05/30/2020
What is workplace bullying?
Workplace bullying is harmful, targeted behavior that happens at work. It might be spiteful, offensive, mocking, or intimidating. It forms a pattern, and it tends to be directed at one person or a few people.
A few examples of include:
targeted practical jokes
being purposely misled about work duties, like incorrect deadlines or unclear directions
continued denial of requests for time off without an appropriate or valid reason
threats, humiliation, and other verbal abuse
excessive performance monitoring
overly harsh or unjust criticism
Criticism or monitoring isnβt always bullying. For example, objective and constructive criticism and disciplinary action directly related to workplace behavior or job performance arenβt considered bullying.
But criticism meant to intimidate, humiliate, or single someone out without reason would be considered bullying.
According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, more than 60 million working people in the United States are affected by bullying.
Existing federal and state laws only protect workers against bullying when it involves physical harm or when the target belongs to a protected group, such as people living with disabilities or people of color.
Since bullying is often verbal or psychological in nature, it may not always be visible to others.
Read on to learn more about ways to identify workplace bullies, how workplace bullying can affect you, and safe actions you can take against bullying.
Identifying workplace bullying
Bullying can be subtle. One helpful way to identify bullying is to consider how others might view whatβs happening. This can depend, at least partially, on the circumstances. But if most people would see a specific behavior as unreasonable, itβs generally bullying.
Types of bullying
Bullying behaviors might be:
Verbal. This could include mockery, humiliation, jokes, gossip, or other spoken abuse.
Intimidating. This might include threats, social exclusion in the workplace, spying, or other invasions of privacy.
Related to work performance. Examples include wrongful blame, work sabotage or interference, or stealing or taking credit for ideas.
Retaliatory. In some cases, talking about the bullying can lead to accusations of lying, further exclusion, refused promotions, or other retaliation.
Institutional. Institutional bullying happens when a workplace accepts, allows, and even encourages bullying to take place. This bullying might include unrealistic production goals, forced overtime, or singling out those who canβt keep up.
Bullying behavior is repeated over time. This sets it apart from harassment, which is often limited to a single instance. Persistent harassment can become bullying, but since harassment refers to actions toward a protected group of people, itβs illegal, unlike bullying.
Early warning signs of bullying can vary:
Co-workers might become quiet or leave the room when you walk in, or they might simply ignore you.
You might be left out of office culture, such as chitchat, parties, or team lunches.
Your supervisor or manager might check on you often or ask you to meet multiple times a week without a clear reason.
You may be asked to do new tasks or tasks outside your typical duties without training or help, even when you request it.
It may seem like your work is frequently monitored, to the point where you begin to doubt yourself and have difficulty with your regular tasks.
You might be asked to do difficult or seemingly pointless tasks and be ridiculed or criticized when you canβt get them done.
You may notice a pattern of your documents, files, other work-related items, or personal belongings going missing.
These incidents may seem random at first. If they continue, you may worry something you did caused them and fear youβll be fired or demoted. Thinking about work, even on your time off, may cause anxiety and dread.
