Stand Up, Speak Out Against Workplace Bullying Review
Workplace bullying is "Systematic aggressive communication, manipulation of work, and acts aimed at humiliating or degrading one or more individual that create an unhealthy and unprofessional power imbalance between bully and target(s), result in psychological consequences for targets and co-workers, and cost enormous monetary damage to an organization’s bottom line.”— National Workplace Bullying Coalition Board Member Catherine Mattice.
The mission of NWBC is to eliminate bullying from the workplace through education, conversation, and legislation.
Educate American workers and society in general about the existence of workplace bullying and the negative consequences of such a work culture that may inflict not only psychiatric injuries on the victim but also causes reduced productivity and increased medical and turnover expenditures for businesses.
Bring employers, employees, industry and non-profit groups, unions, legal representatives, workplace consultants, academic experts, organizational psychologists, community groups and targets of abuse together to develop a bully free work culture, including taking all necessary steps to detect, address and remedy bullying in the workplace.
Catherine Mattice MS, SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) is president of the NWBC. Mattice has a consulting firm, Civility Partners, promoting healthy and respectful places of work. Her clients include the United States Marine Corp, nonprofits, and private businesses. Also, Mattice has written for several magazines.
Members of the coalition created a book to provide stories, tools, and paths to resolution for individuals facing intimidation and aggression in the workplace. Stand Up, Speak Out Against Workplace Bullying causes readers to consider what is not bullying. There is a significant difference between rude conflict, inadvertently saying or doing something that hurts someone else, mean, purposefully saying or doing something to hurt someone once or twice, and bullying, intentionally aggressive behavior, repeated over time, that involves an imbalance of power. Bullying may involve physical, verbal, and relational tactics, such as friendship, and may be carried out through social media. (Psychology Today). Also, bullying is not a blanket accusation to make or term to use when someone feels hurt or upset when corrected or in a dubious manner through gamesmanship in offices, classrooms, sports, politics, or in other contexts. The misuse of the term can create a “Boy Who Cried Wolf” spectacle.
Book Excerpts from Stand Up, Speak Out Against Workplace Bullying
“Over the course of a school year, a student in one of my classes struggled with people skills and I struggled with his mother. My student, Darren, wanted to do well. Yet, in the world of middle school he was not the top student. The bigger pond of intermediate school was a shock for him and his mom. In addition to his poor people skills that often left his classmates rolling their eyes at him or wanting him out of their groups, Darren had two gears. First gear and fifth gear. When he disliked a grade by me or another student in class, he verbally attacked me and his classmates. Pow. Pow. Pow.
Darren’s mom also exhibited the same behavior. A stream of continuous, lengthy emails came at me throughout the school year, pages and pages long. Attacking: Pow. Pow. Pow. Mom emailed constantly to complain about grades. I kept my cool and always referred her and Darren to the clear directions with details and examples. It was never enough. As many teachers know, these cases keep us up at night; it makes us extremely sad and frustrated. The bullying tactics of students and parents poisons the well. Teachers, such as myself, then become targets for other parents and students who are upset with grades. The stress and bullying piles on. All of this makes a teacher want to stop teaching. Bullying affects us mentally, emotionally, and psychologically. Tears, sorrow, and discomfort ensue.”—Anonymous
“I remember that time in my life very vividly. I doubt I will ever forget the torture and abuse I suffered and how it rattled my spirit and my sense of peace. I was being terrorized every day by a woman who unapologetically bullied me. She creatively manipulated others in the office who went along with her tactics to ensure they never became a target.
Today, I have completely recovered from all of my losses. I am still recovering financially from the whole ordeal, but that too will be restored. I have been equipped with valuable tools and resources to utilize in my business that help others end bullying in the workplace. That is a blessing that cannot be measured. I have exposed one of the most dangerous epidemics in our country to millions of people across several social media platforms and I have used my voice to speak out. I have taken back my power and have learned thought provoking skills that build my sense of power and my ability to maintain it.”—Ms. Camay
Each of the workplace testimonials in Stand Up, Speak Out Against Workplace Bullying includes five pieces of advice. The words of wisdom and experience from 23 people that endured and eventually liberated themselves from aggressive, despondent, and intimidating circumstances. The themes of hope and resilience are explored and demonstrated in these 23 journeys. Stand Up, Speak Out Against Workplace Bullying is an excellent resource to utilize for those facing intimidation in the workplace and for those looking to be proactive and create a healthy team of individuals.
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Credits: workplacebullyingcoalition.org, psychologytoday.com/us/blog/passive-aggressive-diaries/201211/is-it-rude-is-it-mean-or-is-it-bullying, Twenty20.com, kasonb01
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Thank you so much for sharing this book and writing this article. It is extremely helpful. Bullying in the workplace happens way to much. I'm going to order that book.
ReplyDeleteHi Laura, you are welcome. There are some great personal stories in the book and bits of advice for people in professions of all kinds. Let me know which personal account in the book you thought was most beneficial reading.
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