Bullying at Work and How to deal with it?
How do you feel, when no matter how hard you work
, your boss only points out your mistakes? How do you deal with the humiliation of being yelled at by your boss in front of your coworkers? How do you react when malicious rumors are spread about you by your colleague?
You feel helpless, embarrassed, have low self esteem and hate to come to work. Interviewed in a study by Andrea Adams Trust, that's how 92% of 10,000 employees being bullied felt. 90% of them admitted to have witnessed bullying while almost half (49%) said that (their immediate bosses were the bullies.
Bullying at work can take various forms from an aggressive form of shouting, yelling to demeaning you in front of others, there are also subtler forms of bullying which include overlooking your achievements, ignoring you and not inviting you to meetings, dumping all the work on you and giving unreasonable deadlines.
According to Gary and Ruth Namie of workplacebullying.org,workplace bullying is "1) repeated, health-harming mistreatment, 2) verbal abuse, or 3) conduct which is threatening, humiliating, intimidating, or sabotage that interferes with work or4) some combination of the three."
Profile of the Bully:
Narcissist: Bullies are often selfish, ego centric and do not care about others.
Feeling of Inadequacy: They have deep rooted feelings of inadequacy which they attempt to hide by their aggression.
Aggressive: Bullies often react aggressively to slights and insults.
No remorse: Generally they are not apologetic about their behavior and feel no remorse.
Targeting the talented, smart: Since they themselves feel inadequate, they dominate others who may be more talented to please their egos or take credit
Anyone can be a bully - from a boss, to a colleague, to even subordinates and anyone can be a victim of bullying irrespective of position. Research shows that women are more likely to be victimsof bullying and men more likely (57%) to exhibit bullying behavior however when women bully, their victims are mostly women (71%).
Employers should Care!
It is vital for the health of the organization to look into bullying at workplace because it affects the physical and mental health of the employee. It is found that victims of bullying generally feelhelpless, paralyzed, confused, disoriented. The victim will feel angry and frustrated and may try to retaliate or just feel helpless.
Ill health: A study by Sheffield University showed a strong relation between ill health of the employee and workplace discrimination. There is also an overwhelming sense of stress that the victim feels. According to a study conducted by WBI- Zogby, 45% of the victims suffered from stress related health problemsincluding cardiovascular disorders and impaired immune system, while 80% felt anxiety and 39% suffered from depression. There were also 30% women and 21% men who experienced symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to bullying.
Deteriorating Relations: With low self esteem, feeling of helplessness and
stress at work, the victim starts having problems in relationships at work as well as in personal lives which further affects his health.
Bad Reputation for the Company: If employees face and witness bullying at workplace more than occasionally they willtalk about it, some may even quit. This affects the reputation of the company and company may lose on prospective good employees.
Dealing with Bullying: It's Complicated!
Fear of getting fired: Victims generally have difficulty fighting bullying because more subtle forms of bullying are difficult to realize and even when the person recognizes that he has been singled out, he may fear that complaining will just cost him job. Some employees also prefer keeping quiet due to embarrassment.
Perpetrator is Popular: Since bullying can be of so many types and of varying degrees, it may not always catch everybody's attention. Sometimes the boss who bullies you is very charming and considerate in front of others but may be mean to you when alone.
Not just one but a gang! : There are many cases where bullying is not carried out by a single individual but a group of workers against a single individual. This is called workplace mobbing and can take place when a group of co-workers, superiors, subordinates come together with the intention of forcing the employee out of the workplace through anything - from rumor to intimidation, isolation and humiliation.
No clear course:
Since a clear racial, sexual or physical harassment is not always directed towards the victim, a legal course is not always available for the employees. Even if the bullying falls under the workplace harassment', the legal process of seeking remedy can generally be a long drawn one with loss of both physical and mental health.
How to deal with a Bully?
Preparing Yourself: The first thing that you need to do is acknowledge that you are being bullied and to get in shape to face your bully. This means ensuring that your physical and mental health is at optimum level. You must also use this time to reflect back and see a pattern in the behavior of your bully.
Be Assertive: You don't have to yell back in order to give it back to the bully. You can surprise the bully by expressing your displeasure over his behavior, if you find that the bully is trying to undermine you or humiliate, point it aloud by saying things like "that seems harsh" "that sounds like a putdown." Sometimes just staring back confidently does the trick.. To Know more about
Bullying at Work and How to deal with it? Bullying at Work and How to deal with it?
By: Niyatijs
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