Ever been bullied at work? If so, you’re not close to being alone.
A new survey by job-search site CareerBuilder found that 28 percent of U.S. employees have experienced bullying at work. The employees most likely to feel bullied on the job are the disabled, with 44 percent of people with disabilities reporting that they have been the victim of such behavior, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers (30 percent).
By gender, women are more likely to experience workplace bullying, with roughly a third reporting such incidents, compared with 22 percent of men. Perhaps not surprisingly, a greater share of lower-paid and less-educated workers say they have been bullied than higher-income employees — 28 percent of those earning less than $50,000 a year say they have been bullied, versus 19 percent for people making more than that amount.
To keep reading, click here: Bullying a common problem at work
I only had this problem on one program, and it was my lead and later my senior manager. I was claiming that the software was designed incorrectly and so the bullying began. And yes, I saw every last one of those bullets. Eventually it did come out that the software was designed wrong. In fact, it took two major redesigns to fix it. The bullies had moved on to other projects but since I had complained to HR they put a target on my back for being the “problem” employee.
This was the one time I couldn’t leave the organization. I was badged to a specific program (Vs an engineering organization) and my Dad was seriously ill. I needed the FMLA time so I couldn’t leave to get a new job.
I blame HR for this fiasco. The HR department would actually state that their job was to “support the managers”. Their reluctance to take action against the bullies meant that the mistakes were hidden for years. It cost the company millions of dollars to fix it and prevented them from winning new multi-million dollar contracts due to poor performance on that one.
I was told that by HR also. They support the managers no matter what.
HR has become the internet of the world…it is the anonymous medium that shady folks can hide behind and avoid the confrontation that naturally would occur. The system benefits “bullies” greatly, although I don’t like that term bully. I prefer pathological liars, as I’ve found they all have this trait. Liars do squirm when they are caught, but because everything is done through the medium/HR there’s no opportunity to call it out. I think this is why the number of people in the article that have experienced it is so high (28%). It comes down to basic morals. If someone doesn’t have strong ones, they will exploit this system to the fullest cause it’s so darn easy. HR should be not be tasked with these interpersonal relationship issues. I don’t know when this all started but it has made the work environment weird. It goes against normal human interactions to have 3rd parties involved. I’ve had to contend with some dishonest people in life, as we all have had to, but when they have a team of people in HR they can get to act like puppets on their behalf it’s literally like observing a nut house.
Bullying @ the workplace – and in life – will never stop. There will be more value in guiding “the bullied” in ways to un-attract bullies … its all about energy.
I don’t think victim blaming is particularly helpful. People are bullied because people who do the bullying behave badly, not because there’s anything wrong with the recipient of that behavior. Bullies will always find someone new to pick on. Getting the bully to switch targets does nothing to address the problem.
I think you are both correct. Any good self-defense/self-awareness training teaches how to avoid presenting oneself as a “good choice for a victim” via body language, behavior tactics, etc. That does not negate the premise that bullies should be dealt with, wherever they are found.
Work is not “life”. Relationships in this environment are professional, where one’s DUTY is to follow a certain code of conduct which includes obeying your superiors. Hence why, for example, if your boss foresees their project plan won’t be successful and decides to scapegoat you, you have no recourse. This is also known as “life” and falls into the category of “sometimes life isn’t fair” regardless of how much “energy” you carry.
What I don’t understand is why companies don’t realize how much money bullying costs them. Bullied employees likely have lower productivity. Good employees leave the company and take their knowledge with them. The bad managers spend their time plotting and bullying instead of working. Yet in the end there are rarely any consequences for the bully.
Ad a jaded 30-yr member of the workforce, I would say that companies don’t realize how much _anything_ costs them that doesn’t have a specific line item in the budget.
Bullying, turnover, low morale, bad managers… no line item. Free coffee in the breakrooms? Line item.
Simply put and it hits the nail right on the head.