When most people think of bullying, they immediately envision children bullying each other on the playground. Perhaps some reflect on their own bullying experiences as a targeted person, a bully, or a bystander who witnessed others being bullied. Very few people relate bullying to the workplace—unless of course, you are the unfortunate person being bullied by a boss or colleague. Bullies exist in our workplaces, just as they exist in our schools and playgrounds. Some childhood bullies have left the playgrounds, grown up, and are now bullying others in the workplace. They are wreaking havoc in the workplace and very little is being done to address this issue, especially in the US.
Fortunately for employees who live in a few Canadian provinces such as Ontario and Quebec, legislation has been passed that addresses workplace bullying. Quebec was one of the first provinces to pass psychological harassment (workplace bullying) legislation. The province of Ontario recently passed legislation that addresses workplace violence and harassment, including workplace bullying, which goes into effect on June 15, 2010. It is time for the United States to follow suit and begin to protect their citizens from workplace bullies. It is time employers do what they can to stop workplace bullying in their organizations.
Workplace bullying has become epidemic. It is literally killing or severely incapacitating individuals who have fallen prey to the workplace bully. Workplace bullying is repetitive, abusive behavior that devalues and harms other people on the job. It is not usually physically violent but relies instead on the formidable weapons of hostile actions and words. Workplace bullying intimidates and torments the targeted individual, putting his or her self-esteem and overall health at risk.
There has been an increase in the number of incidents involving workplace bullying and women. To explore the issue of workplace bullying as it pertains to women, research was conducted to determine the extent to which female employees in Canada and the United States are experiencing bullying behavior in their workplaces. Two hundred and sixty-three women from Canada and the United States completed an online Workplace Interaction Survey.
The Workplace Interaction Survey created by LMSB Consulting consisted of common bullying characteristics as outlined by researchers Charlotte Rayner and Helge Hoel (1997). Rayner & Hoel categorized bullying behaviors as follows:
1)Threat to Professional Status (e.g., humiliating the person in public or sabotaging the person’s work)
2)Threat to Personal Standing (e.g., name calling, spreading malicious rumors about a person, teasing or intimidating a person)
3)Isolation (e.g., preventing access to opportunities, or isolating the person physically or socially)
4)Overwork (e.g., imposing undue pressure to produce work and setting impossible deadlines)
5)Destabilization (e.g., failing to give credit where it is due, assigning meaningless tasks, removing responsibility or setting the person up for failure)
As it pertains to the category of threat to professional status, 45 percent of respondents indicated that they had been publicly humiliated by a workplace bully, while 27 percent of respondents reported having their work sabotaged.
Respondents indicated that they had experienced behaviour that threatened their personal standing. The most common bullying behaviours experienced were: teasing (39 percent), malicious rumours (27 percent), and sarcasm (24 percent).
Regarding the categories of isolation and overwork, 32 percent of respondents were ostracized and 25 percent were denied promotions or other opportunities. The respondents further indicated that they experienced undue pressure to perform (47 percent) and were given unreasonable deadlines (22 percent). Destabilization was the final category of bullying behaviours considered. Of the 263 women completing the Workplace Interaction Survey, 51 percent indicated that they were not given credit for the work they had completed, 36 percent were not acknowledged or rewarded for their work, and 21 percent were assigned meaningless tasks.
At first glance, the bullying behaviours may appear to be innocuous; however, if experienced over an extended period of time, the behaviours can have a devastating effect on targeted individuals. They may seek to take out their frustration by harming themselves or others. Seven percent of women completing the Workplace Interaction Survey indicated that they had considered suicide or homicide as a result of how they were being treated at work. We need only look to the recent tragedy that occurred on the Huntsville campus of the University of Alabama to see what can happen when an individual decides to take matters into her own hands and murder colleagues. One cannot help but wonder if some form of bullying was occurring between this professor and her colleagues. Could workplace bullying have pushed the alleged killer over the edge?
Could workplace bullying push you or one of your colleagues over the edge? Steps must be taken to prevent future tragedies like this from occurring in our workplaces. We must remember that though invisible to others, the wounds caused by workplace bullying are real. If targeted employees cannot turn to others for help in healing their wounds, they may turn to drastic measures to bring attention to their pain. By then it may be too late for the targeted person and for others.
Workplace bullying can no longer be ignored. A life should not be lost because of our failure to address bullying in our workplaces. We all have a responsibility to do what we can to prevent workplace bullying. What will you do today to stop bullying in your workplace? What will you do to save a life?
For more information visit http://www.bulliednomore.com.
