed, makes for a good situation for his bullying tactics.
Our new manager will not be as easily intimidated by this guy, and we also had a change in HR representatives, so that combo bodes well for the future thank god. Another quick story about him:
He was driving into work about 3 months ago and evidently another driver wouldn't get over into the right lane in order for this joker to pass him.....instead of simply going around him, he decides, after honking his horn, and tailgating him for a couple of miles, he gave him a "lovetap", according to him, which caused the guy to lose control of his vehicle and nearly flip his car......fortunately, the driver maintained control enough to get his car over to the right side of the highway and didn't damage his car. Another car that was following the bully called in his tag number to the cops, and before he got in here to work, he was stopped and held for questioning until the car he hit drove to where they were, ID'd this jerk, and then the police took him to the station, where they impounded his car. The jerk's wife had to come down and take him back home.......he went to court and had to pay a huge fine, was cited for a traffic violation, and put on 2 years probation by the Highway Patrol. How he didn't serve any jail time is beyond me (this guy is such a suck azz whenever he does anything wrong, I believe he sways their judgment). Afterwards, all he could talk about was how it was THAT guy's fault......what?? Yep, according to him, anyone driving behind this person would have done what he did.....what?? That's how his mind works. Pathetic.
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