Pigtail-Pulling in Power Suits: The Rise of the Office Bully

You’d think, at a certain age, having to deal with bullies is far behind you. However, the modern workplace proves that, sadly, this is not the case. The office bully can hinder corporate wellness, as well as your personal sense of wellbeing. Not only are you unhappy and stressed whenever the office bully is around, but a hostile working environment also hampers your productivity, which has disastrous effects for your company. Therefore, making sure everyone gets along is a worthy goal for anyone to take on.

 

“Workplace bullying” is a pretty broad term but it basically means a repeated, wellness-damaging mistreatment of one or more people. This encompasses all negative behaviour, such as verbal abuse, offensive nonverbal behaviours, or purposefully interfering with your ability to get your work done. It sounds like a simple problem to stamp out, but more and more people are reporting being the victim of workplace bullying. In 1998, 25% of those survey revealed that they were treated rudely once a week. However, this rose to 50% in 2011, and recent evidence has also come to light which suggests you’re now more likely to be bullied in the office if you’re unattractive.

 

It’s becoming glaringly obvious that workplace bullying is a problem. Many victims of an office bully have reported developing health issues such as anxiety and depression, while some have even had to leave a job to escape a negative working environment. But why has the situation become so dire? Some experts blame the recession, as this may have put so much undue pressure on your boss that he or she is taking it out on you. It may be the case that it’s just a natural personality thing, as many workplace bullies score high on tests of narcissism and self-orientation.

 

However, Dr. Christine Porath, a Georgetown University professor who studies workplace incivility, points out that you can become so overwhelmed by your work responsibilities that you don’t even realize when you’re being rude to others. While the cause of workplace bullying remains to be determined, Greatist expert and psychologist Dr. Michael Mantell, who helps train managers in workplace harassment prevention, says that recent research on workplace bullying has paved the way for efforts to prevent it. His main advice is to not let someone bully you out of achieving your best work: ‘You can’t change the bully, but you can prevent yourself from being a victim.’

Categories: bully, bullying, Negative Behaviour, office, office bully, productivity, recession, work, working environment, workplace, workplace bullying

What Would You Do if Your Child Was Being Bullied at School?

Bullying in a corporate environment is one thing, when everyone is a grownup who can deal with things for themselves, but what do you do when bullying is affecting the wellness and wellbeing of your own child?

 

Many parents think that when their child is being bullied, they are really powerless and there is nothing they can do to improve the situation, but this is simply not the case.

 

The first and most important thing to do is to talk to your child about the bullying situation. This will teach them about what is acceptable behaviour and what is not, and this will enable them to learn both what is happening when they are being bullied, and also what behaviour they might exhibit which can be classified as bullying.

 

If your child is being bullied you can have a sit down with your child and brainstorm ways to help the bully stop picking on them. First of all, it is worth trying to stand up to the bully (not physically) and tell the bully to stop in a clear and calm way. Bullies don’t expect people to stand up to them and this show of confidence may be enough for them to leave your child alone. Your child could also try using humour to diffuse the situation (but not at the expense of themselves or the bully). They can also always try walking away from a difficult situation, and can try staying near adults in the playground, or staying with their friends. Children should also be taught that they should always report bullying to a trusted adult such as their parent or a school teacher, as too many children suffer in silence.

 

There are also situations when adult intervention is entirely appropriate, such as when bullying is prolonged, vicious, physical or is distressing to a child.

Categories: bullied, bully, bullying, Child, nbsp, situation