How Do You Know if You Are a Workplace Bully?

 

How do you know if you are a workplace bully? Perhaps you are in a position of authority in your workplace or are competitive and an over-achiever by nature. Wrapped up in the excitement of a new project or resolving old issues, you might feel that you are leaving others behind. It might be beneficial to periodically reflect on your mission and values and follow these four simple steps. In that case, you can still be yourself and be goal-oriented and driven without being considered a bully by those around you.

 

1. Practice empathy and compassion for others every day.
2. Work every day to improve your emotional intelligence. 
3. Avoid harboring resources, knowledge, and creating silo mentalities that reduce communication.
4. Mentor someone following in your footsteps. 

Remember that not everyone has the same foundation in life, opportunities, skills, and competencies. And not everyone has the stamina to compete and manage the stressors of life, disability, and hidden disabilities as those who seem more successful and energetic in the workplace. Understanding how success is perceived or affecting others in the workforce will help you avoid behaviors often associated with workplace bullying. 

Dr. Stewart

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When Bystanders are Quiet

 

 

 When bystanders are quiet, there are usually underlying threats that keep individuals and groups from stepping up to help or report bullying and abuse. In the case of children who cannot speak for themselves, some bystanders may feel threatened or even benefit by not intervening and will only do so if there is a chance that others will report the abuse.

When bystanders are quiet and not involved in the abuse or bullying of adults or children, fear or uncertainty may be why. However, in the presence of a bully, the behavior exhibited by the victim and the bystander goes beyond apathy to fear-based. According to Dr. Albrecht, there are five fears common to humans.

 Fear Types:

 (1) fear of extinction,

 (2) fear of body mutilation or invasion,

 (3) loss of autonomy,

 (4) fear of separation, abandonment or rejection,

 (5) ego-death or fear of humiliation, shame, or worthlessness.

 Since bullying is a system problem, the diffusion of responsibility to not intervene or report bully behavior becomes rationalized because of the fears embedded in the culture. 

Debra Stewart Psy.D. Organizational Psychologist Specializing in Health and Wellness

 

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How Organizations Create Bullies

 

Adams' Equity Theory of Job Motivation may help to explain how some workplace policies and procedures, noninclusive reward and recognition programs, and unfair growth and development practices may help create bullies in the workplace. Based on needs and expectations, employee satisfaction depends on fair inputs and outputs. When an imbalance occurs, and unfairness is perceived, employee retention drops, accident and injury increases, and employee competition for limited resources increase.

Debra Stewart PsyD. MBA

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Bully Management and Prevention Certification

 

COVID Vaccination and the Pressure to Conform

 

 The growing pressure to become fully vaccinated leaves some individuals feeling bullied and without reasonable choices and personal freedoms. For example, employers may mandate vaccination, or employees may face mandatory testing or other penalties if they are not vaccinated. During these difficult times of feeling pressured to conform, how do we make good decisions based on the greater good? Psychology informs us that conformity is neither good nor bad until we assign a social reward, threat level, or fear type. As we calculate losses and gains in a decision driven by self-regard and the regard for others, polar conflicts between reason and emotion happen that may challenge personal identity and purpose. Feeling bullied is a reasonable emotion from such conflict unless you genuinely examine the meaning you assign to conformity and why it matters in self-regard and the regard of others.

-Dr. Stewart

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Bully Management and Prevention Certification