References
Rayner, C. & Hoel, H. (1997). A summary review of literature relating to workplace bullying. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 7, p. 181 -191.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
In Memory of Jodie Zebell
Please review this clip. Jodie Zebell lost her life as a result of workplace bullying. Please do what you can to stop bullying in your workplace.
http://nojobisworththis.com/archives/1072
http://nojobisworththis.com/archives/1072
Monday, October 19, 2009
Ontarians Please Support Bill 168
Ontarians please contact your MPPs to ask them to support Bill 168. This bill focuses on workplace violence and workplace harassment. Representatives need to know that Ontarians want to be protected from violence and bullies in the workplace. The debate regarding this bill will resume tomorrow. Please do your part to protect Ontarians. Thanks.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/10/prweb3067174.htm
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/10/prweb3067174.htm
Friday, October 16, 2009
Categories of Workplace Bullying
In my newly released book In Darkness Light Dawns: Exposing Workplace Bullying, I discuss the results of an online Workplace Interaction survey I administered to 326 men and women in Canada and the United States. The survey sought to determine how commonly people experience the five categories of bullying set forth by researchers Charlotte Rayner and Helge Hoel:
1) Threat to professional status (e.g., damaging the person’s reputation, humiliating the person in public or accusing him or her of lack of effort).
2) Threat to personal standing (e.g., calling the person names; insulting, teasing or intimidating him or her; or devaluing the person based on age).
3) Isolation (e.g., preventing access to opportunities, deliberately withholding important information or isolating the person physically or socially).
4) Overwork (e.g., imposing undue pressure to produce work, setting impossible deadlines or making consistent and unnecessary disruptions).
5) Destabilization (e.g., failing to give credit where it is due, assigning meaningless tasks, removing responsibility or setting the person up for failure).
In the threats to professional status category, 47 percent of survey respondents indicated they had been publicly humiliated and embarrassed by a boss or co-worker. In the threats to personal standing category, 39 percent of respondents were teased, 27 percent were targets of malicious rumors and 25 percent were talked to in a sarcastic way and felt “put down.” In the category of isolation, 33 percent of respondents reported being ostracized in the workplace and 29 percent had their work sabotaged.
Nearly half of the respondents (46 percent) felt overworked. A full 21 percent said they’d received unreasonable deadlines: a ruse commonly used by bullies in efforts to overwhelm and intimidate.
Destabilization was rampant; 51 percent of respondents indicated they did not receive credit for their work and 37 percent said they were neither acknowledged nor rewarded for doing a good job.
The Workplace Interaction survey confirmed the powerfully and profoundly damaging impact of workplace bullying on health and wellness. For example:
• 32 percent of the men and women surveyed indicated that they suffered physical ailments such as fatigue, nervousness, headaches and stomachaches on a regular basis due to mistreatment at work.
• 28 percent were depressed and became anxious when they thought about work or were at work.
• 35 percent indicated that being bullied had negatively affected their personal lives.
To eliminate bullying in the workplace, organizations must establish healthy workplace policies that specifically address bullying. Similarly, lawmakers must pass legislation making workplace bullying illegal. When workplace bullying is illegal, organizations and individuals within those organizations will be forced to change their attitudes and behaviors.
For more information visit www.bulliednomore.com
1) Threat to professional status (e.g., damaging the person’s reputation, humiliating the person in public or accusing him or her of lack of effort).
2) Threat to personal standing (e.g., calling the person names; insulting, teasing or intimidating him or her; or devaluing the person based on age).
3) Isolation (e.g., preventing access to opportunities, deliberately withholding important information or isolating the person physically or socially).
4) Overwork (e.g., imposing undue pressure to produce work, setting impossible deadlines or making consistent and unnecessary disruptions).
5) Destabilization (e.g., failing to give credit where it is due, assigning meaningless tasks, removing responsibility or setting the person up for failure).
In the threats to professional status category, 47 percent of survey respondents indicated they had been publicly humiliated and embarrassed by a boss or co-worker. In the threats to personal standing category, 39 percent of respondents were teased, 27 percent were targets of malicious rumors and 25 percent were talked to in a sarcastic way and felt “put down.” In the category of isolation, 33 percent of respondents reported being ostracized in the workplace and 29 percent had their work sabotaged.
Nearly half of the respondents (46 percent) felt overworked. A full 21 percent said they’d received unreasonable deadlines: a ruse commonly used by bullies in efforts to overwhelm and intimidate.
Destabilization was rampant; 51 percent of respondents indicated they did not receive credit for their work and 37 percent said they were neither acknowledged nor rewarded for doing a good job.
The Workplace Interaction survey confirmed the powerfully and profoundly damaging impact of workplace bullying on health and wellness. For example:
• 32 percent of the men and women surveyed indicated that they suffered physical ailments such as fatigue, nervousness, headaches and stomachaches on a regular basis due to mistreatment at work.
