Dr Gary
Namie, co-founder and president of the Workplace Bullying and Trauma
Institute, conducted an online survey of 1,000 people who claimed to
have been bullied at work, finding that 37% were eventually fired, and
33% quit their jobs.
In a
reversal of the typical childhood bullying scenario, in which
unpopular and apparently weak kids are picked on most, adult victims
in the workplace tend to
be
very capable and charismatic people. The bully sees them as a threat,
and determines to
get
them out of the picture. Most workplace
bullies
are
thought to be women - 58% according to those Namie surveyed - and so
are their targets - 80% of those surveyed. The estimated figure is
that half the adult population will experience severe conflict at work
at least once in their working life. This is frightening, because the
majority don’t expect conflict and don't know how to deal with it when
it intrudes on their lives.
Bullying conjures up images of schools and young children, but it is a
growing trend in the workplace, which is rarely tackled openly even if
you are lucky enough to have policies to deal with this issue. There
are legal options to take should the strategies above not resolve the
conflict. Don't ever just put up with bullying, seek help and advice.
