Bullying In The Workplace
Welcome to Bullying In The Workplace Headquarters! We have all the information you need if you or a colleague is being bullied at work. Learn what bullying is and what you can do about it if you are the victim of bullying at work.
What is Bullying in the Workplace?
What sort of treatment constitutes bullying? According to Wikipedia Bullying is defined as negative treatment towards another person, the use of force or coercion to affect others, particularly when habitual and involving an imbalance of power. I.E a stronger person picking on someone who he/she defines as a weaker person.
It can generally involve verbal harassment, physical harassment (assault) and can be directed persistently towards one or a number of victims, oftentimes on the grounds of appearance, race, sex or religion.
Bullying is a widespread & serious problem that can happen anywhere at any time in life. Most people wrongly assume that bullying only happens to children when in fact just as many adults can suffer from bullying as well. It is not just “Messing around” and it is not a “Bit of harmless fun”, no one should be bullied in todays society because it can cause serious and lasting harm.
Although definitions vary depending on who you ask, Bullying is often involves:
The imbalance of power: people who are bullies will use their power to control the target and those who are being bullied will have a hard time defending themselves.
The intent to cause harm: The actions done by accident are not bullying; the bully has an overall goal to cause his/her victim harm.
The repetition: The incidents of bullying happen to the same person over and over by the same person or group of people.
Types of Bullying
It can take many forms but Bullying typically consists of 3 basic types: Verbal Bullying, Emotional Bullying and Physical Bullying. Currently the UK has no legal definition of bullying but some US state do have laws against it. Examples of these types of bullying:
Verbal Bullying: Name calling, teasing, racial slurs.
Social Bullying: Spreading rumours, leaving people out on purpose, freezing someone out of a social group.
Physical Bullying: Hitting, punching, shoving
Cyberbullying is also a newer form of bullying which has been on the rise over the last few years. It typically involves Verbal and Social bullying over the Internet, Facebook, mobile phones and other digital technology with the aim of harming others.
An act of bullying may fit into one or more of these groups.