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Changing How We Relate to Each Other in the Face of Business

How to Identify the Behaviors of a Bully

Examples of workplace bullying include:

• Character assassination
• Not providing resources in a fair manner
• Social ostracizing or isolation
• Physical assault
• Destruction of property or product
• Falsely accusing someone of work error

Keep in mind bullies are insecure cowards who have issues with feeling adequate. Directly or indirectly they feel threatened by quality employees and those who play by the rules. Bullies seek power and control and do so by minimizing the values of others. Status or rank will not determine who becomes a bully, as feeling insecure can exist from the highest corporate officials to those on the low end of the pay scale.

Bullies with tempers are usually the easiest to spot and usually the first to go. Others however, are much more subtle. They act reasonably and are courteous on the surface, yet in reality they engage in vicious and fabricated character assassination, petty humiliations and small inferences. Any one of these might be insignificant on their own, but taken together over a period of time, wreck havoc the work environment for targeted individuals.

Bullying is not about a "clash of personalities," a "misunderstanding," or "miscommunication.” According to psychologists, bullies use surprise and secrecy to gain leverage over those targeted. They are not interested in meeting someone else halfway; so negotiating with a bully is useless. They look to push the insecurities and fears of those they target to produce emotional instability. In order to keep the upper hand, they can be very adept at using deception.

Unfortunately, targets are usually empathetic, just and fair people, thus making them easy to manipulate. Bullies start conflict and trouble hoping those targeted will react

Next: How to Eliminate Bullying in the Corporate Environment

Last Update: July 18, 2011

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