by Amon Karagara

Created on: March 12, 2008   Last Updated: December 05, 2011

Bullies are those individuals who feel the need to control and undermine someone else, especially a subordinate at work. Some co-workers can also be bullies, especially if you seem to perform better than them. And such elements still exist in the work place and they can be a real headache, as they make the victim's work environment unpleasant.

Most organizations still have bullies in their work places. Managers who act to humiliate their employees in front of other colleagues, or shout in an aggressive manner, pile a lot of work on your desk, verbally abuse and threaten one's job, set unrealistic deadlines, criticize someone even when they don't deserve it, are very common in most organizations. For most of the time however, upper management is not aware of such people.

Co-workers who are bullies endeavor to find a fault in your work or behavior, and are always on the look out for opportunities to pin you down and make you look bad in the eyes of management. For instance, if you get late or take a few extra minutes on your lunch break, a bully will be the first one to make it a big deal. And he/she does not do it for fun, but rather to get you in trouble with the boss or supervisor.

The majority of bullies do it on purpose, while others don't even know they are acting in ways that are considered threatening to their victims. Some bosses just think it is the proper way to manage their employees and don't see anything wrong in whatever they do, as long as the work is being done and no one has brought it to their attention.

Those who bully on purpose act out of their insecurity and lack of confidence. Some managers just want everyone to feel their presence in the work place, so they will do whatever it takes to get the attention and remind you (as if you would ever forget) that they are in charge.

Others act out of pressure, especially if they feel threatened by their juniors. For instance, if your boss knows your credentials are strong than his and he knows you might one day take over his position, he will do whatever it takes to reduce you to almost nothing. Everything you do will be undermined and you cannot get anywhere. Or if a fellow employee is eying promotion for a position in which you are better suited, he/she will most likely work hard to humiliate you and make you lose your confidence. This kind of bullying usually takes the form of gossiping and back-stabbing. You hear stuff about you from fellow employees.

Power abuse. Some bullies just want to abuse

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