Identifying Toxic Work Cultures: Recognizing & Controlling Workplace Bullying
When one hears the word "bully," people think of the prototypical roughneck at school that shoves the little kids into lockers. Or maybe it's the hooligan that takes someone's lunch money as a fee for letting them live another day. But people tend to forget or ignore that bullying does not necessarily end on the playground or the gym locker room.
Many people fail to recognize that there is such a thing as the workplace bully. This personality type is becoming more well known thanks to many people that have brought the topic to light in recent years, but it's still a relatively new field of study in the psycho-social aspect as well as in business.
I have researched the various forms of bullying and how employers can create a bully-free environment in their workplace. But as with any problem, there first has to be recognition. I want to give the reader an indication of the "signs and symptoms" of bullying so that the reader will be better able to identify what is making their workplace "sick."
As you read this, you may wonder what you would look for in a workplace bully? Mean girls and tough boys were your typical bullies in school, but what about at work? The following paragraphs will help paint a picture of typical bullies. As you read this article, look at the person sitting next to you. Now look across the room. See those people sitting there? As you read this, you may start to understand that even those seemingly innocent looking people may be bullies. Chances are they're not. But bullies in the workplace can be very hard to identify. One reason is most people like to believe that people are, in essence, good. But bullies are not good people. They are evil. Maybe that sounds melodramatic, but the concept of the workplace bully cannot be taken lightly. Bullies are bad people, and people must keep in mind that they look like you or me. They look like your neighbor, or your sister or your cousin.
Workplace bullying is defined as repeated and enduring aggressive behaviors (most frequently verbal and non-physical). It is intended to be hostile and/or perceived as hostile by the recipient and is usually unpredictable, irrational, and unfair. Workplace bullying differs from harassment in that conduct is always intentional and includes more than just enumerated grounds. Intent of bullying is usually to make the target feel that their contributions to the workplace are not needed or are sub-par. The bully will continue their behavior toward the target until the bully is successful at either getting the target fired or they make the target so miserable that the target gives up and quits the job.
Examples of what the bully may do include all or some of the following:
* Belittling someone's opinion or contribution
* Deliberate and 'physical' intimidation
* Excessive work scrutiny
* Unfair criticism
* Setting impossible deadlines, tasks or targets
* Supervisor/manager taking credit for work of employee
* Ignoring someone or deliberately excluding them
* Singling out coworker(s) in front of others
* Shouting at coworker(s)
* Acting with condescension
* Gossiping or spreading rumors
* Interrupting without care or respect
* Sending hostile email(s) or other correspondence
Research shows that women are slightly more likely to be workplace bullies than men. The bully is usually well-liked by peers. Bullies present themselves as social creatures, even most of the reading I have done indicates that deep down they feel socially inadequate. They seem to be friendly and outgoing, but in reality anyone can be an adversary.
Underneath their cool demeanor, the bully is usually paranoid, secretly looking this way and that way for potential rivals that might create pitfalls for the bully's professional success. The bully is manipulative - everything they say and do is for the purpose of making things better for their own situation. The workplace bully is usually very intelligent; actually, cunning may be a more appropriate word. It's not unusual for almost the entire workforce to see the bully as someone to look up to - a role model for the company's newest members as well as those long-term employees that have fallen from grace for being too comfortable in their jobs.
One might think that a bully would be a detestable oaf and someone people would avoid. This couldn't be further from the truth. While the bully is silently self-centered, at the same time, the bully is a charmer. Bullies will compliment others that they need as allies. They offer help to others in order to gain the reputation as a "team player." While doing so, bullies build their own case for professional survival by making people aware of the good deeds the bully does in the workplace, even those of relatively little consequence to the day to day operations of the business. By lending help as a "team player" as well as padding their credentials by exaggerating their own contributions, the bully paints their self-portrait as a valuable asset to the company. This makes it easy for the bully to avoid suspicion when there are productivity problems at issue. If the bully is successful enough to create an illusion of success and have made themselves seem more valuable than they actually are to the business, it can take years to expose the bully's actual agenda.
