Blogpost 5: 15 years later

For four posts, I've been working on the cases of bullying for kids. You know, the ones in schoolyards and places. I've also made one on cyberbullies. But what about the ones at work? Sure, adults may be more mature (they should be), there are a few exceptions where they do that in less subtle ways to those that deal more damage either to one's reputation or career. Sometimes, they don't even notice it.

Okay, I may not have experienced these types of bullying but it's still a pretty prominent example. In fact, there are about 54 million people being bullied at work. That's just for America, how about the rest of the world?

In Forbes.com's Ten signs you're being bullied at work by Allison van Dusen, the author states that 37% of workers, which is about 54 million people, have been bullied at work. The author states that unless you're at the receiving end of all that, you may not notice it. Here's a picture slide post of it.

According to Allison, "Experts say there’s a general lack of awareness about the bullying and the types of behaviors the term encompasses. This often prevents people from realizing that a boss or co-worker is a bully. There’s also an element of personal shame involved." Yes, because often that person is a boss which which is hard to take action on. It may also be another co-worker, usually with friends/cohorts. Sometimes, the person may not even realize it as he may be filled with shame or that he may be thinking about what the bully just said. If this continues, the person may end up being manipulated and controlled by others. He should learn to see when bully takes place.

About.com Human resource segment's How to Deal with a Bully at Work by Susan Heathfield says that you know you’re working with a bully when that person constantly brings out your mistakes, spreads gossip around you or sabotage your work. Susan says that to deal with this, one must have courage to stand up to him. Also, one must not make himself a target as it will only encourage the bully. It involves confronting the bully on his actions and telling him how it affects your work.


According to the Susan, "Remember: You’re the adult dealing with a tantrum. No wise parent gives in to a child’s fit because it just leads to more fits." This statement reminds me of a scene in a film called The Miracle Worker (a film about Helen Keller). A certain scene shows Helen's parents stop her tantrum by giving her candy and Anne (her caretaker) points out why they do this as they only encourage her to continue her tantrums. This gives her a mentality that people will give her something to pacify her. Thus this statement also applies.

Another piece from workplacebullying.org