Workplace bullying isn’t exactly a new problem, but it is one which has grown significantly in recent years, and particularly since the start of the current recession. In fact, so severe had the impact of the world’s economic crisis been by June 2010, that this was one of the issues addressed by the seventh international conference on workplace bullying and harassment which took place in Cardiff, Wales during the early part of that month.
Bullying, of course, can take place at any level within an organization, from senior leadership down, but the perpetrators aren’t necessarily single individuals and they don’t even necessarily come from within the victims’ own employing companies. Not only this, but bullying behavior can also take different forms, some of which might not be easily recognized by those on the receiving end. Here, therefore, I intend to look at some of the different types of bullying and how bullying behavior manifests itself, because of course without recognizing the behaviour in the first place, victims are helpless to do anything about it.
Pressure Bullying – Pressure bullying is probably one of the most common types, but because it is perpetrated unintentionally, in the heat of the moment and by most people from time to time, many don’t regard it as bullying as such. Generally it manifests itself when people are under a considerable amount of stress, usually in the form of shouting or swearing at others. Unlike other forms of bullying, pressure bullying is characterized by the fact that when the source of stress is removed and things return to normal, the individual is quick to realize that his or her behavior was inappropriate and quick to apologize.
Serial Bullying – Serial bullying can always be traced back to a single individual whose behavior, as the name suggests, is characterized by bullying one person until he or she is totally defeated, before moving on to another. Serial bullies typically have a strong desire to control and display strong signs of arrogance, but often they come across as having split personalities, behaving charmingly towards witnesses, but viciously towards their victims. Often they are masters of deception and manipulation.
Pair Bullying – Pair bullying is perpetrated by two individuals, one of whom usually does all the talking while the other looks on. Although it can be easy to assume that the more active one of the two is the serial bully, often the reverse is also true.
Gang Bullying – Instead of a serial bully being supported by just a single colleague as is the case with pair bullying, in gang bullying he or she is backed up by an entire gang. Some of the gang take part in the bullying of others because of the sense of power and control that it gives them, while others are themselves pressurized into becoming involved. As with pair bullying, it isn’t necessarily the most vociferous members of the gang who are at the root of the problem.
Corporate Bullying – Corporate bullying basically occurs when organizations abuse their workers by, for example, pressurizing them to work unreasonable numbers of hours, encouraging them to make up complaints about their colleagues in order to aid dismissals, spying on them, or treating them cruelly or unfairly, when they suffer illness or the effects of stress. Employers often get away with corporate bullying because they know that the law can do little to touch them and that workers are unlikely to retaliate for fear of losing their jobs.
Cyber Bullying – Although it is common to think of bullying behavior taking place in face-to-face situations, of course this isn’t always the case and modern technology has made it much easier for serial bullies to threaten and victimize others from behind the safety of their computer screens. While e-mail is one of the favorite forms of cyber bullying, all types of Internet forums are used to post inflammatory content which is designed to cause humiliation, upset and conflict.
Client Bullying – Leaders, managers, colleagues and co-workers aren’t the only ones who are guilty of bullying behavior, which is also often displayed by clients, customers, students and patients and sometimes even the relatives of these individuals for example. Client bullying typically manifests itself in the form of verbal or even physical abuse.
As I mentioned earlier, the tactics that bullies use are wide-ranging and often their behaviors aren’t even regarded by many as bullying. Just to give an idea of what the Workplace Bullying Institute regards as bullying behavior though, here are the top 25 tactics adopted by all bullies which were identified in their Report on Abusive Workplaces:
- Falsely accused someone of ‘errors’ not actually made (71%)
- Stared, glared, was nonverbally intimidating and was clearly showing hostility (68%)
- Discounted the person’s thoughts or feelings (‘Oh, that’s silly’) in meetings (64%)
- Used the ‘silent treatment’ to ‘ice out’ and separate from others (64%)
- Exhibited presumably uncontrollable mood swings in front of the group (61%)
- Made up own rules on the fly that even she/he did not follow (61%)
- Disregarded satisfactory or exemplary quality of completed work despite evidence (58%)
- Harshly and constantly criticized having a different ‘standard’ for the Target (57%)
- Started, or failed to stop, destructive rumors or gossip about the person (56%)
- Encouraged people to turn against the person being tormented (55%)
- Singled out and isolated one person from co-workers, either socially or physically (54%)
- Publicly displayed ‘gross’, undignified, but not illegal behaviour (53%)
- Yelled, screamed, threw tantrums in front of others to humiliate a person (53%)
- Stole credit for work done by others (47%)
- Abused the evaluation process by lying about the person’s performance (46%)
- ‘Insubordinate’ for failing to follow arbitrary commands (46%)
- Used confidential information about a person to humiliate privately or publicly (45%)
- Retaliated against the person after a complaint was filed (45%)
- Made verbal put-downs/insults based on gender, race, accent or language, disability (44%)
- Assigned undesirable work as punishment (44%)
- Made undoable demands – workload, deadlines, duties – for person singled out (44%)
- Launched a baseless campaign to oust the person and not stopped by the employer (43%)
- Encouraged the person to quit or transfer rather than to face more mistreatment (43%)
- Sabotaged the person’s contribution to a team goal and reward (41%)
- Ensured failure of person’s project by not performing required tasks: signoffs, taking calls, working with collaborators (40%)
