The Realities of Adult Bullying which Happens in the Workplace

by Dec 16, 2015

There’s an interesting report at Yahoo!Health which made mention of adult bullying, its realities and how GOP candidate Donald Trump and his social media tirades against other people.  One of the latest is Trump’s Twitter posts criticizing Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.  The report cited how many people compared Trump’s behavior to that of a school bully all throughout his presidential campaign.

While most people would think that bullies are only present in at school or a playground, the harsh reality is it exists even in the workplace.  Adult bullying or workplace bullying has become prevalent over the years.  It can happen in any industry or profession.  Employees who experienced being bullied at work would find themselves under constant attack from an abusive boss or co-worker.  The attack need not be physical.  More often than not, it involves the use of highly critical words and even subtle actions which sometimes makes it difficult to assess whether a situation would fall under the category of workplace bullying.  It also makes it even harder to prove, on the part of the victim, that he or she was targeted by a workplace bully.

But going back to the Yahoo! report, it pointed out that while Trump and Kelly are not co-workers, they do have a professional relationship.  That is of a reporter and candidate or a journalist and subject.  Trump’s social media posts may seem scathing for some, however, other people may view it as an aggressive action that is reminiscent of a bully.

 

Click here to read the full article.

Do you know how much money chronically bad behavior costs your company? Spoiler alert – it’s a LOT higher than you want it to be. Download our data and worksheet to see how it’s costing your organization and what you can do to fix it.

About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Fortune 500’s, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared several times on NPR, FOX, NBC, and ABC as an expert, as well as in USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego Chapter and teaches at National University. In his book foreword, Ken Blanchard called her book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” She recently released a second book entitled, SEEKING CIVILITY: How Leaders, Managers and HR Can Create a Workplace Free of Bullying.

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