• 28 percent were depressed and became anxious when they thought about work or were at work.
• 35 percent indicated that being bullied had negatively affected their personal lives.
To eliminate bullying in the workplace, organizations must establish healthy workplace policies that specifically address bullying. Similarly, lawmakers must pass legislation making workplace bullying illegal. When workplace bullying is illegal, organizations and individuals within those organizations will be forced to change their attitudes and behaviors.
For more information visit www.bulliednomore.com
Thursday, September 24, 2009
New book to be released soon
I am very much interested in seeing workplace bullying eradicated in the workplace. I have written a book on this topic titled “In Darkness Light Dawns: Exposing Workplace Bullying”. This book will be available soon. This book is not like any other book which focuses on workplace bullying. I share my personal experiences of being bullied in the workplace and my subsequent research on the issue. My goal was to write a book that let targeted individuals know that someone was willing to speak open and honest about how bullying affects them. I encourage you to visit my website www.bulliednomore.com for more information regarding this book and my earlier book titled “Hope For a Healthy Workplace”. Preorder your copy today.
Thank you.
Dr. Lisa M. S. Barrow
Thank you.
Dr. Lisa M. S. Barrow
Saturday, August 22, 2009
In Darkness Light Dawns:Exposing Workplace Bullying.
Have you been publicly humiliated by a boss or coworker?
Have you been the target of malicious rumors at work?
Have you been ostracized at work?
Have you received unreasonable project deadlines?
If you answered "yes" to these questions, you are experiencing some forms of workplace bullying. I recently completed research in which I asked 286 men and women in Canada and the US to respond to these questions. 44% of respondents indicated that they had been publicly humiliated by a boss or coworker. 25% of respondents were the targets of malicious rumors. 30% reported being ostracized in the workplace and 20% of respondents said they'd received unreasonable deadlines.
At first you make think that these acts are harmless, however, if a person is subjected to them over an extended period of time, they can become quite harmful. Individuals who resort to such acts are psychologically harassing others. They are slowly trying to chip away at the employees' confidence, self-esteem and overall wellbeing. In doing so, the harasser is able to unleash his or her wrath upon unsuspecting victims and the victims are left feeling confused and helpless.
Psychological harassment or workplace bullying can have a devastating effect on employees who find themselves as the target of this abusive behavior. Unfortunately, some individuals become so distraught, they feel the only way out of their suffering is by suicide. Suicide is not the answer. Workplace bullies need to be held accountable for their actions. Organizations that choose to ignore the issue of workplace bullying need to be held responsible. That is why it is so very important for anti-psychological harassment laws to be passed. Employees need to be protected from the bullies who are roaming the halls of our organizations and who are wreaking havoc in millions of lives. The time has come for us to put forth a united effort to stop workplace bullying.
My soon-to-be released book "In Darkness Light Dawns: Exposing Workplace Bullying.", provides valuable insights about workplace bullying and recommendations for how to stop workplace bullying. The book will be available mid-September.
Have you been the target of malicious rumors at work?
Have you been ostracized at work?
Have you received unreasonable project deadlines?
If you answered "yes" to these questions, you are experiencing some forms of workplace bullying. I recently completed research in which I asked 286 men and women in Canada and the US to respond to these questions. 44% of respondents indicated that they had been publicly humiliated by a boss or coworker. 25% of respondents were the targets of malicious rumors. 30% reported being ostracized in the workplace and 20% of respondents said they'd received unreasonable deadlines.
At first you make think that these acts are harmless, however, if a person is subjected to them over an extended period of time, they can become quite harmful. Individuals who resort to such acts are psychologically harassing others. They are slowly trying to chip away at the employees' confidence, self-esteem and overall wellbeing. In doing so, the harasser is able to unleash his or her wrath upon unsuspecting victims and the victims are left feeling confused and helpless.
Psychological harassment or workplace bullying can have a devastating effect on employees who find themselves as the target of this abusive behavior. Unfortunately, some individuals become so distraught, they feel the only way out of their suffering is by suicide. Suicide is not the answer. Workplace bullies need to be held accountable for their actions. Organizations that choose to ignore the issue of workplace bullying need to be held responsible. That is why it is so very important for anti-psychological harassment laws to be passed. Employees need to be protected from the bullies who are roaming the halls of our organizations and who are wreaking havoc in millions of lives. The time has come for us to put forth a united effort to stop workplace bullying.
My soon-to-be released book "In Darkness Light Dawns: Exposing Workplace Bullying.", provides valuable insights about workplace bullying and recommendations for how to stop workplace bullying. The book will be available mid-September.
Monday, July 20, 2009
What can I do if I am being bullied?