The bully's loyalty is fleeting, be it to the company, the boss, her friends and/or coworkers. The bully typically doesn't really care about the place they work or the people they work with. Typically, there is only one thing that is important - prestige. If a conversation or a project doesn't interest the bully, the bully will change the subject. Depending on the type of personality the bully has, actions may be subtle to abrasive. The bully may quietly turn attention to herself by interjecting her thoughts into a conversation and then quickly change the subject or she might just outright call the topic silly or stupid and proceed to take over. The bully is prone to grandiose acts - sort of like being in the spotlight on the stage of a Broadway play.
Bullies typically target specific personality types in the workplace. Potential targets are people who are usually very good at their jobs and have achieved a high level of prestige in the workplace. The target isn't necessarily in management, but they could be "management material" for the future. The target is usually a high achiever and very enthusiastic about their work. The target has liked their job very much prior to the bully targeting them. The target is usually very scrupulous, with a high level of integrity and ethical standards. The target is polite and treats others with dignity and respect. They refuse to join the "in-crowd" or any cliques. Targets are typically family-oriented and take their family responsibilities very seriously. Targets of bullies are usually female, but not always.
Bullies hate the idea that there are others who may be better. It doesn't matter what they are better at - it's the fact that they have the potential to pull the spotlight away from the bully. The target may make more money, wear better clothes, drive a nicer car - any of your typical markers of personal success can trigger a bully's ire. Maybe the bully was passed up for a promotion and they feel that the person who did get the promotion should pay for taking it from them. Granted, the bully may not have done anything to deserve being promoted, but why should someone besides the bully - someone of lesser importance than the bully - be raised up to a higher position than them? Whatever the case may be, the target may be someone the bully sees as a threat to the bully's future success. The target must be eliminated!
The bully's antics usually fall just outside standard harassment definitions. The bully makes certain that they are not held accountable for any wrongdoing. They cover their tracks very well and most of the time too easily. They often frame their own misdeeds on one or more of their hapless targets. The bully is good at making their targets into scapegoats for tasks or projects gone wrong. Even if a situation has gone horribly wrong, the bully has ways of coming out smelling like a rose. While the bully may have one person targeted more than others, the bully will target more than one person at a time if the need is there. Plain and simple, the bully is a player, able to tell what people value and what makes them tick and then playing on those qualities. The bully builds trust, which is key to the bully's success - if able to impress, then half of the battle is not only fought, but won.
Bullies may be just mean people, but usually there is a psychiatric condition in play as well. The disorder most associated with bullying is Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The narcissist is a person who has a grandiose vision of self, feelings of superiority that are actually masking subconscious feelings of inadequacy. Narcissists may have a severe lack of morals and believe that there is no authority greater than their own. They see other people as inconsequential. Narcissists are unapologetic because they seldom believe anything they do is wrong - it's always other people who are wrong.
Remember this - every workplace has the potential for toxic behaviors. Just because it has not been identified in your workplace does not mean it hasn't existed, it doesn't mean it won't exist in the future and it surely doesn't mean that it does not exist NOW! Finally, employers must become accountable for workplace bullying behavior. They must establish anti-bullying programs and disciplinary procedures to combat this behavior. Why you may ask? Simply put, despite the fact that bullying is recognized as a criminal offense in a few countries, there are few if any legal remedies in the United States for this behavior. While many recognize that this type of behavior is morally wrong and professionally inappropriate, it's not necessarily illegal. It is typically left up to workplaces to recognize the issue, define the problem and put remedies in place to combat it. Non-toxic workplaces are good at practicing this. However, as long as the disease process that causes bullying is dominating a workplace, efforts to end bullying will not be successful.
My source for this article includes various information I gathered from Workplace Bullying Institute.