Sunday, January 28, 2018

The Psychology of the Swamp No 3: A Toxic Mess


In this part of the analysis, the comparison of the natural swamp has significant similarities to the current political quagmire where survival depends on the consumer, the prey, and the predator. Because the swamp is an ecosystem and in the case of the political swamp a closed human-made ecosystem, members depending on threats may change roles at any time.

In the political swamp, the consumer is very similar to the bystander commonly found in bully events, and the prey becomes the victim, and the predator becomes the bully. With few checks and balances to guide appropriate behavior, this bully triad becomes a toxic unproductive mess. Voter's do not knowingly place into power experienced bystanders, victims or bullies; therefore elected officials often display these characteristics after being exposed to the closed ecosystem of the political swamp.

Bandura, a famous psychologist, studied the effects of moral disengagement in closed systems such as terrorist sects and dictator regimes and found that when new members are isolation under challenging environments, beliefs, morals, and values become compromised. If this is the case in the current political swamp, the culture is toxic, and a change is needed to improve the workplace environment so that elected leaders are guided by their morals and values and of those they represent.

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

Friday, January 26, 2018

The Psychology of the Swamp No 2: The Consumer, the Prey, and the Predator


The first article in this series addressed the positive and negative benefits of a natural swamp, and that the recent attribution or connection to the current political environment or culture seemed appropriate. However, an analysis of whether there are positive and negative benefits from working in a swamp culture or whether there are treasures in this human-made ecosystem will have to wait until there is a better understanding of the psychology of the swamp.

The consumer, the prey, and the predator are often interchangeable members of the natural swamp depending on current advantages and shifts in resources.  In the political quagmire, the consumer, prey, and the predator are interchangeable too as they are charged with adding a voice to dominant constituent concerns and demands while passing laws and directives for the needy, local and national budgets, and the allocation of those funds. Of course, this encompasses acting and reacting in an unbiased manner with balanced decision-making after conducting valid research, listening to testimony and public inquiry concerning topics that benefit the greater good, and issues of special interest groups, and even those with a low return on investment. 

An upset in the ecosystem of a natural swamp might include an excess of one resource over the other or a depletion of a much-needed element to balance the health of the wetland. In the political swamp, political bullying, self-serving actions, lack of accountability, limitless power, justice issues, and restricted resources upset the health of the political process and impairs any control or pressure that would typically occur from the consumers or the voters to provide both positive and negative feedback. Therefore, the analysis of the psychology of the swamp will focus on the consumer, the prey, and the predator.

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

Thursday, January 25, 2018

The Psychology of the Swamp No 1: Survival


The psychology of the swamp is a mini-series of articles dedicated to understanding the psychology of the swamp, which in today's world refers to the political environment or workplace of our elected officials. In ecosystems, wetlands are troublesome and challenging habitats to survive and thrive because swamps are areas of transition that are a combination of land and water, an environment of fierce competition for resources, and survival of the fittest.

While swamps are either saltwater or freshwater environments, within each swamp ecosystem, the variation of possible life forms is endless. The media stereotype of a swamp might be one of danger and foreboding and sinister activity; however, the world benefits from the treasure within. For example, swamps are known for their land designs that protect surrounding communities during destructive weather patterns and within the swamp fish, and shellfish and other food sources are abundant and harvested to add to local and world economies.

The first attempt of psychological analysis of the political environment suggests that the term swamp might be a good comparison of the culture within specific political contexts, where treasures exist and struggles are abundant and possibly threatening. If the design of the analysis encompassed the entire political swamp as one toxic organization, then issues could be addressed systematically to create a healthier more productive environment for all competing members. However, to analyze political groups separately would assume that bipartisan groups are not interdependent and depend on each other for survival. 

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully


Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Protecting the Marginalized in Bully Environments


Protection of the marginalized declines when bullying continues because an adaptation or habituation occurs when no-win situations remain without intervention and support. In other words, members cease to respond to negative behavior because it has become the norm. Those individuals in the school system or workplace who need the protection of others become the target of bullying because advocates are not available. Those targeted may be persons with disabilities, language barriers, cultural barriers, or from lower socioeconomic communities. Also, skewed is political correctness in an attempt to avoid offending everyone involved, which includes the bully and the acceptance of behaviors that would normally be considered inappropriate. Defining bully events cross-culturally and establishing a consistent focus concerning the consequences of bullying will protect the marginalized and create advocates for their continued care.

