Bullying Workplace

Bullying in the Workplace

Bullying in the workplace is:

4300 times more common than workplace homicide
4 times more common than physical workplace assault
2-3 times more common than Civil Rights Violations
Perpetrators are 50% males and 50% females

Are you a victim?

Workplace bullying (psychological or emotional abuse) is a deliberate, repeated mistreatment of a targeted employee by one or more people in the workplace. The bully can be a staff or subordinate, but more than 80% of workplace bullies are supervisors, managers, and executives, equally male or female. When a person (target) is being bullied, this damages the target's physical and psychological health and threatens their job security. Workplace bullying is the opposite of the childhood bullying scenario, were an unpopular and weak child is picked on. With workplace bullying, the victim is often well educated and competent in their job, which poses a threat to the bully. As a result, the bully seeks to rid of them. The intimidation and manipulation in workplace bullying are similar to those behaviors observed in Intimate Partner Violence. It is a problem where “boundaries” are crossed, and communication, productivity, and personal health suffer.

Signs of Bullying

Insults & put-downs
Criticism of ability
Constant blame for "errors"
Unreasonable job demands
Threat of loss of job
Not being included (isolation)
Inconsistent compliance with rules
Taking credit for the targets good work or ideas
Yelling/screaming-usually behind closed doors
Saying “you are just too sensitive”

Impacts on the Workplace

Loss of productivity
Increased sick leave
Increase of workman’s compensation cases
Increase stress leave
Effect of staff moral
High staff turnover
Increased employer legal costs
Equal opportunity mediation

Need immediate help?

If you or someone you know is experiencing bullying, there are steps you can take to ensure the safety of yourself and others.
If you or someone is at an immediate risk of harm, call 911
If you or someone is feeling hopeless, helpless, thinking of suicide, contact 988 Lifeline:
- Chat with Lifeline
- Call or text 988
- For Spanish speakers, call 988, then press 2 or visit Ayuda en Español: Lifeline
- For deaf/hard of hearing, dial 711, then 988
- For Veterans
  - Call 988, then press 1
  - Text 838255
  - Chat with Veterans Crisis Line

Health Impacts on the Victim

Physical

Frequent colds, coughs, flu (especially on days off)
Aches & pains with no clear cause (diagnosed fibromyalgia)
Back pain
Headaches & migraines
Chest pain, angina, heart attack
High blood pressure
Sweating
Anxiety, palpitations, breathlessness
Asthma
Hormonal problems, disrupted menstrual cycle, loss of libido, impotence
Physical numbness (toes, lips & fingers)
Poor circulation, cold extremities, such as fingers and toes
Emotional numbness/depression
Irritable bowel syndrome
Paruresis (shy bladder syndrome)
Thyroid problems
Petit mal seizures, skin irritations & disorders
Loss of appetite (or excessive eating)
Excessive or abnormal thirst
Sleeplessness & feeling tired when you wake up
Chronic Illness (diabetes, asthma, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, forms of cancer, heart attack, etc.)Health effects among the victim

Behavioral

Irritability, angry outbursts
Risk of violent outbreak
Obsessiveness
Hyper vigilance
Hypersensitivity
Mood swings
Withdrawal
Loss of humor
Hyperawareness
Excessive biting, teeth grinding
Increased reliance on drugs (caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, sleeping pills
Comfort spending
Loss of self-worth/love

Psychological

Panic attacks
Reactive depression
Thoughts of suicide & suicide attempts
Forgetfulness,
Poor concentration
Unusual degree of fear, sense of isolation, insecurity
PTSD
Phobias
Sleep disorder
Bipolar disorder
Mood disorder
Eating disorder
Anxiety disorder
Panic disorder

