Thank you NBC For Deleting Workplace Bullying Scene From “The Office”!

The Office was expected to include a scene highlighting workplace bullying in this season’s season opener.  Humor takes broad liberties but this topic didn’t need to enter mainstream television as a trivial joke — far too many of us have suffered the humiliating physical and financial ramifications.  But, maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to judge.  The deleted clip was dead on in depicting what far too many trainers and experts have fed to the media —  the concept that bullying is “intentional” (check out the text on the blackboard).  As the dialog and interactions of the cast members show,  bullies are often clueless to their actions and the impact of their actions.  Here’s the scene – judge for yourself: Continue reading

Got A Bad Boss? Protect Your Health!

Please check out this infographic courtesy of Compliance and Safety: Continue reading

If you have anger, a gun, and a plan – seek help ASAP!

[UPDATED] From the NY Times: “

The owner, Ralph Hazan, pulled Ms. Timan aside and warned that Mr. Johnson might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Everyone in the office “walked on eggshells” around him, co-workers said.

Not Mr. Ercolino. “If Steve needed something, rather than go to one of the owners, he’d go right to Jeff,” the longtime employee said. “ ‘I need a sample in blue, right away.’ And Jeff wouldn’t take orders from him.” Continue reading

Working for a Bully? “Hold On Tight To Your Dreams”

Dr. Susan has a great article with tips on how to hang onto the most important survival tool you have: hope. She includes this song in her list of favorite resources for keeping strong while facing an office bully. PLAY IT LOUD. PLAY IT OVER AND OVER.
  Continue reading

How did you react when you saw someone bullied at work?

What type of bystander are you?

coexchange.com

Those of us who have been caught in the sites of a bully boss know that the people with the most power to help you are the ones who witness the abuse being heaped on you.   Will they risk their own job to stand up for you?  Or, will they look for ways to make things worse.  In their research article, “When is a bystander not a bystander? A typology of the roles of bystanders in workplace bullying”, Megan Paull, Maryam Omari, and Peter Standen describe the roles and outcomes (positive & negative) that bystanders play. Continue reading

Who Knows What You Say About Your Bully Boss Online?

So, your boss is making you miserable and you’re in that space where you just can’t stop talking about what they did to you today?  yesterday? tomorrow?  Detail after humiliating detail? And, it’s just not fair and you’re mad and you can’t think of enough miserable adjectives to describe the truly despicable way you’ve been treated?  And, now it’s late at night and you’re at the computer and you just want to tell the world?  Here’s a sobering infographic I found on the Internet that let’s you see just who is checking out what you have to say. Continue reading