Bullying, sometimes mobbing (German: Tyrannisieren), is a widespread issue in the workplace. It can occur at any level and in various forms.

Sometimes bullying is dismissed and downplayed as a commonplace issue, such as a personality clash, a particular leadership style, character-building, or even as provoked behaviour. However, it is crucial to differentiate between legitimate constructive criticism or work monitoring – when done objectively and constructively – and bullying actions that intend to intimidate, threaten, humiliate, or unjustly single out an individual.

 

Who Bullies?

People who bully others may either be unaware of their behaviour or, worse do it intentionally to lift themselves up by putting others down. Common forms of bullying behaviour include: 

• Intimidation: Social exclusion, threats, spying, or other invasions of privacy.
• Retaliation: Accusations of lying about being bullied.
• Verbal Abuse: Racial or discriminatory slurs, mockery, humiliation, jokes, and gossip.
• Work Performance Sabotage: Wrongful blame, idea theft, interference.
• Institutional Bullying: When an organisation accepts, allows, or even encourages bullying through unrealistic goal setting, forcing overtime, or excluding those who can’t keep up.

 Bullying occurs at all levels. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute (2021), men make up the majority of bullies (67%) and slightly more than half of the targets (51%). Women are twice as likely to bully other women than men.

Most bullying (65%) is top-down, with bosses as the primary source, followed by co-workers (21%). Notably, 43.2% of remote workers report being bullied most often in virtual meetings rather than via email. If you’re targeted by bullying, there’s a 67% chance you may lose your job.

 

Are You Being Bullied?

Ask yourself these questions: 

• Are you micro-managed and doubted in your ability to do your job without reason?
• Are you repeatedly being insulted, yelled at, or aggressively shouted at?
• Are your job specifications and targets constantly changing?
• Are you being blamed for things beyond your control?
• Are you frequently ridiculed or criticised?
• Are you the target of an ongoing office joke or derogatory comments?
• Are you being given the ‘silent treatment’?

Here’s an example: 

“On my first day at this firm my supervisor told me ‘I am going to break you’. I thought it was a joke, but she kept her promise. Week after week I found myself working long hours and weekends. I felt utterly overwhelmed with the enormous amount of work that she gave me, much of which was beyond my skill-level so that I started second-guessing my competence and confidence. Although she was very knowledgeable and could be very nice and helpful, you never knew which side to expect from her. It could quickly turn into public shaming in meetings when my opinion wasn’t what she wanted to hear. It made me sick to my stomach and I dreaded coming into work. Eventually I was signed off work with anxiety and depression.”

 

What Are The Effects of Bullying?

Bullying can be subtle or overt, but it is always distressing for the individual. It can impact mental health and wellbeing far beyond the office. Symptoms may include:

• Feeling sick or dreading work
• Trouble waking up or getting good sleep
• Self-doubt, low self-esteem, and constant worry about work
• Losing interest in activities you usually enjoy
• Experiencing suicidal thoughts, depression, or anxiety
• Physical symptoms like digestive issues or high blood pressure
• Increased risk of type 2 diabetes

 

What Is the Cost of Bullying for the Organisation?

Bullying has serious consequence for businesses, including financial losses from legal costs or internal investigations. It also leads to decreased morale and productivity among staff, along with higher absenteeism and turnover rates. When bullying is not addressed, it can become systemic, making it increasingly difficult to tackle over time.

 

Bullying vs. Harassment: What’s the Difference?

Both, bullying and harassment involve behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated, threatened, humiliated, or anxious. However, harassment is specifically related to actions toward a protected group under the Equality Act 2010 and is unlawful. Harassment can be based on age, sex, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation.

 

Good Practice

To protect employees and the business, it’s essential to have detailed HR policies on bullying and behaviour in the workplace. These policies should be applied at every level of management and clearly communicated to all staff. Complaints about bullying must be taken seriously, and management should work together with individuals to find solutions.

Many successful organisations also rely on external support, such as therapists, to equip individuals with strategies to cope with bullying an to provide advice on HR policies.

 

 

Resource:

Workplace Bullying Institute, https://workplacebullying.org/2021-wbi-survey/