Readers will be no strangers to cases of bullying at school, but have you ever stopped to notice the bullying that happens at work? Frankly, I used to give the subject little thought myself — until a friend recently shared online his own experience of being bullied by his boss and colleagues. Only then did I grasp how serious office bullying really is: the harm it does to its victims is in no way lesser than that of any other kind of bullying. That is why I want to do my small part to help readers better understand this problem, one that is spreading through workplaces large and small.
What exactly is "workplace bullying"?
Whether it happens at school or at work, bullying can generally be understood as a malicious form of social interaction between a bully and a victim. The bully repeatedly subjects the victim to verbal and physical attacks that wound them in body and mind, while the victim, faced with an imbalance of power, does not fight back.[1] In the workplace, that imbalance of power comes partly from the boss, who exploits the difference in rank to coerce the victim into endless OT. Scott, in the sitcom The Office, regularly oppresses and torments his colleagues in much the same way. On the other hand, more popular colleagues will sometimes wield their social clout to gang up on a victim. The plot may be funny on screen, but transposed to real life it is another matter entirely.
Looking at it through the lens of motive, we can broadly divide bullying into a few types. First, intimidating bullying is aimed mainly at cementing the bully's standing within the organisation, and usually involves excluding the victim or intruding on their privacy. Retaliatory bullying generally follows after a victim reports the bully, taking the form of a series of escalated, vindictive acts of aggression. Institutional bullying refers to behaviour that the organisation's culture tolerates, or even encourages — for example, setting unrealistic performance targets, or sidelining colleagues whose productivity is lower.
Two causes of workplace bullying
Workplace bullying is, in fact, remarkably common. Surveys show that one in four people has experienced bullying at work, and roughly one in seven is going through it right now — a prevalence comparable to that of depression. So we can't help but ask: what are the causes of workplace bullying?
"Kiss up, kick down"
The so-called "kiss up, kick down" describes the classic office two-faced type — fawning and obsequious towards the boss, but endlessly hard on subordinates and colleagues. A friend of mine who works in retail banking has lived through exactly this. When his team fell short of the target set at the start of the year — even when revenue was off by just 0.3% — the team head would hurl abusive language at him and pin the team's failure on him. Yet when that same team head was reporting to senior management, he would put on another face entirely, polite and deferential, never forgetting a bit of small talk: "Mr X, how has your good lady been keeping lately?" "You sound a touch hoarse this week — let me grab you a green bean soup on my way back." It left my friend, newly into the job, at a complete loss, and made him doubt his own abilities.
A retaliatory mindset
A retaliatory mindset is also one of the causes of workplace bullying.[2] As mentioned earlier, some bullies will go a step further and bully victims who dare to fight back. Beyond that, however, some victims turn into bullies themselves as a way of venting their negative emotions. Painful experiences leave them harbouring a desire for revenge, hoping to find psychological comfort by bullying others. Management bullies middle-tier staff, middle-tier staff take their anger out on those below them, and so the negative emotions are passed down, layer by layer, ultimately producing an unhealthy corporate culture.
The impact of workplace bullying
No matter what role you play within a company, workplace bullying will affect you to some degree. Looking purely at the impact on individual employees, workplace bullying raises the risk of a whole range of psychological and physical illnesses for both bully and victim [3], including:
- Anxiety disorders
- High blood pressure
- Insomnia
- Stomach ulcers
These added burdens on body and mind in turn make it harder for employees to concentrate, while sharply reducing their decision-making capacity, leading to poorer performance at work [4].
Office bullying is just as damaging at the corporate level. Lacklustre employee performance naturally hampers a company's growth and lowers its profits. On the other hand, the psychological and physical illnesses mentioned above also raise rates of absenteeism, and in serious cases can even land a company in legal trouble. In 2006, an Irish postal organisation was ordered by the court to pay a victim damages of up to 160,000 euros (equivalent to nearly two million Hong Kong dollars today) for indirectly tolerating bullying behaviour [5] — clear evidence that workplace bullying is not to be taken lightly.
In closing
Whether or not you have personally experienced office bullying, there is a good chance that a friend or colleague of yours has had the misfortune of becoming a victim. Recognising that the problem exists is often the first step towards tackling office bullying. If a friend of yours has been through this, do remember to show care and support for those at a low point in their lives. And if you feel you are not the right person to lend a hand, you might consider seeking help from a professional.
References
[1] Field, Tim (1996). Bully In Sight: How to Predict, Resist, Challenge and Combat Workplace Bullying. ISBN 0-9529121-0-4.
[2] Shetgiri R. Bullying and victimization among children. Adv Pediatr. 2013;60(1):33-51. doi:10.1016/j.yapd.2013.04.004
[3] https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/bullying.html
[4] Robert, Faran. (2018). Impact of Workplace Bullying on Job Performance and Job Stress. Journal of Management Info. 5. 12-15. 10.31580/jmi.v5i3.123.
[5] https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=445721ab-6879-4462-8f44-fb67e004a7d4
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