Is there a bully in your workplace?
Here are three of history’s most famous bullies. One. Two. Three.
Each are apparent in their methods, and one (Contestant no. 2) has even tried to take down an entire religious holiday. But all bullying isn’t so obvious, and some forms don’t just result in black eyes and hurt feelings.
Workplace bullying is one of the lesser-reported behavioural patterns – “North America’s silent epidemic,” by one recent headline – and, as it turns out, is much more costly than we know.
By two surveys quoted recently in the Financial Post, 35 per cent of our continent’s workforce admits to having experienced workplace bullying first-hand, with the “vast majority” of infractions being committed by higher-ranking employees – managers, supervisors and executives.
According to the polls, about 62 per cent of so-called workplace bullies are men.
While bullying has no explicit definition – we often know it when we see it – market researchers Zogby International classifies its workplace incarnation as “repeated mistreatment: sabotage by others that prevented work from getting done, verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation and humiliation.” One study showed workers stressed by bullying performed 50 per cent worse on cognitive tests while on the job.
The big figure here, though, is this. Such decreased production leads to major financial costs to employers; the pitfalls of workplace bullying have been pegged as high as $200 billion annually.
What’s worse, the Post’s Ray Williams notes, the recession may have exacerbated the workplace bullying problem. Conventional wisdom suggests bullying tactics can spur short-term production, so such cases are often tolerated. In the era of layoffs and quarterly targets, if numbers are right, employers may not be able – or are too pressured otherwise – to see much past the bottom line.
And given that, according to the Workplace Bullying Institute, 40 per cent of victims never told their boss and, of those that did, 62 per cent said they were ignored, who can say if workplace bullying will ever improve?
Is there a bully in your office? How does he or she hamper productivity?
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
*Follow Jason on Twitter here.
Posted by: tazdvl0713@hotmail.com | May 12, 2021 7:35:49 PM
I worked with a bully and rightly so if you report it you become the problem. My supervisor was advised that in 6 months she had sent me 1106 e-mails. And he said that he didn't see what the problem was. Suffice to say I left because work had become a battle ground and they also paid me good chunk of money.
Today, I find out that she has been recently canned which makes my statement. All good things come to those that wait. And Karma is a bitch who's laughing now.........lol
Posted by: Darius Augustus Bacchus | May 13, 2021 8:31:11 PM
@tazdvl0713... you are absolutely right! If you report the problem, you become the problem. Happens everywhere.
Posted by: Bates | May 13, 2021 8:34:17 PM
The best solution I have for bullies is to compromise their brakelines so that when they are driving at super high speeds on the highway to work, and they need their brakes.... end of story. Problem gone.... Works all the time....
Posted by: tamara | Jul 27, 2021 4:35:29 PM
Suggest to someone of authority who will listen, to get the individual some coaching for their unprofessional and abusive communication style.
I provide one on one coaching to manage "Abrasive" employees/mangers, and mangers who use "avoidance" techniques to avoid dealing with workplace harassment and conflict.
My website is: http://www.businessaccountability.com and contact number: 416-548-4237