Welcome to my new blog, Bullies Among Us.
I created this blog to provide a safe haven for those of us who have been or are the targets of nasty, undeserved behavior by one or more people in the places where we work.
Bad behavior is not limited to any particular group of people in the workplace. Not to top-level, management, supervisors, peers, subordinates, men, women, Baby Boomers, Generations Xers or any other group. Nor are targets of nasty behavior limited. Bullies and targets, alike, are found in every layer of the workplace.
Think about this--one in every six employees has experienced bullying at work. Most of us tolerate it until it gets so bad we become ill--physically or psychologically.
I hope this blog will provide an anonymous forum for us to talk about our experiences without fear of repercussions rather than keeping emotions bottled up inside. Among us, perhaps we can come up with ways to stop bulllying behaviors.
Please feel free to comment.
Thank you for visiting.
Bad Apple Polisher
About Me
- Jean R. McFarland, Ph.D.
- Phoenix Area, Arizona, United States
- Hi, As Bad Apples in the Workplace become increasingly more common, we are realizing how incredibly expensive it is for an organization to retain - and maintain - these individuals. I have worked with organizations to identify their Bad Apples and conclude best outcomes for everyone concerned. Sometimes it is easy because the Bad Apple does not know the negative effect he or she is producing. These people willingly change their behaviors. Other times, Bad Apples are emotionally immature and act out their feelings with very little self-control. They might require education in civil behavior and anger management. At the other end of the spectrum, we find the Bullies--sometimes labeled Social Psychopaths. They are the most detrimental to their targets, surrounding people, and organizations and are the most difficult to deal with. As a consultant and speaker on workplace behaviors, I have had the privilege of helping individual employees and organizations deal with and, better yet, avoid misunderstandings and conflict among employees at all organizational levels.
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3 comments:
I appreciate your perspective and would like to share an experience I had -- I was bullied during the interview process I had with a major company. I failed to recognize it as bullying, and accepted the position, even though I had a hesitation. When I began working there as an employee, the bullying by the person who had participated in the group interview process became more pronounced. In fact, I recognized that this was common behavior at the company, and I witnessed several senior level managers (VP and Sr. VP) yelling at people, cursing and using abusive behavior. It was common place! What has happened to work place courtesy? Why do companies tolerate bad behavior? How do we restore respect for others?
I am sorry about your experience. Unfortunately, it is all too common in the workplace today. There are probably many social reasons for adults behaving so badly. Remember, problem employees usually don't become uncivil just because they start working. They brought those behaviors with them and have had years of practice.
Bad workplace behavior continues because the targets of bad behavior don't recognize its prevalence and seriousness, just as you didn't at first.
When targets realize what is happening, they often tolerate it as long as possible and don't speak up out of embarrassment or fear. This must be changed in order to improve uncivil workplace cultures. Thank you for speaking out on this topic.
Many readers might be able to relate to my recent experience. For this one I have been the observer of a friend's issue. He has had it with his manager and intends to quit. Tired of the bullying. Guess we would all be nieve to believe that this type of leadership is not among us.
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