Office bullying has become a common concern of many human resources professionals during the last decade. As more studies into the dynamics of workplace harassment and bullying have taken place, several types of office bullies have been identified. In fact, some office bullies may appear somewhat benign at first, with the fruits of their destructive behavior only manifesting after a prolonged period of subtle workplace intimidation.
One of the more obvious examples of office bullying is the aggressive bully. Bullies of this type actively look for ways to unsettle others in the workplace. People who engage is this tend to stand a little too close, speak a little too loud, and generally do everything in their power to rattle thought processes and prevent victims from gathering their wits in order to fight off the intimidation. If left unchecked, bullies of this type are likely to progress from verbal abuse to physical types of workplace violence.
A subtler type of office bullying is sometimes known as smart bullying. An individual engaging in this type of intimidation often considers himself or herself to be an expert on just about any subject, and is not shy about sharing that knowledge with everyone else. Often, the tone used to deliver this knowledge is calculated to imply that the recipient lacks the knowledge or skill necessary to assimilate the data and be efficient around the office, thus undermining the confidence of others. Rarely does the smart bully attack another individual with harsh words or other forms of direct verbal assaults. Instead, the bullying slowly erodes the confidence and enthusiasm of others in the workplace, and may result in poor employee performance, or the company losing employees that would have been assets in other circumstances.
The elite bully uses a method of intimidation that includes snubbing or shunning others, or making it a point to let others know they are not as good as the bully in some manner. The bullying may have to do with the way someone dresses or talks, or the salary or wages earned by a given employee. The snobbery can even extend to factors such as someone’s race, gender, sexual orientation, or religious preference. In some cases, the elite bully will point out how his or her attributes are inherently superior to everyone else in the office, sometimes in exquisite detail. At other times, the snobbery will be obvious, but communicated non-verbally.
In all its forms, office bullying weakens the efficiency of the workplace, usually by creating divisions within the office as well as undermining the confidence and performance of specific employees. Anyone from a department manager or supervisor to the receptionist can be the origin of bullying in the workplace. When behavior of this type of identified in any employee, steps to counsel and rehabilitate the employee should take place immediately. Should those efforts fail to produce a change, the bully should be strongly encouraged to seek work opportunities elsewhere as soon as possible, and be terminated as a means of assisting the bully in moving forward with that search.