Types of Bullies

Type 1: The Constant Critic

Extremely negative, a. nitpicker, perfectionist, whiner, complainer, fault finder, a liar. They are loved by senior management because of their ability to "get people to produce." This type of bully destroys the employee or target of their self-confidence and encourages self-doubt. They do this by:
Putting the person down, insulting, making belittling comments, name-calling
Constant arguing about Target's "incompetence"
Makes aggressive eye contact, glaring at Target; demands eye contact when she speaks but deliberately avoids eye contact when Target speaks
Negatively reacts to contribution of target [sighs, frowns, peering over top of eyeglasses to condescend, sour face ("just sucked a lemon" look)]
Accuses Target of wrongdoing, blamed for errors made up by bully (doctored documents, compromised databases, fake witness accounts)
Makes unreasonable work demands, impossible deadlines, disproportionate pressure, expects perfectionism
Sends signals of disrespect through hyper-confident body language - sitting at desk with feet up, showing target bottom of shoes and talking to target through feet, bully grooms' self (hair, nails) while ignoring the Target; making target sit while bully stands, hovering over them
Over-use of memos, e-mails, messages to bury Target in correspondence
Requiring replies personally criticizes aspects of the Target's life that are irrelevant to work--appearance, family, friends
Excessively or harshly criticizes Target's work or abilities
Engages Target in intense cross-examination to belittle and confuse

Type 2: The Two-Headed Snake

The Two-Headed Snake is a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde passive-aggressive behavior-a dishonest style. They often pretend to be nice while sabotaging you. "Friendliness" serves only to give them information that they can later use against you. They often play favorites with staff in the organization.

Demands that co-workers provide damning "evidence" against Target, uses lies or half-truths, threatens non-cooperators (the "divide and conquer" technique)
Discriminates against smokers by requiring they gather trash from the parking lot while taking a smoke break
Assigns meaningless or "dirty" tasks as punishment
Makes nasty, rude, hostile remarks directly to Target while putting on a rational "face" for others
Breaches confidentiality; shares private information about the Target with co-workers or other bosses
Discriminates against non-smoking Target by permitting breaks only for smokers
Creates a special personnel file kept in bully's car or locked in office full of defamatory information to sabotage Target's career inside or outside the organization
Steals credit for work done by the target

Type 3: The Gatekeeper

The Gatekeeper is the most transparent of all controllers. The bully makes themselves "one up" on you, to order you around and control you. To the bully, control of all resources (time, supplies, praise, approval, money, staffing, help) is the most important aspect of work. Approval must be solicited from bully at all times.

Ignores the Target; giving the "silent treatment," and isolating the Target
Sets office clocks 15 minutes ahead of "real" time, then punishes Target for being "late" at start of day, while not allowing her to leave before quitting time according to "real" time
Deliberately cuts the Target out of the communication loop--stops mail, e-mail, memo distribution, doesn't return calls
Refuses to make "reasonable accommodation" for Target returning to work with a disability
Refuses to follow internal policies and government-mandated employee protections for Target
Denies privileges and rights to Targets who file complaints against the bully, either an internal complaint or a lawsuit or with the EEOC, DOL
Makes up rules on a whim, Target expected to follow, but bully is exempt

Type 4: The Screamer

The Screamer is the stereotypical bully who controls through fear and intimidation, emotionally out of control, impulsive, and explosive where the threat of physical violence can become an issue. This bully is overbearing, self-centered, and insensitive to the needs of others. They are overly concerned of being detected as an imposter and mask their incompetence.

Yells, screams, curses
Barks out loud often that "I AM YOUR BOSS" and "FOLLOW MY COMMANDS"
Poisons workplace with angry outbursts, tantrums
Intimidates through gestures: finger pointing, slamming things down, throwing objects
Crowds the Target's personal space, moves close to threaten or to make the Target anxious, hovers over, sneaks up from behind to startle
Constantly interrupts the Target during meetings and conversations
Discounts and denies Target's thoughts or feelings
Threats of job loss or change
Traps Target by insisting that complaints go "up the chain of command," starting with them.

Additional Resource

Select to get help for Workplace Bullied Workers – Workplace Bullying Institute