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully



Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Just Part of the Chaos



Once bully behaviors are established and go unchecked, the organizational culture will change from the intended mission and cherished organizational memories and stories to those of crisis management and memories of bully events and their outcome.  The chaos that bullies create causes those in authority to accept most bully-type behavior because those in authority become desperate to return order to the performance-based and time-oriented academic environment. Acceptance of bullying is the rule in mechanistic environments so that productivity can return to normal and curriculums delivered.  Often bully events are not managed unless they become outrageous, dangerous, or gain public recognition. Much like a teacher or a parent raising their voice over a poorly managed classroom environment to accommodate the noise while trying to be productive, bully events may become just part of the chaos until the teacher establishes control over the learning environment.  

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

 

Friday, January 19, 2018

Finding the Good in the Bully: Classroom Tension




It is easy to identify the school and workplace bully when there are escalations in chaos and classroom or workplace tension because bullies are often central figures who receive credit for all infamous deeds and, sometimes, heroics. However, before the bully-like behaviors get to the point of intolerable, bully-type behaviors have already interfered with normal and healthy social structures, learning, and classroom productivity. Insidiously, and long before the identification of the problem or attribution of the problem to bullying, the bully may harbor resources, information, and knowledge. Bullies create unsafe learning and recreational environments, destroy self-esteem and self-efficacy of both the victim and the bystander and undermine every functional process of the community learning experience. At times, bullies are rewarded for their talents and “saving the day,” while they abuse the rights and privileges of others. However, classroom, playground, neighborhood and workplace bullies do not suddenly emerge into existence but are fueled by imbalances in the organizational culture and slowly nurtured to take their unfair share of power.

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

 

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Finding the Good in the Bully: Bullies in K-12



Bullies in K-12 are common, and bullies may include students, administrators, counselors, teachers, bus drivers, employees, coaches, parents, news media, community leaders, neighbors, and volunteers. An organization or community that consists of so many independently managed and freelance groups can be difficult to analyze concerning the culture and environment and the diagnosis of system problems that perpetuate the cycle of bully-like abusive behaviors. Often, embedded bully retention mechanisms and incomplete organizational policies and procedures allow bullies to remain and claim even higher positions of power. Bully retention mechanisms for supportive and informal groups such as community leaders, neighbors, volunteers and public media have norms, values, and beliefs that may also skew the rightness of bully-type behaviors. In general, the creation of bullies begins with toxic internal and external environments and reward systems that make it difficult to manage the damage that a bully can do to themselves and others.

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully


 

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Finding the Good in the Bully: Bullying in the School System


Dr. Debra Stewart
Finding the Good in the Bully sounds like a misnomer; however, if we can see both the good in the person with bully behaviors and the dangerous components of bully events; we can fix systems that allow bullies to rise to power.

I am working on my second book Finding the Good in the School Bully, and I need your help.

Have you ever been bullied at school? Please send your story to stewart.debra8@gmail.com to add to my research and analysis of bullying within the school systems.

Please note that none of your identifiers will be part of the research or the stories printed for publication.

To ensure your privacy, please do not use the names of the bullies, victims, or bystanders in your stories. Use fictitious names for persons, places, and things so that your account describes the event without identifying the source and members of the bully triad.

Please provide permission to print your story in future publications and other media. Your name or the names of the bully, victims, or bystanders will not be disclosed to protect the privacy of everyone involved.

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Victims Stop Engaging



Some of the behaviors in the victim profile are indifference to promotion and development and issues with role clarity. These behaviors are not surprising because bullies are known for hijacking the victim’s hard work, dedication, and rewards. Bullies also cherry-pick job descriptions and tasks so that their stolen gains are again more visible for possible rewards. It would make sense that the victim would become unsure about their position and role within the organization. Because when the bully is left unchecked for so long, even line managers may be unsure of job description assignment and responsibility. It is important for managers over triads to be familiar with each member’s job description so that accurate job analysis can be accomplished for performance measurement and for safety.

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Too Many Bystanders


Managers and administrators need to lift their gaze above the bullying event to determine the damage or aftermath of the event. For example, are employee survey ratings poor or perhaps avoided altogether? An analysis of the social environments in the workplace and participation rates in team-building and collaborative projects in the workplace will be another factor that might indicate that the organization has more bystanders than originally thought. The bystander effect indicates that the more witnesses there are concerning an emergency or negative event, the less likely individuals will step forward and help. When a bully is left unchecked, bystanders feel that their intervention would be too costly on a personal level or so insignificant to promote change that the stress of remaining an apathetic bystander is considered a necessary tradeoff. The longer the situation goes without an organizational culture change, the more toxic and unstable the work environment will become.

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully