Now there is bullying in the workplace

[TechMan]

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/02/21/adults-bully-adults-in-workplace-what-to-do/

Workplace bullying is defined as repeated mistreatment of an individual employee by a person or group that takes the form of verbal abuse, behavior that is humiliating, threatening, intimidating or sabotages the targeted person’s work, according to the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI).

Bullying plays out in the workplace in many ways, according to the survey:
43% of workers say their comments were dismissed or not acknowledged
40%  claim they were falsely accused of mistakes
38% say they were harshly criticized
38% report they were forced into doing work that really wasn’t their job
37% claim standards and policies applied to them were not used on others
A little more than 30% say they were given “mean looks” and 27% report colleagues gossiped about them. Still others, 24%, say their bosses yelled at them in front of coworkers.

Ah the everybody gets a trophy has now entered the workplace.

[roo_ster]

One thing I have noticed about "bullying" in the schools recently is that "bullying" has become left-wing code for "being made fun of because he declares he's gay in front of the whole school and makes a big nuisance of himself by acting like an ass." 

As far as "bullying in the workplace," man up and grow a pair.  I think that these folks could use a year or two in the Army or USMC to get some perspective.

[griz]

I wonder if it would be OK to fire someone if you didn't give them a "mean look" or criticize them?  Next thing you know OSHA will require a box of kleenex in every room as PPE.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Seems to me that the term "bullying" is  being used to include BS "it hurt my FEELINGS" stuff in with actually abuse.

Basically, it's confusing actual abusive behavior with stupid petty crap people need to learn to ignore.

[RevDisk]

As far as "bullying in the workplace," man up and grow a pair.  I think that these folks could use a year or two in the Army or USMC to get some perspective.

Have one guy at work that I think is trying to be one. Guy works out a lot, and I believe thinks he is still in HS by insulting the nerd. It is hard work not to start giggling and to instead maintain a straight face. Coworkers mostly try not to facepalm.

I obviously don't talk to the guy, and most of the coworkers don't either. A fair percentage of the coworkers have caught onto the whole "Rev ain't quite right" vibes, but I keep their internet working, so they're mostly happy with me. It may be telling that not a single coworker has clued the guy in. I suspect because there may be a betting pool involved.



I have known office bully types over the years. Decent managers either can them, or isolate them if they're actually good at what they do. Clueless managers think avoiding the situation will magically solve the problem. In the meantime, team dynamics tend to get screwed up.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Have one guy at work that I think is trying to be one. Guy works out a lot, and I believe thinks he is still in HS by insulting the nerd. It is hard work not to start giggling and to instead maintain a straight face. Coworkers mostly try not to facepalm.

I obviously don't talk to the guy, and most of the coworkers don't either. A fair percentage of the coworkers have caught onto the whole "Rev ain't quite right" vibes, but I keep their internet working, so they're mostly happy with me. It may be telling that not a single coworker has clued the guy in. I suspect because there may be a betting pool involved.

How would one get in on this action? I could use some easy money
 

[HankB]

I never thought of workplace problems as "bullying" but I guess these days it fits. As far as I'm concerned, it's just something to ignore unless it comes from one's own management - bad behavior there that I rarely saw when I first entered the workforce has become much more common.

Beyond that, I'll just say that my workplace is beginning to look more and more like the one Dilbert works in every day . . . but with short-tempered managers that don't have quite the intellectual capacity of Dilbert's PHB.

[Fjolnirsson]

While easy money would be nice, I would like to be the guy filming it when Rev's co-worker earns he has messed with the wrong geek. 

[BlueStarLizzard]

While easy money would be nice, I would like to be the guy filming it when Rev's co-worker earns he has messed with the wrong geek. 

I'm betting Rev will make him cry, and watching a grown man blubber makes me cringe.

[MicroBalrog]

Yes. There are workplace bullies. Should the state deal with it? No, unless there's actual physical violence or threats thereof. Next question?

[lee n. field]

While easy money would be nice, I would like to be the guy filming it when Rev's co-worker earns he has messed with the wrong geek. 

"...
Piss him off, and you'll be fired by tomorrow morning
'Cause he's the one that knows you've been surfin' porn!"

                          ---The Sysadmin Song

[RoadKingLarry]

I detest bullies.

I was "the new kid" 7 times by the time I started 8th grade. I had experienced some degree of bullying as a youth.
From the one on one @sshole that had to try me on to the 7-8 @ssholes all at once that may well have caused me serious injury if it hadn't been broken up.  at one school That sort of attack went on on a weekly basis, sometimes several times a week  I did learn to defend myself more or less effectively by trial and error. The folks wouldn't couldn't accept that I wasn't somehow starting it.

The last school I had a problem with it lasted about 7 weeks into my eighth grade year, I had walked away from a numerous attempts to draw me out but one fellow decided to take it from simple antagonizing to full on attack, local tough guy, farm boy, strong as an ox. I'd had enough and kind of made short work of it. I don't think he'd ever been in a real street fight.
We are very good friends to this day


Actually had a guy at my current job thought thought he was gonna get his bluff in on me and tried to intimidate with with some veiled threats of violence. My supervisor at the time was also a former sub sailor, I talked to him about it and he told was also aware of the jerks mode of operation but hadn't gotten anything solid enough to discipline him but if I felt threatened I could deal with it up to and including defending myself physically.

We got assigned to work stripping a disused wire frame down n the sub-basement soon after that talk.
The young man learned a few new words, new ways to use them and learned that ex-navy sub sailors didn't take well to bullying. Never even suggested I would lay a finger on him but I did have him in tears.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

I did have him in tears.



that can be a life changing event for a young feller.
they learn about a new facet of life

[Lee]

The problem I see with all these "specialty laws" Bullying, Hate Crime, etc...is that there are rules/laws already in place that cover most abuses.   

That said, there are circumstances that are unique.  When I was in school I took a job in a large corporate mail room on third shift.  I was one of two white guys out of about 50 employees that worked in, or with, the operations group...the rest were black.  While the vast majority of them were great to work with, it was very common to hear derogatory racial comments from a a half dozen or so employees (white people this....white people that)...and these were ignored by the rest.  I really didn't give a crap, and ignored them, knowing that I'd graduate and be out of there in a few years. But I can understand how someone who really depends on the job/income long term can get in a situation that causes them to either endure the "bullying" or find a new job, which isn't always an option in some circumstances.  And unlike the Marines, or High School, you can't fight your way through your problems. 
Again, that is already covered by HR policy...but sometimes things just escalate after a report is made to HR (or a school administration) and perhaps this is an attempt to put some teeth in those rules.  Generally sounds like unenforceable BS though.

[griz]

Workplace bullying is defined as repeated mistreatment of an individual employee by a person or group that takes the form of verbal abuse, behavior that is humiliating, threatening, intimidating or sabotages the targeted person’s work, according to the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI).

Bullying plays out in the workplace in many ways, according to the survey:
43% of workers say their comments were dismissed or not acknowledged
40%  claim they were falsely accused of mistakes
38% say they were harshly criticized
38% report they were forced into doing work that really wasn’t their job
37% claim standards and policies applied to them were not used on others
A little more than 30% say they were given “mean looks” and 27% report colleagues gossiped about them. Still others, 24%, say their bosses yelled at them in front of coworkers.

I just realized what I found so silly about that entire list:  It assumes that the employer owes the employee a stress free workplace where even incompetent work is rewarded instead of critiqued.  

[BryanP]

While easy money would be nice, I would like to be the guy filming it when Rev's co-worker earns he has messed with the wrong geek. 

I've used the line "Wow, I never figured you for the kind of guy who would send such a nasty email to the CEO."  Then waited for the light to come on.

[BlueStarLizzard]

I just realized what I found so silly about that entire list:  It assumes that the employer owes the employee a stress free workplace where even incompetent work is rewarded instead of critiqued.  

There are a few real issues in that list, most of which, I beleive, would be covered by laws already in place.

Everyone has interactions with their coworkers and bosses that are not pleasent.
I would bet a former emplyee at my own work place would accuse my bosses of bullying. She happens to be an adict who blames everything wrong with her life on anyone but her, and does really stupid things on a regular basis. Which was why she was treated the way she was, and why she was eventually fired.

On the other hand, my ex quit a good job after sucking it up for three months with a supervisor who gained his attention by saying "hey, dumbass" on a regular basis.
I can tell you right now, I wouldn't have lasted three months with that.
However, since my ex is a dumbass, he didn't attempt to find out if he had options other then quiting, like going to someone over the abusive supervisors head.
Which works sometimes. Doesn't work other times.

and when it doesn't work, well, that sucks but that's life, buttercup. Suck it up and move on.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

She happens to be an adict who blames everything wrong with her life on anyone but her, and does really stupid things on a regular basis. Which was why she was treated the way she was, and why she was eventually fired.

you possess insight and wisdom she would run from if it arrived to her on a silver platter. its a shame when good bosses try to make accommodation for fools that don't appreciate it

[BlueStarLizzard]

She happens to be an adict who blames everything wrong with her life on anyone but her, and does really stupid things on a regular basis. Which was why she was treated the way she was, and why she was eventually fired.

you possess insight and wisdom she would run from if it arrived to her on a silver platter. its a shame when good bosses try to make accommodation for fools that don't appreciate it

I had become close to her over the years. I ended up telling her off and kicking her out of my life because of her behavior towards them.
They bent over backwards to help her, and she turned around and trashed talked them.

I wish beating the stupid out of people was legal. 

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

you did her a favor telling her off. folks like her are passive aggressive bullies.  i remember your description of her too well. folks like her make bosses reluctant to help the next person trying to turn their life around. 
i'm outa patience with addicts right now

[Strings]

>"being made fun of because he declares he's gay in front of the whole school and makes a big nuisance of himself by acting like an ass."  <

Yep... coming out of the closet, followed by having your junk grabbed violently in the hallway by a jock, is "acting like an ass"... 

Seriously though, a LOT of what is termed "bullying" can be handled wither by laws already in place (in the above case, "sexual assault"), or a simple old-fashioned confrontation (ala Rev's "problem child").

Unfortunately, so much is now considered "bullying", that actual problems are cheapened. Kinda like false reports lessen the response to actual cases of sexual assault...

[MicroBalrog]

In the school context even simple emotional bullying (especially in early age, less so with later years) can be very harmful and vicious - remember that the children and adolescents involved have no way to leave. In the real world we are all free to quit our jobs if the people around us are a-holes. Not so with schools.

[rcnixon]

I'm betting Rev will make him cry, and watching a grown man blubber makes me cringe.

Making bullies cry always makes me happy.

Russ

[BlueStarLizzard]

In the school context even simple emotional bullying (especially in early age, less so with later years) can be very harmful and vicious - remember that the children and adolescents involved have no way to leave. In the real world we are all free to quit our jobs if the people around us are a-holes. Not so with schools.

While, on the most part I do agree with you, not all adults are in a position to leave their jobs due to being bullied.

While I don't think there should be a law regarding workplace bullying, I would hope a majority of businesses would prevent bully type behavior. It is one of those things that just makes sense. Confrontational workplaces cut down on productivity.

Making bullies cry always makes me happy.

Russ

You have a stronger stomach then I, my friend.

[Lee]

In the school context even simple emotional bullying (especially in early age, less so with later years) can be very harmful and vicious - remember that the children and adolescents involved have no way to leave. In the real world we are all free to quit our jobs if the people around us are a-holes. Not so with schools.

Being "free" to leave a job may not be an option for many folks.  A lot of jerks know that, and that's why they act they way they do. Their bad behavior probably starts because of power and control issues.   For many people in this economy (and any economy in some geographical areas) it's a choice between providing for oneself and family, being on welfare, or being homeless. There is a choice o relocate - but that may not be feasible for people who are too poor, or who care for extended family locally.