Monday 11 February 2008

Dealing with Bullying, Harrassment or Victimisation

UK Survey has shown that bullies, in the work environment, are not predominantly male as most people think (another stereotype perhaps?). On the contrary, the ratio of male to female bullies is approximately 50:50! Yet still about three-quarters, or 75%, of the targets are female.

Bullying is rarely physical and instead tends to be psychological. The most common type of bullying is constant and unjustifiable criticism. This can lead to stomach problems and stress. However, bullying is not synonymous with harassment.

The survey also reveals that is that most bullies try to make others look inadequate, so they do not have to face up to their own shortcomings. It often happens, that bullies belong to the more senior level of the organisation they belong to, and they target to someone on his team because he knows the person consists a threat to his position.

This type of bullies flourish in poorly managed environment, where bullying others into submission helps bullies to keep their jobs. The bad news are, that bullies are usually charming and accomplished liars, which makes confronting them a bit problematic for the target, especially if he is not as popular.

Harassment can take many different forms including racial and sexual harassment; bullying is just one form of harassment. If an employee feels they have been subjected to any form of discrimination, harassment, victimisation or bullying, they should immediately contact their manager and/or their HR Manager.

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