Bullying – A Growing Trend?

While a lot of attention, and quite rightly, is focused at stopping this awful behaviour in our schools, there needs to be more focus on bullying in the workplace.

Unfortunately, bullying in the workplace is now a lot more subtle and psychological but can just be as devastating. It can start with the smallest of actions but slowly it grows to undermine the individual, and not necessarily to their face, but briefing of their peers and senior colleagues, so that a cumulative drip effect becomes an avalanche, and before you know it you have been isolated by the political machinations of an individual.

The PRologist has heard of a terrible case of the bullying of an entire PR team and The PRologist was of a mind to out the individual concerned but the worst effect of bullying is that when it is brought out into the open, the person doing the bullying usually keeps their job and the person bullied ends up leaving, sometimes with some compensation but with a scar caused by the corporate ignorance of many HR leaders and managers.

More needs to be done to address the bullying manager, bullying should not be condoned or rewarded and more bullies should be sacked and made an example of.

There are a number of excellent employment lawyers who recognise the impact of workplace bullying but often the financial cost of taking a corporation to tribunal is too much for an individual or a family to face. The PRologist has found out that some home insurance policies will provide legal guidance and where necessary financial help should litigation be necessary.

Often though the mere whiff of an individual prepared to hire a lawyer is enough to rally the HR team into action.

The PRologist supports all work being undertaken in schools to stamp out bullying but shame on the corporate world for not doing enough to seriously out the bullies. If you think you’re being bullied you probably are.