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Home » Categories » News » Current Events » My Boss Is a Bully What Can I do? - The Scourge of Bullying in the Workplace » Printer Friendly

Julian Price Julian Price (9,271)
Julian Price

My Boss Is a Bully What Can I do? - The Scourge of Bullying in the Workplace

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Submitted Thursday, July 09, 2009
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How many workers are afraid of their bosses these days? How many of us cower and tremble just at the thought of our boss? How many work places are still run by lazy tyrants who revel and feed on the power they believe they wield?

There is nothing wrong with some good old fashioned respect toward those who hold more responsibility than us and whom ultimately we are responsible to between the hours of nine to five (or whatever shift we work), in fact, this kind of respect should be positively encouraged.

Of course there are those bosses that are faced with the ever more common "skive at every opportunity" workforce for whom a little more strictness is certainly more than warranted.

Yet I speak of the kind of boss mentioned in my introduction, the one that delights in the power of manipulating fellow, and some might say, more civilised human beings than themselves. If I hadn't heard the tales and stories with my own ears I wouldn't have believed bosses like this still existed. You would be forgiven for having nightmares of Oliver Twist proportions!

Bosses that actively seek out the more timid members of the workforce and use them as their menial task minions. "Fetch this", "take that" and "do the other" are the orders barked out, none of which are found in the employee's job description.

Blamed for errors that are someone else's, (often the boss themselves!) reprimanded and humiliated in front of all the other staff, all of whom are too afraid or too interested in their own position to stand up for their harassed co workers.

"Take legal action!" Cry the masses. For those with strong will or those prepared to leave their job for the cause, (usually those who either don't need the salary or already have another job to walk into) this might be an option but for many other folk, those who prefer to avoid confrontation or those that need the job to pay mortgages, bills and provide for children, this is an impossible task.

Often a boss who behaves in such a despicable manner, usually have their back covered from all angles. They are well connected; they have even more powerful people smiling down on them from somewhere. They act without remorse and become merciless to those who through no fault of their own are rendered defenceless.

The only likely outcome to such legal action is a jobless employee and a lightly knuckle rapped boss with feet up on their desk already targeting their next hapless/helpless victim.

Of course much of this is a generalisation and of course there are some superb bosses out there but I have heard enough to perhaps raise this as an issue and at least create debate.

Thank you for listening.

Why not write your own stories and opinions and post them here at searchwarp. A great place to place to air your views or begin a writing career!   
http://SearchWarp.com/Register.asp

Currently studying freelance journalism, Julian is a creative writer and poet who writes both professionally and for pleasure. Julian has successfully written articles for an internet marketing company and although this medium is restricted by topic, his writing still maintains a unique and often humourous style, with many of his articles achieving good results. He has found the discipline involved with this kind of work to be a great writing exercise and believes it enhances and improves other areas of his writing. Julian has just taken the bold step into the world of freelance writing and many of his articles here at searchwarp are a showcase of the variety and quality of his work.






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» left by Jo from UK (202 days 17 hours ago.)
Reader Rating: 5 out of 5
I'm a boss and i hope i don't come across like this. Although with the stress I'm under its not an impossibility! No excuse for bullying I know, and we all have our "off days". But every day, bullying the same people is unforgivable.

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» left by Julian Price (9,271)
Julian Price
(202 days 16 hours ago.)

Thanks for your honest and forthright comment Jo. Much appreciated and thanks for reading.

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» left by Anonymous (202 days 12 hours ago.)
Reader Rating: 5 out of 5
I have been myself a victim of such a boss and the discription given above is both insightful and incredibly accurate! I do not consider myself as weak or timid, however, power in the wrong hands used against you just because you are a hardworker and a popular member of the team results over a period of time in a lack of confidence, and a lowered self esteem. I am thrilled that you have raised this issue with such understanding. My advice to anyone finding themselves in a similar situation is to speak out, let your voice be heard. The bad guys can't always win!!!

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» left by Julian Price (9,271)
Julian Price
(196 days 1 hour ago.)

Thank you for your passionate and heartfelt comment and I am sorry you have been bullied by a boss. I hope that you are now free of whatever situation you were in and I hope sharing this article with me was a help in some small way. Thanks again.

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» left by R.P. from pacoima CA (193 days 3 hours ago.)
Reader Rating: 5 out of 5
my boss is an ass he blamed me for a contaminated load of concrete when he was the one that loaded it

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» left by Julian Price (9,271)
Julian Price
(192 days 16 hours ago.)

Oh thats not cool! It seems this is a more common problem than many may think. Thanks for adding to the discussion and awareness of this horrible problem.

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» left by Anonymous (180 days 22 hours ago.)
Reader Rating: 5 out of 5
Wow. Very true. My boss will never be fired because she's well connected. However, I have thought of a solution. Let's say the entire office you work at hates the boss (likely if he/she fits description above)... You get everyone to sign a petition demanding she/he be reassigned elsewhere or fired. Perhaps not all will sign, but it's better than standing alone or not do anything at all, right?

