The Insider Take On Seven Kinds Of People Who Face Workplace Bullying
Are you a victim of these toxic techniques that kill your happy spirit?
Are you being bullied at work?
Identifying that there is a problem is half the problem solved. Because you know what’s surprising? In many cases, the targets of bullying are unwilling to accept that they are being bullied.
But why do bullies bully?
The word ‘bully’ invokes the image of a certain red-haired all-American ex- President. An overgrown child lashing out in fear. We can say all bullies are cowards & we won’t be wrong. But this quadrant I devised (aren’t I cool?) allows us to get to the root of the problem.
Bullies are no doubt low on emotional & social intelligence. They feel they have something to gain from their behavior. In office, they bully to deflect attention from themselves & their work. Or they bully because their target has something they don’t have. Either way, the bully doesn’t perceive their behavior as a problem.
To know more read this.
Let’s narrow down what matters to you.
Are you at high risk of being a target of office bullying? You could be if you are one of these seven kinds of people whom the bully secretly despises.
1. Bullying of high-performing employees
No kidding. If you are brilliant, efficient & creative you risk becoming a potential target. We don’t all get to be Elon Musk. Sometimes we get victimized if we don’t know how to handle our own brilliance (my illustration above).
Workplace bullies target the talented because they feel insecure/ inferior or both. Bullying bosses are the worst. They may go the extra mile to undermine your work, then steal credit from right under your unsuspecting nose.
2. Bullying of an ‘ethical’ human
If you are an ‘ethical’ employee entering the bully’s “workspace”, they may feel threatened. They have been using underhand tactics all along to retain power. And getting by brilliantly with it. Till you come along with your beautiful ethical ass. Your strong values throw them off balance. They bully you to restore the power game in their favor.
3. Bullying of Mr./Ms. Popularity
Believe-it-or-not. These charmed ones could be at the receiving end of ‘bully attacks’ too. Do bullies believe your Brad Pitt-like features or your like-ability pose a threat to their social status at work? They may pull out all stops to attack you.
4. Bullying of the ‘vulnerable’ one
Others perceive you as you perceive yourself. Do you perceive yourself as weak, vulnerable, anxious, low on self-esteem, needy or submissive? A unique snowflake in brief. Then that is how others see you too. Bullies will be drawn to you as vultures to prey.
5. Bullying of the one who gets pigeon-holed
Sexism, ageism, racism, homophobia, and religious phobia are a few of the ‘isms’ and ‘phobias’ in present-day workplaces. A toxic work culture provides fodder for bigots to breed. If the cowards find comfort in numbers they may bully those that stand out.
6. Bullying of the ones who are labeled “difficult”
There are human outliers in every workplace. They don’t ‘fit’ in the team or the company ethos. These rebels could be tagged as difficult to get along with, mean, aggressive, opinionated, or aloof. They stand a good chance of being bullied by their haters.
7. Bullying of the simply ‘unfortunates’
The ones who drew the wrong end of the straw. And got unlucky with high-performing, aggressive & result-oriented superiors. Does your management promote a high-stakes culture?
A breeding ground for talented bosses to perceive their ‘lesser’ talented subordinates as ‘getting in their way’. The bosses bully out of sheer frustration. The bullying may not be entirely their fault. These bully bosses have higher than average intelligence but score low on the Emotional Quotient.
In pandemic season the bullies bred like mosquitoes.
They crawled out of their holes to go attack their targets in full force. Many companies chose to overlook the bad behavior. They pampered bullies calling them ‘just humans’ whom step-brother Covid goaded into making mistakes.
Trends like quitting, quiet quitting & then as a spin-off quiet firing became an off-shoot of the bullying. These names don’t mean much. The trends have always been there. We are just a woke society. We like to name insecure human behavior that’s been around since the Industrial Revolution.
To sign off, bullying is wrong. I know you will never indulge in it yourself. But if you are in a powerful place in your company, denounce a bully when you see one.
Support a target & renounce the bystander status so ethics & badass-ness always win.
