Workplace Bullying Series 1: How to Identify Workplace Bullying
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….Office bullying is very dangerous and must never be encouraged at any cost…. Workplace bullying is one aspect of lifestyle that is witnessed in our society and obviously turning into a work-culture...
Bullying: The Reality of the 21st Century Workspace
Most of our
modern workplaces are turning overly toxic, and we need to sound an alarm. Naturally, office space is meant to breed
comfort and serenity, but presently, most have been turned into comfort zones
for bullies. Unfortunately, so many people are typically unaware of the actual definition or meaning of
bullying; they are oblivious of the fact that they are victims of bullies, or
are afraid to identify as one due to society. As a result, we decided to take a dive into this salient lifestyle issue that affects individuals in their various work environment and also offer some solutions. This is a collaborative series
from expert research, up-close and personal interaction with victims that explore diverse forms of workplace bullying, causes and effect, and tips to assist readers.
You may also want to read Lemonade: Working and Loving it! Part 1
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What is Bullying?
Wikipedia
describes the act of bullying as a reoccurring event or attitude that is usually
accompanied by the use of force: it could come in the form of teasing or
cohesion; abuse to dominate or even intimidate a person or a group of people. Furthermore,
the act of bullying could occur in a family, institution, on the street, or in office.
Also, this unchecked behavior could come in diverse forms; some types of
bullying are physical, verbal, relational, cyber-bullying, mobbing, or
collective.
You may also be interested in Work Hacks: The Good, the bad, and the Ugly. Part 1
Workplace Bullying
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Office bullying is very dangerous and must never be encouraged at any cost. Informatively, the Australian Human rights commission points out that workplace bullying entails verbal, physical, social, or psychological abuse by an employer (manager), another person, or group of people at work. They further state that this behavior is not limited to any kind of work environment or place; it could occur in shops, cafes, restaurants, workshops, community groups, or even government. Healthline points that this behavior is repeated over time, meaning that it is not a one-time event but could be swept under the carpet as being normal or identified with a particular person. Obviously, no one is also free of these acts; some people who get bullied are volunteers, work experience students, interns, apprentices, casual and permanent employees. Out of all these, one fact is very important: bullying could go both ways; a boss on a subordinate or a subordinate to a boss.
Instances of Bullying in the workplace
Let us take
a close look at some ways we may have had a brush with a bully.
Identifying
Office Bullying
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- Hurtful jokes, remarks, or attacks could be targeted against a person or could be directed towards their work, family, race, religion, belief, sex, sexuality, gender, culture, education, economic background, etc.
- Intentional exclusion from working with a certain group of people, or on some tasks.
- Making one feel less important or using every opportunity to intimidate or embarrass a person.
- Deliberate change of work hours unannounced or abruptly.
- Assigning pointless tasks that have nothing to do with the work or a person’s job description.
- Giving impossible tasks that can’t be done or with the resources available.
- Fixing meetings or training after work or at unconventional hours.
What is not Office Bullying?
Note that an
employer is allowed to demote, transfer or cancel an appointment using due
process if you are found wanting according to the office process. Obviously,
this should not be interpreted as bullying.
You may also read Four Main Strategies to Being that World Best Boss or Employee
Workplace Bullying has gone Virtual; our new Reality
The fact
that people don’t interact physically hasn’t ruled out bullying. Interestingly,
everything is done virtual these days, and employees still get bullied online
(HR Exchange Network). They further pointed out some examples of virtual
bullying.
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- Berating an employee in the presence of both junior and senior colleagues over a video conference call, chat group, etc, other than taking it to the parking lot after a meeting.
- Facilitating private chats or calls that could be toxic on a personal level.
- Tuning someone out or dropping a colleague or an employee off a conference call abruptly without announcement due to a disagreement.
- A manager putting someone on the spot unnecessary to exert pressure in front of other colleagues.
- Pressuring someone to be on a video call or on a meeting or even work after work hours with threats to their position or employment.
Read Frank Thoughts: Don’t Just Work Hard Work Smart
Workplace Bullying; A deliberate Office Culture
Gradually, bullying in offices has become a culture or lifestyle in most places. Deliberately, an abrupt show of anger, intimidation, threat, joke, a harsh tone over a call, or even a violent line on the body of an email or text turns into a norm that is swept under the carpet without asking questions. Clearly, we are sure that some people still don’t believe that it could ever happen to them up until some salient points were discussed here to their disbelief.
It is clear that workplace bullies exist and each day employees are forced to face some of these bullies physically or virtual. In the next series, we are going to explore the causes and effects of office bullying, and tips on how to combat or prevent such an experience.
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Works Cited
David Rice. Virtual Harassment In The Workplace: How Bullying And Misconduct Moves Online, 14-Sept-20. HR Exchange Network. https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/employee-engagement/articles/virtual-harassment-in-the-workplace-how-bullying-and-misconduct-moves-online12-June-21.
Australian Human
Rights Commission. Workplace Bullying: Violence, Harassment, and Bullying Facts Sheet. 2011. https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/employers/workplace-bullying-violence-harassment-and-bullying-fact-sheet. 12-June-21.
Crystal Ray.Pole. Healthline. How to
Identify and Manage Workplace Bullying, 29-April-19.
https://www.healthline.com/health/workplace-bullying 2005-2015. 12-June-21
Wikipedia. Bullying,
10-June-21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying. 12-June-21
An interesting read. Weldone Olu.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for finding out time to read...
DeleteThank you for the points raises, as some of us don't even know these are kinds of bullying.
ReplyDelete*raised
DeleteYeah, same with the time we began a random interview, we discovered that so many people are unaware of this issue or the fact that they are victims or must have been bullied at work before.
Delete