Mr BullyproofBullying at the Workplace
by Mr Bullyproof | Follow Him on Twitter Here
Bullying in the workplace is rife. One study* suggests about 1 in 4 people are victims of bullying at their work at sometime in their lives and that 1 in 12 are bullied on a regular basis. Bullying is so commonplace in our work environments that it has become ‘normalised’. We are so familiar with it that we unconsciously allow it, accept and, for many, take part in it.
Perhaps we learned this in school. We have simply transferred the ‘social skills’ of the playground that worked so well, tweaked and adjusted them a bit to work better in an office and hey presto, we get to hurt other people for our own selfish interest in the work place. And it’s okay because there are enough other people doing the same kind of things and that makes it normal.
Most bullies don’t know they are bullies. Or rather, they don’t use that label on themselves. Labels are powerful. Remember when the USA, asked about their treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, replied that they don’t torture prisoners? The simply use ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’**
Of course, employers have a duty to protect their employees from bullying but this is far easier said than done. Making an accusation all to often ends up being completely fruitless and the victim is likely to suffer more. Not just from the bullies but from anyone in the organisation who resents the accusation being made. The resulting choice is then narrowed down to grin and bear it or change jobs and hope the bullying in the next job isn’t so bad..
One big problem employers have, when trying to solve an alleged bullying problem, is that they require some sort of proof. Without proof, it’s one person’s word against another (at least, if you’re lucky enough not to be bullied by a group) and the company cannot take action without causing a heap of legal trouble for itself. In self-protection, the company might even turn on the accuser for causing such a problem.
Proof is incredibly difficult to get. When someone gives you a snide look as part of their bullying campaign on you, how exactly do you prove that you have been bullied? Bullying is such a subjective experience. What counts as bullying for one person might not for the next. So to prove you’ve been bullied it’s not even enough to have photographs or tape recordings. Whether you are being bullied or not is entirely open to interpretation.
So what can you do? The best approach if you are being bullied at work, in my opinion, is to take control of the situation yourself. Learn how to change the behaviours of your work colleagues towards you and learn how to truly not care when someone attempts to hurt you. It’s easier than you might think.
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2292333.stm
**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_interrogation_techniques
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