The Workplace Bullying Institute reports that 35 % of workers have experienced bullying firsthand while another 15% report to being witness to it.  What do they mean by that? 

There are all kinds of behaviors that might signal bullying: verbal abuse being one; but often times it is more subtle, like shunning someone from communication they should be included on or not inviting them to work events that others are invited to. Bullying can take place over the internet, with cyber bullying being a real possible outcome of all the freedom that the social media allow. There is even a term coined where a group bands together in bullying an individual and that’s called mobbing. 

Organizations are often challenged by fostering an environment where bullying is tolerated: this is often the result of a workplace culture providing opportunities for healthy competition which gets taken to extremes – some employees will see opportunities for this and might be willing to cause harm to others if they can get away with it. But what’s really a key to workplace bullying is the employer’s lack of response to it – a bully will continue until then are stopped and since many of them operate within the rules and policies of the organization, they are often hard for the employer to accurately identify. 

What should a manager do if you are observing bullying behavior? 

1. Address it immediately.  Speak to the offender in private and describe what you have observed. 

2. Let the employee know that it is unacceptable and needs to stop. 

3. Tell the person that you are documenting your conversation and alert HR to the situation. 

4. Encourage the employee to apologize to the victim if it seems appropriate. 

5. Follow up with both parties to be sure that the behavior has stopped. 

Is there the potential for bullying in your work group?  You can really make a difference in someone’s life if you intervene.