Bullying at work (article)

What is bullying at work?
Bullying doesn't only happen to school kids, it shows its ugly face in the workplace too.
Harassment, intimidation and aggression are sometimes built into a company's management scheme, or may be carried out by just one individual. Bullying is a gradual process that wears the victim down, and makes them feel worthless, both as a worker and as a person.
Bullying at work is when someone tries to intimidate another worker, often in front of colleagues.
It is usually, though not always, done to someone in a less senior position. It is similar to harassment, which is where someone's behaviour is offensive. For example, making sexual comments, or abusing someone's race, religion or sexual orientation.
Examples of bullying behaviour
Bullying includes abuse, physical or verbal violence, humiliation and undermining someone's confidence. You are probably being bullied if, for example, you are:
* constantly picked on
* humiliated in front of colleagues
* regularly unfairly treated
* physically or verbally abused
* blamed for problems caused by others
* always given too much to do, so that you regularly fail in your work
* regularly threatened with the sack
* unfairly passed over for promotion or denied training opportunities

Bullying can be face-to-face, in writing, over the phone or by fax or email.

The source -http://www.direct.gov.uk

Bullying Widespread in U.S. Schools (article)

Bullying is not just a normal, if unpleasant, part of growing up, according to Federal researchers. Rather, children who bully other children appear to be at risk for engaging in more serious violent behaviors, such as frequent fighting and carrying a weapon. Moreover, victims of bullying also are at risk for engaging in these kinds of violent behaviors.

Bullying is widespread in American schools, with more than 16 percent of U.S. school children saying they had been bullied by other students during the current term, according to a survey funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

The study appears in the April 25, 2001, Journal of the American Medical Association. Overall, 10 percent of children said they had been bullied by other students, but had not bullied others. Another 6 percent said that they had both been bullied themselves and had bullied other children. Another 13 percent of students said they had bullied other students, but had not been bullied themselves.

"Being bullied is not just an unpleasant rite of passage through childhood," said Duane Alexander, director of the NICHD. "It's a public health problem that merits attention. People who were bullied as children are more likely to suffer from depression and low self esteem, well into adulthood, and the bullies themselves are more likely to engage in criminal behavior later in life."

The children were asked to complete a questionnaire during a class period that asked how often they either bullied other students, or were the target of bullying behavior. A total of 10.6 percent of the children replied that they had "sometimes" bullied other children, a response category defined as "moderate" bullying. An additional 8.8 percent said they had bullied others once a week or more, defined as "frequent "bullying. Similarly, 8.5 percent said they had been targets of moderate bullying, and 8.4 percent said they were bullied frequently.

Out of all the students, 13 percent said they had engaged in moderate or frequent bullying of others, while10.6 percent said they had been bullied either moderately or frequently. Some students- 6.3 percent-had both bullied others and been bullied themselves. In all, 29 percent of the students who responded to the survey had been involved in some aspect of bullying, either as a bully, as the target of bullying, or both.

The source -http://parentingteens.about.com

Bullying story

Cyber bullying was to blame for the suicide ( article )

While police in South Hadley, Mass., investigate whether cyber bullying was to blame for the suicide last week of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince, the teenager who had recently emigrated from Ireland suffered a final indignity – disparaging remarks believed to be posted by classmates to a Facebook page created in her memory.

Prince died on Jan. 14 after a rough freshman year. Friends and school officials told that Prince had been picked on and taunted since moving to Massachusetts last fall.

South Hadley High Principal Daniel Smith sent out a letter to parents of students at the high school. In the letter, he called Prince "smart, charming, and as is the case with many teenagers, complicated . . . We will never know the specific reasons why she chose to take her life".

School bullies taunted Phoebe Prince through text messages, the computer and on Facebook and other social networking sites.

Smith said the bullying often surrounded arguments about teen dating.

In the letter to parents, dated Jan. 20, Smith addressed the disagreements: "These disagreements centered on relationship/dating issues. School personnel immediately intervened . . . and both counseled and provided consequences as the situations required. It is what happened after those incidents were over that is cause for significant concern.’’

Even after her death, bullies posted disparaging messages on her Facebook memorial page. The comments had to be removed from the page.

A makeshift memorial was held for Phoebe Prince over the weekend.

Local police and the Northwestern District Attorney are investigating.

The information source - http://www.foxnews.com

Bullying starts early - see for yourself (video)

How to empower others?

Are you being bullied? Have you been bullied before? It took me 34 years to be bullied. Which is why it hit me so hard. Very few individuals would succeed in bullying me physically, so my susceptibility came subtly to a vindictive and emotionally insecure boss. A clever practitioner of subversion, it took the shape of exclusion, constant belittling, bad mouthing to others and power games, for which I was ill prepared.

I have studied bullying since, and have discoverd some defense mechanisms for my particular weaknesses. I was absolutely astounded by the numbers of people who are bullied. Some estimates are that between 25% and 90% of school children in America are bullied sometime during their school career.

If you are a bullying victim, you have probably been carefully selected as a potential target, in an attempt to satisfy a deep seated inferiority or vulnerability. Much of this is subconscious on the part of the bully but has become a habit which fuels the need to feel better. Being bullied is very lonely because it is very often difficult to detect, and often tolerated or even promoted in the workplace.

This blog is about empowerment. Please add your comments and share what has worked for you as we combat bullying in the workplace and at schools. Let us learn from and coach each other as we share a common ailment - victimisation. It's about fighting back and taking back one's self respect from those bullying cowards who would trample over it.

Bryn Harries