Workplace Bullying: Almost Half of All Employees Deal with Bullies at Work

Workplace bullying is defined as verbal abuse, threatening or humiliating behavior, or work sabotage, according to bullying experts Gary and Ruth Namie. Bullying at work is mostly psychological bullying, and includes excluding coworkers from lunches or after-hours get-togethers and spreading lies or gossip.

Dr Gary Namie states that 45% of people who are bullied at work experience health problems. If employers don't take it seriously, workplace bullies can not only damage the company's bottom line, they can do some serious psychological damage to their victims.

The profile of a workplace bully

Bullies at work threaten employees or peers with veiled hints or outright intimidation. Abuse of power and harassment are common. Workplace bullies can be manipulative, mean, and spiteful. Bullies at work may be delusional, with an inflated sense of their own worth. They enjoy discrediting and hurting their peers or underlings.

Workplace bullies lack respect for people, and feel little remorse when they launch character attacks, demean dignity, attack competence levels, or destroy trust and self-confidence.

Impact of workplace bullying

More work absenteeism and less productivity are the direct results of bullying at work. The psychological effects of workplace bullying include low self-worth, low self-esteem, and even posttraumatic stress. People dealing with bullying at work feel helpless and not in control over their environment or feelings. The more they feel the bully is in control, the more their feelings of self-worth plummet.

"Forty-five percent of people experience stress related health complications" says Dr Gary Namie. "We know that runs the gamut from anxiety through depression…all the way up to posttraumatic stress disorder."

Some experts state that adult bullying is ingrained in the North American work culture. Competition, individualism, hierarchy and market fluctuations actually encourage bullying at work by decreasing collaboration and support.

Witnessing workplace bullying

You don't have to be the victim of a bully at work to experience the negative effects of workplace bullying. Employees who witness bullies at work report low levels of workplace satisfaction and high levels of stress.

Dealing with workplace bullying

Ignoring the bully at work won't make her go away. Instead, ask her to be specific about her threats or criticism. Counter attack with questions, and don't let her provoke you to anger or tears while she's around. Rise above the attacks and attempt to deal with real issues. Be straightforward; use nondefensive, assertive statements. Refuse to agree to anything under pressure and don't take the bully's words at face value.

Workplace bully expert Dr Gary Namie offers the following suggestions in dealing with bullies at work:

The copyright of the article Workplace Bullying in Psychology is owned by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen. Permission to republish Workplace Bullying in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Nov 17, 2008 7:43 AM

Guest :

That's a pretty good article but from my experience talking to the bully doesn't do any good. She yells extremely loud for a very long time not letting me get a word in. Talking to the employers doesn't do any good either, they don't believe a person can be that bad and will blame the target by saying they're too sensitive. The only thing I can see to do about workplace bullying is to prevent it by holding bullies liable for their own actions. They would certainly beat and/or rape targets too if there were no laws against it. Please sign the Anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill petition http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/anti-bullying-healthy-workplace-bill.ht ml . Please pass the link onto your friends, post on your websites, in forums, whatever you can do so that no one ever has to be subjected to psychological violence at work. Thank you.

Jan 24, 2009 6:34 PM

Guest :

Not allowing the workplace bully to cause each co-worker to feel isolated is important. Everyone thinks they are alone in dealing with the workplace bully. Discreetly offer support and support each other. Also, forming your own relationship (professional) with your boss, if the workplace bully is a co-worker, is important; the boss must see you for who and what you are rather than what the bully will try to say about you. You can balance your bosses opinion and even allow the bully's representation of you to show false if you work on cultivating a respectable, professional image to your boss.