Nipping Workplace Bullying in the Bud

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  langstont@...06/12/07 Report as spam
  1

  Bullying in the Workplace

  Thanks for the informative article on bullying - but what does one do when the bully is the employer? The employee has absolutely nowhere to go to report the problem. Imagine the complexity of approaching the bully with the complaint. This is not an unusual problem in small businesses where 'entreprenurial' small business owners can easily become bullies. It's far easier to consider this in a large business but the actual problem is far more distributed.

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  czslater@...06/12/07 Report as spam
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  bullying

  Unfortunately, this can be a test for the employee to see how they react and what they are made of.. If the employee feels it's ludicrous to get involved, it can work against them, especially if the company culture is such that the practice if tolerated and encouraged. It can be the weeding out process in some companies. If you don't play that game, it's time to pack your bags, the sooner the better, as the game won't stop.

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  yennhile@...06/12/07 Report as spam
  3

  supervisor 'bullying' behavior

  If the boss comments 'she/he is learning' or 'put this in your to-do list' in front of the group or in the meeting, would that mean he is bulying? I am not sure about the attitude, but it sounded humiliating.

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  farmer_ryan@...06/12/07 Report as spam
  4

  Re: Supervisor bullying behavior

  I wouldn't call that bullying, I'd call that poor leadership. Praise in public, criticize in private. And even in private, the constructive feedback will go over better if bookended with good, positive contributions the employee is making.

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  farmer_ryan@...06/12/07 Report as spam
  5

  bullying in the workplace

  Having been a victim of bullying, I can relate to this article all too well. After being put in a position to accomplish a task that was beyond me, and not having the sense of saying so, a colleague bitterly took on the extra work and took out that bitterness on me for the next year. Every day was like walking around on eggshells around this guy, and if I didn't do something to his standard, he used to opportunity to berate and humiliate me in front of my peers, as opposed to constructive feedback to do things differently next time. My boss was 10 feet away every day, saw everything, did absolutely nothing, and dismissed the colleague as just a "lunatic" during my annual assessment, and denied me a promotion because on and sealed his fate as the most incompetent leader/manager I ever had or will have.
  
  After that year I left the client site and moved back to the corporate office to work some different projects. I had no confidence in my skills and the stress had caused some health concerns. I never skipped a day of work, however tempting.
  
  After a couple of years out of that environment, I had my confidence in my skills back, and then some. I had the opportunity to learn some new skills and I mixed them with what I was doing at the client site. I pursued and won my first contract, and ironically I had to present the final results to a crowd that included that bully. He showed his true colors, advertising the fact he had some kind of vendetta against me. He lost credibility with my client, which was passed along to his boss.
  
  Two things I detest: bullies and incompetent leaders. If you are going to lead, you are going to have to deal with conflict situations, which includes bullies. And you best deal with bullies with intolerance.

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  contrition06/12/07 Report as spam
  6

  Managment Bullying in the workplace

  If you are dealing with bullying from management in a small business environment that doesn't have an human resources department, what would be the best course of action? I can relate all to well with this article. It was 5 months ago that I stated to my husband "he's a bully - plain and simple". The unfortunately difficult part of the bullying issue is that he is the owner, I am the manager and even my staff are being affected by it. I had three key sales people give notice in a 3 week period! He will boost you up and call you 'buddy' and even gloat about how much he cares about his staff as people. But, his up moments are so up that when he puts you down, you're so caught off guard, you don't know what to say. He almost seems to boost you up enough to feel an extended personal respect for him so that he does knock you down, which is constant, you won't completely lose your head.
  I don't know what to do

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  FredinNZ11/05/07 Report as spam
  7

  Re:

  Reply below

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  dscicluna10/25/07 Report as spam
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  Bravo to you!

  Bravo to you! Sounsd like I have had the same experiences. Thanks for sharing.

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  FredinNZ11/05/07 Report as spam
  9

  What to do?

  Hi. I studied this subject during my MBA. I was amazed to discover a) how commonplace it is and b) how closely related it is to domestic abuse (the psychology of it). I was able to relate to much of what was taught (and as covered in this article).
  
  In a small business situation such as yours where the boss/employer is also the owner, there is nothing you can do to turn things around with any realistic prospect of long-term positive effect. By staying, you're wasting time; you could be working somewhere else where your skills and experience are appreciated and rewarded and where you have a decent chance of advancement. You MUST recognise that it's not your fault, you're not going to be able to change him, so don't pay the price (blood pressure, sweat and tears) of trying to. My advice: get out.

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  mary_kirk11/07/08 Report as spam
  10

  RE: Nipping Workplace Bullying in the Bud

  Workplace bullying is getting so common if you leave your toxic job for another you may very well be in the same situation at another place.
  
  What everyone can do to nip workplace bullying in the bud is to hold the bully legally responsible for their actions. The reason they aren't punching people in the face and/or raping them is because they know they'll be held accountable.
  
  Let's get a bill passed that holds the bully liable. They'll stop when if they know they'll be sued personally.
  
  Please sign the anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill petition http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/anti-bullying-healthy-workplace-bill.html .
  
  Thank you!

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  multiface11/12/08 Report as spam
  11

  RE: Nipping Workplace Bullying in the Bud

  Having observed a colleague being bullied and then paid off
  following a dispute with our manager, as she predicted I found
  myself on the receiving end of bullying from our female boss,
  even before my colleague left.
  
  It took a lot of mustering up the courage but I have just recently
  raised a grievance against my boss, her manager and a
  peer/colleague (both of whom have been active in showing their
  support for my manager by joining her in harassing me (or
  certainly making my work-life uncomfortable/difficult through
  various means).
  
  I just want it to be over, as I've found it all so upsetting - but I
  also want to win my case (if only for the sake of my heavily
  bashed self-esteem)