The Types of Bulling that Happen in the Workplace
In an ideal world we would all get along, but sadly many people have problems and issues which can make this more difficult or even impossible. Something which many children are plagued by at school is bullying. This is something that makes the experience of school unpleasant, upsetting or downright frightening, and there are many charities and schools that recognise this and try to work to stop bullying from going on. Nowadays of course, bullying has also started to happen in a new way, with the increase in cyber bullying, which is extremely concerning.
However, whilst many of us think that bullying is something that we leave behind with our school days, this is certainly not the case. It is something that also goes on in workplaces of all industries and sizes all over the UK too.
There are lots of things that are in place in order to try to prevent workplace bullying, including human resources help as well as being able to make a constructive dismissal claim, but the sad fact is, bullying is still something which can often happen in workplaces.
When we think about bullying, we mostly tend to think of a group of children beating up another child and maybe taking their pocket money for example, but bullying is not just physical violence. In fact, there are so many other forms of bullying, it is more likely to not be physical.
However, other forms of bullying can be just as damaging, and often even more damaging than physical bullying. Here are a few examples of the types of bullying that might go on in the workplace…
Malicious Gossip and Rumours – Yes this is one that many people also would have experienced in their school days, but sadly it also goes on in workplaces too. The victim of this will feel obviously upset and angry about their personal business that could be true or untrue being spread around their workplace.
Abuse of Power – This happens when someone in a higher position such as a manager treats certain employees or an employee unfairly. This may mean always picking on them, making them work late or openly ridiculing them in front of others.
Cyber Bullying – Although there has been an increase in this in younger people it also can happen in workplaces. Emails and text messages may be sent with the intent to cause upset to a certain colleague, and this may also carry on when they are out of the office. Sometimes this is also something that includes sexual harassment.
Excluding or Ignoring – This is where a colleague may be intentionally left out of conversations, training or work events in order to cause them upset. This makes them feel alone and isolated as well as they may experience lower self esteem after a period of time.
