Found this article this morning and thought I’d share it. The Huffington Post’s reports that the maker of the documentary they’ve all been talking about will finally be revealed. I have to admit I haven’t watched the show regularly in a long while but I’ll be checking out this one: Continue reading
Guest blog article by Angela Monaghan [Ontario, Canada] – Advocate, Educator, & Counsellor addressing bullying issues. Founder of On T.R.A.C. for BULLYING PREVENTION, a not-for-profit organization promoting education, awareness, healing, and an empowered society that won’t let bullying thrive. Angela co-founded the International Educational Coalition on Workplace Bullying.
There’s been a disturbing two-fold trend in workplace bullying. In short, employers are mistreating particular employees as a way to encourage these employees to quit and serving as an example to others to `tow the line, do more with and for less, shut up and put up or this will happen to you`. The targeted employee becomes the example to others who desire to keep their jobs in an unsettled economic climate. Since bullying is all about control it`s a way management gains the upper hand. Unfortunately, this `upper hand` is NOT the healthy control resulting from a hierarchy. Rather, this is the unhealthy control based on fear and it promotes the bullying culture in an environment. Continue reading
When you’re hurt by someone you love and trust, you might become angry, sad or confused. If you dwell on hurtful events or situations, grudges filled with resentment, vengeance and hostility can take root. If you allow negative feelings to crowd out positive feelings, you might find yourself swallowed up by your own bitterness or sense of injustice. – The Mayo Clinic
Friday morning Jeffrey Johnson became both judge and jury when he determined the office grudge he reportedly shared with co-worker Steve Ercolino merited the death penalty. A punishment he carried out himself when he ambushed Ercolino on the street. We can point fingers of blame — but where do we point them? The employer? Analyzing how they handled the situation at the time is certainly beneficial in guiding other organizations. But, whatever mistakes they may or may not have made Johnson was downsized out of his job over a year before. Would anti-bullying legislation have prevented this? The office conflict had risen to the level of physical harassment early on and there was legal recourse in place. Grabbing someone by the throat and threatening them is already legislated. In fact both men had filed police reports. Raymond DiGiuseppe, chair in the Department of Psychology at St. John’s University, is quoted in the New York Observer: Continue reading
[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
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.
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We all know it exists. The co-worker that just makes their boss’ life miserable and meetings are power struggles that hinge on games meant to humiliate the manager and make them look foolish. Or the employee refuses to provide important information or perform a task on time in order to sabotage their Boss and make them look inept to their superiors. Maybe the employee’s ideas weren’t implemented or they don’t like the performance review they received. Maybe they don’t like authority. Groundbreaking research in this area shows that the impact is the same. The study below found that: “Over half of the interviewees (including most of the managers who experienced an experience of upwards bullying) reported an increase in stress, along with anxiety symptoms such as shaking and sleeplessness. Interviewees also reported experiencing anxiety attacks and clinical depression.” Continue reading
OUR BULLY PULPIT 