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» left by Julian Price (9,271)
Julian Price
(180 days 16 hours ago.)

Hi! Thanks for your comment and your possible solution. Great idea but it requires a lot of elements to come together for it to have a chance. If you have been victimised and others in the work place have perhaps been favouritised by the boss in question, it will be very difficult to get other people on board. I think your solution has more of a chance in a scenario where the boss is bullying all the staff. Thanks again for the thoughts and ideas. Much appreciated.

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» left by rose from armadale (174 days 3 hours ago.)
How is speaking out going to help me? There is only the boss and me, no one sees or hears how she talks to me. Work cover said there is only one solution and that is for me to leave. After 9 years as a graphic designer in her printing company, my skill level in the industry has diminished greatly. I dont even like to tell anyone where I work or what I do. Im only on 34,5000 per year and Im 40. The place looks worse than a rundown old house.

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» left by Julian Price (9,271)
Julian Price
(173 days 21 hours ago.)

Thanks Rose for taking the time to read and contribute. This article does seem to be striking a nerve. It's such a delicate and complex subject as every bullying case can be unique. The article was written to raise awareness of bullying in the workplace more so than actually providing solutions. There is more advice out there though. A really good website with lots of information about bullying i found is lifeafteradultbullying. I am unable to show the full link on this comment but if you add a dot com, this should lead you to the site. I hope that searchwarp will allow this to be shown as it may prove useful for people perhaps seeking more information after reading this article. Hope this proves to be at least a little bit helpful. Thanks again for contributing. Julian

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» left by Brianna Popsickle (2,097)
Brianna Popsickle
(164 days 20 hours ago.)

The workforce can be a vicious place. Disrespect to the point of bullying should not be tolerated. Wouldn't it be wonderful if employees who observe someone being treated unfairly, could unite, and demand changes? Isn't that what we would want our children to do in the playground if they saw someone being picked on? Lead by example. As my husband says to his students, "Always try, never lie, always help the little guy." Great article Julian, hopefully people will read it and recognize where they can make changes.

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» left by Julian Price (9,271)
Julian Price
(164 days ago.)

Thanks Brianna for taking time to read me and leave a comment. Very much appreciated. I think bullying, although a serious problem in its own right is actually part of a bigger picture. I have written about the breakdown of respect and common courtesy before, but really once the basics have gone, where does that lead us all? Into an ever degrading society, where respect toward our fellow humans isnt even a priority anymore. Thanks again. Julian

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» left by ChaseEmployee from Texas (131 days 5 hours ago.)
Reader Rating: 4 out of 5
My Bully Boss uses loud outbursts throughout the day to keep employees off balance. She is generally agitated and high-strung, causing widespread chaos among coworkers. Once everyone is equally agitated and off balance, she swoops in with a "meeting" threatening all sorts of dreaded predictions about layoffs and dismissals, etc.
 
Morale is ridiculously low, personal motivation/initiation is virtually non-existent and attendance and puctuality are at an alarming low! What a surprise.

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» left by Julian Price (9,271)
Julian Price
(130 days 21 hours ago.)

It seems your boss's bullying techniques are carefully planned and finely honed which in many ways makes it even more despicable. I am sure with the low morale you speak of and other motivational problems, will come back to haunt her one day. Thanks for adding to the discussion and I hope your situation improves soon somehow.  Regards, Julian

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» left by Uzume from USA (87 days 5 hours ago.)
My husband is a victim of a spiteful, bullying boss. It is such an unforgivable thing for a so called professional to engage in. We really have nowhere to turn because no law says a boss has to be good! I have suggested he keep journals of all the things his boss says and does, but equally importantly, all the actions he takes to rectify anything she comes up with to hound him about. This is a good way of noting how often the requests change to try and make him look like an incompetent idiot too. I have also suggested he email her to confirm everything they talk about as a log of conversations he can print out if he needs to and try to have witnesses to their conversations whenever possible.
 
Today, he did try and talk to her about what is going on (sort of) with, we hope, a small hint of success but with her you never know. She is such a viper! There is a very interesting study called "How to Bust the Office Bully" bu Arizona State University. Worth a read.

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» left by Julian Price (9,271)
Julian Price
(84 days 23 hours ago.)

Thank you for your comment Uzume. Appreciate you taking time to add to the discussion here and share some of your experiences of bullying. Will make sure to check out the study you mentioned. Thanks again.

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» left by Jim Johnson (230)
Jim Johnson
(75 days 17 hours ago.)

Reader Rating: 5 out of 5
I had a screamer for a boss once. Not good. He could not understand why good people kept leaving. Unfortunately he also was part owner of company. 
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» left by Julian Price (9,271)
Julian Price
(72 days 15 hours ago.)

Yes Jim, its the power you see. It gets to their heads. Thanks for your comment!

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Article added to SearchWarp.com on 7/9/2009 5:29:21 AM.
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