Over the past several months I have been diligently writing my next book "In Darkness Light Dawns: Exposing Workplace Bullying." which is about workplace bullying and my experiences. As I think about my audience I am sure many will ask themselves the question "What can I do if I am being bullied?" I have devoted an entire chapter to answering this question, however, I thought I would share a few tips for those of you who need guidance immediately.
One of the first things you must do is uphold your personal value. You must look in the mirror and embrace the person looking back at you. Bullying has a way of playing tricks on your mind, and may cause you to begin to doubt and devalue yourself. You have to begin to change your mindset about YOU. No matter how discouraged and defeated you may be feeling at this time, you must muster up the strength to see your true worth and to embrace it. If you do not value yourself...no one else will value you.
The next thing you must do is surround yourself with people who love you and are willing to support you. Trust me this is very important. I could not have survived my bullying experience without the love, prayers and support of family and friends. There were times when I doubted myself while going through my bullying experience, and then I would receive a call from a sister or friend and the person would say something that would let me know that I was valued and that I would be ok.
Document your interactions with the bully so that you have concrete evidence. Record the time, place, date, persons involved, and what was said and done. This will come in handy should you choose to pursue legal action. Carry a little notepad with you so that you can write down the facts right after a bullying incident and while it is fresh in your mind.
I would encourage you to talk to a counselor as he/she can help you work through some of the psychological damage that has been caused by the bullying. Counselors can offer insights to help you regain your strength so that you can confidently confront the bully. Yes, I said "confront the bully". I can just hear the collective gulp. In confronting the bully you are taking back your life and letting him or her know that you will not tolerate the bullying any longer. If you feel as if you do not have the courage or strength to do this on your own, take someone with you. Setup an appointment with a representative from human resources or your union. The bottom line is that you must tell someone. Know that you will meet with great resistance from the bully, but that is ok. Take deep breaths. The more you are aware of your breathing, the calmer you will be. Interact with the person in a professional manner. Clearly, let him or her know that the bullying must stop or else you will have to pursue your options. You must be firm. You should also file a formal complaint with the human resources department. Be sure to let your doctor know what is going on. Workplace bullying causes a great deal of stress for a person and can cause other ailments as well. Your doctor needs to know of your situation so that you can be cared for in an appropriate manner. Finally, if you cannot get assistance from your human resources personnel, then contact a lawyer.
So these are a few suggestions. I expand on these suggestions and provide other insights in my soon to be released book "In Darkness Light Dawns". Stay tuned. In the meantime, keep your head up and continue to see your personal worth and beauty.
Blessings.
One of the first things you must do is uphold your personal value. You must look in the mirror and embrace the person looking back at you. Bullying has a way of playing tricks on your mind, and may cause you to begin to doubt and devalue yourself. You have to begin to change your mindset about YOU. No matter how discouraged and defeated you may be feeling at this time, you must muster up the strength to see your true worth and to embrace it. If you do not value yourself...no one else will value you.
The next thing you must do is surround yourself with people who love you and are willing to support you. Trust me this is very important. I could not have survived my bullying experience without the love, prayers and support of family and friends. There were times when I doubted myself while going through my bullying experience, and then I would receive a call from a sister or friend and the person would say something that would let me know that I was valued and that I would be ok.
Document your interactions with the bully so that you have concrete evidence. Record the time, place, date, persons involved, and what was said and done. This will come in handy should you choose to pursue legal action. Carry a little notepad with you so that you can write down the facts right after a bullying incident and while it is fresh in your mind.
I would encourage you to talk to a counselor as he/she can help you work through some of the psychological damage that has been caused by the bullying. Counselors can offer insights to help you regain your strength so that you can confidently confront the bully. Yes, I said "confront the bully". I can just hear the collective gulp. In confronting the bully you are taking back your life and letting him or her know that you will not tolerate the bullying any longer. If you feel as if you do not have the courage or strength to do this on your own, take someone with you. Setup an appointment with a representative from human resources or your union. The bottom line is that you must tell someone. Know that you will meet with great resistance from the bully, but that is ok. Take deep breaths. The more you are aware of your breathing, the calmer you will be. Interact with the person in a professional manner. Clearly, let him or her know that the bullying must stop or else you will have to pursue your options. You must be firm. You should also file a formal complaint with the human resources department. Be sure to let your doctor know what is going on. Workplace bullying causes a great deal of stress for a person and can cause other ailments as well. Your doctor needs to know of your situation so that you can be cared for in an appropriate manner. Finally, if you cannot get assistance from your human resources personnel, then contact a lawyer.
So these are a few suggestions. I expand on these suggestions and provide other insights in my soon to be released book "In Darkness Light Dawns". Stay tuned. In the meantime, keep your head up and continue to see your personal worth and beauty.
Blessings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
