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May 17th, 2013
May 17 at 7:00 EST CTV Knoxville will discuss workplace bullying and the Tennessee Healthy Workplace Bill with state coordinator Vivian Fivecoat and supporter Beth Poore. You can watch the livestream online, or on the following cable providers:
May 16th, 2013
More Than Incivility and Disrespect
Workplace bullying is a form of violence more severe and harmful than either incivility or disrespect.
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May 15th, 2013
It’s funny that the operative verb for discovering our website and the term “workplace bullying” is always “stumbled upon.” That accurately describes the weeks or months since the beginning of the misery instigated by the bully wasted by targets blaming themselves. That span of time is a dark bewildering time. The reality is that targets can be bullied without knowing it.
They believe the lies that they are suddenly incompetent. They have typically never had this happen to them before and do not recognize the evil nature that some people bring to the workplace. They doubt themselves.
Eventually, they find us and recognize that our description of their reality matches and voila, they have a name for what has been happening to them. They have been bullied at work!
Plenty of synonyms apply: psychological violence, abusive conduct, mobbing, psychological harassment.
When we started 16 years ago, I underestimated the power of this discovery. Since then, I’ve learned how powerful it is.
For the first time, targets can pinpoint the source of the treachery they’ve experienced. It is not them. They are not crazy. They know they didn’t invite the humiliation. But HR and the law (in the U.S. at least) did not allow them to legitimately, in a legal sense, hold abusers accountable.
Most important, they start to connect the dots. The sleepless nights now make sense. It’s stress. The loss of concentration and muddled thinking and sense of doom — it’s depression. Until they seem the causal sequence — bullying leads to stress-related health problems — they see no reason to visit their physician or to find a therapist. Now their doctor can tell them how dangerous their skyrocketing blood pressure is.
They were hurt, insulted and buried by an avalanche of injustice, but did not know to blame the bully. It is the bully (or bullies) who control who gets targeted, when assaults begin and end, and what particular version of cruelty is chosen. Externalizing the problem is the first step toward well being. Research reliably compares the mental health impact of sexual harassment to that of bullying. Bullying is always worse for its victims.
Until the target recognizes that it is bullying, a non-physical form of violence in the workplace, taking steps to get safe cannot begin.
That’s the power of naming it. The day targets discover those two soothing words — Workplace Bullying — is a happy, liberating day. Of course, the hard work has just begun, but it is the real beginning of working toward freedom with one’s eyes fully open.
May 14th, 2013
Attention Seattle-Area Residents
The next series of support groups for targets of workplace bullying is about to begin!
WBI’s Professional Coach and Licensed Psychotherapist, Jessi Eden Brown, MS, LMHC, NCC, invites you to join the next round of support groups in the N. Seattle area.
This is an excellent chance to receive specialized guidance for dealing with your workplace bullying situation, as well as connect with other targets in our region.
Please email Jessi Eden Brown through her private practice to learn more about this opportunity.
May 14th, 2013
Workplace bullying in the U.S. is not yet illegal by civil or criminal law. Mugging another person is criminal. In a new study, convicted criminals in prison (not your typical workplace bully by any measure) demonstrated their ability to recognize who in a group was a prior victim and who they would most likely pick to mug and steal from and why they selected that person. The analogy to bullying incidents would apply only to the most violent predator-type bullies (bordering on psychopaths who number 1 in 100 executives) who victimize their targets in ways that approach criminality. However, the general premise that perpetrators rely on physical nonverbal cues to select their targets/victims certainly must play a part, however slight, in workplace bullying incidents.
Continue reading this article… »
May 14th, 2013
High school teachers in Seattle who boycotted the administration of a reading and math test several times a year have won the right to not administer the test. The test is costly, a waste of time and took away from teaching time. The test is the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress). The MAP is sold to the district by a company (NWEA) whose former Board member also became a discredited and terminated District Superintendent.
In a May 13 statement, Seattle schools superintendent Jose Banda yielded and gave high school teachers the option to test or not. That’s the good news. And Banda will appoint another group to study the utility of the MAP for the future.
The victory is only partial because the MAP will still be required in grades K-8 two or three times per school year. Banda had formed a task force in response to the teacher boycott. A teacher survey followed. Fewer than 30% of those who responded to the survey believed the MAP is worth the time and effort.
Jesse Hagopian, teacher at Garfield High School where the boycott started (and spread to other schools involving hundreds of brave teachers risking discipline), told the Seattle Times, “This struggle is far from over.”
May 6th, 2013
A WBI Affiliate asks for your help if you work in K-12 American schools:
Please complete this survey that is part of my Doctoral dissertation through Aurora University, Aurora, IL.
The topic is “ A Systems Approach to Workplace Bullying in the K-12 Public Education Setting”.
Participants are invited to complete the survey regarding their observations or experiences in any of the roles in workplace bullying in the school setting. The opportunity to participate in an interview (either in person or by phone) regarding the experiences is available by providing the information at the end of the survey. Non-American respondents are not eligible for an interview at this time.
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Thank you for helping.
May 2nd, 2013
Are bullies demons? Bully apologists abhor “demonizing” abusers in the workplace. What’s the alternative? Revere them. Thank them for showing us how loathsome and dark can be the human condition? Ignore their cruelty foisted on the best and brightest workers whose principal goal of every day is to be “left alone” to do their jobs? Of course, that’s exactly what bully apologists do. We think they stand on the wrong side of the moral fence.
We at WBI are target-centric. We’ve chosen the other side. We didn’t start the U.S. Workplace Bullying movement to treat it as an academic exercise in neutrality. Targets deserve and need support. Institutions do a fine job of defending perpetrators.
Continue reading this article… »
April 30th, 2013
Dear Kalola,
I am a teacher with 29 years experience. I have only taught in two schools in my entire career. I am being bullied by a co-worker. I am her 5th victim. She taught 4th grade and spent years bullying a teacher until she nearly miscarried and eventually quit due to health issues. This bully was allowed to get away with it for several years.
She bullied students as well. One fellow teacher stood with the victim and filed a grievance with the school system. Nothing was done. This seemed to spark a fire in the bully and she intensified her attacks. This time she attacked about 4 students humiliating them in front of the entire grade. (4 classes). Several of the students had been repeatedly bullied by the teacher and they also filed grievances. One child was also the child of the brave teacher who stood as support for the other.
The system fearing a lawsuit by the parents, agreed to move the teacher out of the 4th grade. Unfortunately she was placed in Pre-K with me. The bullying was immediate. I first thought it was something I did, but as I tried to comply the bullying became more intense. This has gone on for over 4 years. I as well as another have filed complaints after complaints. She bullies students still. However, they are too young to go home and tell.
Over half the school has been “harassed” or “threatened” by her at least once. Over 3/4ths of the staff have seen her do these things. However, she continues to get away with it. Two teachers have left because of her bullying.
Continue reading this article… »
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