Workplace bullying is a serious issue that can have devastating consequences for individuals and organizations. It is defined as repeated, health-harming mistreatment of a person by one or more workers that takes the form of:

  • Verbal abuse: Insults, threats, yelling, name-calling, put-downs, or public humiliation.
  • Threatening, intimidating, or humiliating conduct: Aggressive behaviour, physical intimidation, stalking, or spreading rumours.
  • Sabotage: Actions that prevent work from being completed, such as withholding information, altering work, or assigning impossible deadlines.

Key Characteristics of Bullying

  • Control and Destruction: Bullying is often aimed at controlling or destroying another person, sometimes with the intent of forcing them to leave the company.
  • Assault on Dignity: It attacks the victim’s dignity, trustworthiness, competence, and self-worth.
  • Guilt and Responsibility: Bullying makes the target feel responsible and guilty for the situation.
  • Isolation and Confusion: It isolates and confuses the target, making it difficult to seek help or support.
  • Persistence and Escalation: Bullying is usually long-lasting, repeated, and escalates in severity over time.

Alternative Terms for Bullying

Workplace bullying is also referred to as:

  • Psychological violence
  • Verbal harassment
  • Personal harassment
  • Emotional abuse

By clearly defining bullying and outlining its characteristics, you can help raise awareness of this issue and encourage a safer and more respectful workplace environment.

Some Scary Statistics

Drs. Gary and Ruth Namie have also founded the Workplace Bullying Institute (http://www.workplacebullying.org). Although it is American-based, they offer a network of resources on workplace bullying that can be used by people around the world.

The Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) has conducted four national surveys about workplace bullying in the United States. The latest survey took place in 2017, and its findings can be extrapolated to other regions. For the purposes of the study, workplace bullying was defined as “repeated mistreatment of an employee by one or more employees; abusive conduct that is: threatening, humiliating, or intimidating, work sabotage, or verbal abuse.”

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