Bullying in the WorkplaceIs it really that complicated?

Aleta GinnUniversity of Central Oklahoma

4 May 13

The Office Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DR5DCHHW5Q

What is bullying?

Olweus defined schoolyard bullying as “A student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other students”

Bullying in College?

• Over 60% of students reported that they had observed, been a victim or a perpetrator of student versus student bullying in college

• .44% had actually observed a professor bullying a student• 5% of the students in the study reported having been bullied

by a teacher or professor -Chappell

Bullying at work?

• Have you ever been bullied at work?• Have you ever witnessed bullying at work?• 12.6% of respondents to a nationwide survey reported

being bullied currently or with the past 12 months• 24% had been bullied but were not currently bullied• 72% of the perpetrators were bosses• 55% targeted individuals were nonsupervisory workers.

-Namie

Women Bullies?

• 58% of bullies in the workplace are female• Most often victimizing other females • Targeting women nearly 90% of the time

- Crothershttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXbkUCdmIOo

Mean Girls• Gossiping• Isolation• Alienation• Exclusion• Stealing friends and romantic partners.

Hollywood Psychopaths

The face of real

psychopathsTed Bundy

John Wayne Gacy

Jeffrey Dahmer

Psychopaths make up approximately 3% of the male population and 1% of the female population.

- Clarke

Job announcement for the psychopath

• Someone who is “motivated to meet deadlines regardless” • Someone who will “thrive on achieving results” • Someone who will “be prepared to challenge conventions” • Someone with a “strong desire to achieve, the capacity to

persuade and influence others” • Someone who “enjoys competing as much as winning” • Someone who “believes in high rewards for high levels of

performance”

Help WantedOnly Corporate Psychopaths Need Apply

- Clarke

Steps management should take

• Review job applications very carefully and check references• Terminate the employment of individuals guilty of bullying• A separate and comprehensive anti-bullying policy is imperative• Encourage employees to speak up and provide input • Offer seminars on bullying in the workplace other employees• Conduct a Needs Assessment to determine the current

organizational climate• Offer group interventions for training on conflict resolution• Assess and consider legal remedies that are currently available

References• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DR5DCHHW5Q• Olweus, D. (2003). A profile of bullying at school. Educational

Leadership, 60(6), 12. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1bf839fa-71fd-4b94-8975-4086454d00eb%40sessionmgr112&vid=2&hid=125

• Chapell, M. S., Hasselman, S. L., Kitchin, T., Lomon, S. N., MacIver, K. W., & Sarullo, P. L. (2006). Bullying in elementary school, high school, and college. Adolescence, 41(164), 633-648. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=30233eec-eafc-4d62-8f5d-1ef9a2fad037%40sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=125

• Namie, G., & Namie, R. (2009). U.S. workplace bullying: Some basic considerations and consultation interventions. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 61(3), 202-21. doi:10.1037/a0016670

• Crothers, L. M., Lipinski, J., & Minutolo, M. C. (2009). Cliques, rumors, and gossip by the water cooler: Female bullying in the workplace. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 12(2), 97-110. doi: 10.1080/10887150902886423

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXbkUCdmIOo• Clarke, J. (2005). Working with Monsters. Milson’s Point, NSW: Random

House Australia.