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Follow on Google News |  Corporate Bullying: Is there a bully among us?Corporate bullying is real and pervasive. The cost of bullying to a corporation is massive. The impact on individual lives can be devastating. How can you protect yourself? How can you manage well, and protect your company?
By: Popular Press Media Group (PPMG) 
Leading international business consultant Dr. Ivan Kos. • About 20% of workplace bullying crosses the line into harassment. • Workplace bullying saps morale hence causing increased employee turnover. • 3 out of 10 business leaders remain clueless when faced with corporate bulling. Who is a bully? A bully is a psychologically damaged person - a coward, captive of his/her exaggerated fears. A bully frets to be found out and exposed by his co-workers or superiors as an impostor and a fraud. This exaggerated fear, based on assumed and non-factual data, keeps a bully fragile and riveted to distorted beliefs of inadequacy and not being good enough as a person. In order to suppress these hurtful thoughts and beliefs, a bully over compensates his/her image by leashing out at others. Bully’ A bully is a noisy, overly aggressive and unashamed in the attempt to force others to comply with his/her will. If one resists, the bully attacks back like ferocious pit-bull. In some unhealthy workplaces, a bully may survive for years or even advance to a high-level executive status. A bully articulates his need for power through: • Verbal abuse • Offensive verbal and/or non-verbal threatening, humiliating or intimidating behavior • Interfering with work: sabotaging and preventing the job to be successfully accomplished • Shouting or swearing at an employee • Singling an employee out with unjustified criticism or blame • Using language or actions that embarrass or humiliate an employee • Repeatedly making practical jokes at the same person’s expense • Invalid and unwarranted criticism • Blaming someone without factual justification • Visibly treating some employees differently than others • Scorning • Excessively monitoring • Browbeating and threatening According to the WBI, up to one–third of workers may be the victims of workplace bullying. The New York Times found that about 60% of workplace bullies are men, and they tend to bully male and female employees equally. Further statistical research shows: • 35% of workers personally experienced bullying behavior while on the job • 62% of bullies are men, while 58% of the targets are women • 80% of the time a female bully targets another female (This may be attributed to females having more pressure to succeed in male dominated workplaces, hence they are more competitive for promotion.) • 68% of bully is same–gender harassment. Though nearly 7 out of 10 business leaders consider bullying as a serious problem, 3 out of 10 are clueless. • 68% of business leaders see workplace bullying as a serious problem • 17% never heard of it, while • 15% see it as irrelevant, a none-issue and believe that bullying only affects children. Workplace bullying creates fears and can have serious negative effects on employees manifested through: • Stress • Absenteeism and low productivity • Lowered self-esteem and depression • Anxiety • Insomnia • High blood pressure • Digestive issues. Workplace bullying damages a company’s productivity: • High turnover - expensive for companies since the investment in hiring and training new employees is lost when the employee leaves the company soon after • Low productivity - employees become less motivated to do their job well and are more often out sick due to stress and real fear-related illnesses • Loss of creativity and innovation – employees become unmotivated to generate or share new ideas • Having difficulty to attain quality employees because of being known for having bad working conditions. The best way to combat bullying behavior: • Not being afraid to stand up for oneself • Remaining professional and polite while firmly and consistently setting one’s limits • Avoiding verbal tit-for-tat behavior • Looking the bully straight in the eyes, staying calm, composed and showing no fear • Documenting bullies behavior • Getting superior involved, and if still intolerable • Moving on Who is not a bully? A manager who shouts at or criticizes all employees is not a bully. This manager exhibits a behavior of a bad manager and makes a workplace unpleasant. A coworker, who is critical of everything, always takes credit for success and passes blame for mistakes, and/or frequently makes hurtful comments or jokes about others, is not a bully. Again, unless these actions are directed at one individual, they represent poor social skills, but not bullying. Tough or demanding bosses are not necessarily bullies, if the primary motivation is to obtain the best performance by setting high standards. But when only one or few individuals are unjustly singled out then bullying becomes an issue. # # # Call the expert: To understand bullying in the workplace, and/or to have Dr. Ivan Kos speak to your organization visit drivankos.blogspot.com Contact: Popular Press Media Group (PPMG), (310) 860-7774, media@ppmg.info. About Dr. Ivan Kos Dr. Kos specializes in workshops on fear, leadership, optimal productivity, personal responsibility, and communication. A fellow of the American Psychological Association, and member of the International Association of Applied Psychology, Dr. Kos is also the author of To Dare: It is easier to succeed than fail. http://www.amazon.com/ End
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