Posted by coral on March 2, 2001, at 8:40:07
In reply to Re: Please do, post that info... » coral, posted by dj on March 1, 2001, at 9:04:09
In general terms, the first decision one has to make, after making sure the bullying is real, and not just hypersensitivity on the recipient's part, is to determine that the behavior is unacceptable.
There are two types of bullies; the innocent bully who doesn't know any other way of working with people and the predator bully.
Now, document, document, document every incident that you experience, as well as observe. Report it unemotionally to the human resources department.
If the bully is of the innocent variety, he/she can often be taught better ways of communicating. If the bully is the predator type, when one person comes forward, others will as well. Predators should be dealt with in no uncertain terms. By that, I mean it should be made absolutely clear that such conduct is unacceptable and the victim will take all steps available to stop the behaviors. Hopefully, the company will also step in. Typically, a predator bully WILL back off when he/she realizes that the gig is up. Their thrill comes in terrorizing people. When they realize their victim is refusing to be victimized, they'll seek other victims. That's why the company involvement is important.
It's important not to attempt to tackle this alone. Workplace Violence doesn't "just" happen - it's a result of cascading events. We also know that intervention does work and can avoid catastrophe.
poster:coral
thread:4830
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010209/msgs/4909.html