Workplace Bullying Series: It Doesn’t End After High School!

Myth: Bullying stops after high school; “We’re adult professionals.”

Fact: Adult bullying happens everywhere, and is psychological as opposed to physical schoolyard bullying. It’s a silent epidemic because it’s not as blatant as, “Meet me after school behind the gym.”

In Part I, we’ll look at bullying from a different perspective than what you’re used to. In Part II (next week), we’ll talk about fixing the problem.

First, let’s dispense with complex legalese and HR definitions of bullying because they are beyond the scope of our cut-to-the-chase blog.  In their excellent book, The Bully at Work, authors Gary and Ruth Namie stated, “[Bullying] is psychological violence – sub-lethal and non-physical – a mix of verbal and strategic assaults to prevent the target from performing work well.” Bullying is often crafty, subtle, and creepy behavior that falls short of a blatant threat, and may not be against the law.

How big is the problem? Seventy-five percent of the American workforce is affected by bullying. This means bullying has a costly negative effect on productivity. Bullied workers (targets) do not perform at their usual level, and the results are absenteeism, transfers, and resignations. Further, co-workers that witness or hear about bullying are detrimentally affected.

Another incorrect myth is that targets are underachievers, weaklings, or weirdoes. In reality, targets tend to be competent high achievers that bullies perceive as a threat. Studies conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute indicate that 70% of the perpetrators are males, and 30% are females. Interestingly, both male and female bullies, threaten female targets 60% of the time. It’s very disturbing that 61% of workplace bullies are bosses. 

Further, the Workplace Bullying Institute study explored what actions employers took in response to bullying cases. The disconcerting findings are as follows:

25% did nothing

46% did sham investigations

23% held target responsible

6% punished perpetrator

Key Takeaway:

Workplace bullying is a big problem in most organizations that’s often swept under the rug. Chances are you were bullied, are bullied now, or witnessed bullying in your workplace. Stay tuned for the Part II blog where we explore possible solutions. 

What are your thoughts?

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About Hank Christen

Dr. Hank Christen was an Atlanta Fire Department Battalion Chief, Emergency Manager, and Director of Emergency Services for Okaloosa County, Florida. He has responded to multiple disasters in his career and was the Incident Commander for Hurricane Erin, Opal, Earl, and Georges, and responded to Hurricane Andrew (Miami), and Hurricane Marilyn (U.S. Virgin Islands). He co-authored eight books on crisis management and the incident command system in the disaster response field. Dr. Christen has served on a team that evaluated a biological non-traditional syndromic surveillance program during the 2000 George Bush Presidential Inauguration. Dr. Christen has also responded with a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (FL-1 DMAT) to the 2001 World Trade Center Attack, and served as team commander during the team’s deployment to the Atlanta Olympic Bombing. Additionally. Dr. Christen has served on a panel that evaluated the medical response to the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2014. Dr. Hank Christen EdD currently is responsible for developing curriculum, technical writing, and instructing courses with Active Shooter 360, LLC. The materials developed and taught by Dr. Christen include Active Shooter Awareness, Threat Intervention Practices, Incident Command System (ICS), Crisis Decision Making, and Emergency Operations Planning.

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