Work Bullies

There's a lot of talk about school bullies, big boys stealing candies from 4 eyes boys half their size. Little is discussed openly about work bullies. A friend sent me a very good article from BNET- Nipping Workplace Bullying in the Bud. I'm sure most of us encounter bullies at our workplace (whether we are the victim, the outsider watching the act or bullies ourselves). I did, and still do. People bitch about it- at the end of the day, we all live with it. It's sad that bullying is often considered as a 'personal issue' and that many employers feel uncomfortable dealing with it or even discuss about the matter. Here's some things I've gathered from the article, hope it helps us all to be cautious at work.....and for bullies to repent?

1) Why do ppl bully others?
- a feeling of competence in handling his or her own job
- a feeling of having missed out on a promotion
- a feeling that a highly competent and popular collegue might be a treat to his or her position
- a personality clash with a collegue
- a personal problem at home that make the individual feel insecure and inadequate

2) What are acts of bullying?
- spreading malicious rumour
- ridiculing or demeaning someone
- excluding ppl
- micromanaging or overbearing supervision
- unwelcome sexual advances
- making treats
- persistent criticism
- withholding information
- removing responsibilities
- overloading with work

3) How do I detect a bully?
According to the article, bullies have the following characteristics....
- changeable personality- someone who is viciously outspoken in private conversations but is always innocent and charming in front of senior management
- someone who is excessively charming, complimentary, and superficial when in front of the "audience"
- someone who holds prejudicial views and makes regular, inappropriate jokes about issues relating to sex, race,...
- someone who is very controlling of his or her team, display "perfectionist" tendencies and quick to criticise others rather than acknowledging or praising their efforts
- someone who is impatient and irritable when called upon to deal with personal issues or concern of team member
- someone who is called to account for an error, missed deadline or mistake, immediately counter-attacks with lies, criticism and allegations. Bullies often respond to critiscm by appearing very distressed and claiming to be victims themselves, to avoid accountability for their actions