Dr. Gary Namie Describes 4 Bully Types

By Carolyn Davies, Contributing Content Blogger

Dr. Gary Namie describes in detail 4 principle bully types one may find in the work-adult world.  Although these are descriptions of negative personalities and the typical methods of bullying they employ, each can manifest through the internet while at work or home.  It is an expose of immature adult behaviour. 

 

The Y-Generation and Female Bullying

By David Simms, Senior Contributor

The Global Institute for Cyber Safety and Standards

Recent reports describe the Y-generation, specifically the 20 or 30 somethings, as being less tolerant of online bullying than other generations. Some say this can be attributed to younger people having grown up with more anti-bullying campaigns in school. Having more information on what constitutes bullying theoretically makes them more vocal against it and less likely to put up with it.  Despite this however, internet harassment, especially in the workplace, does not appear to be slowing down. 

Something of particular interest is the distinction between the harassment perpetrated by men as opposed to women. Woman-on-woman bullying  is actually on the rise, according to Dr. Gary Namie, psychologist and co-founder of the Workplace Bullying Institute, “Bullies are of both genders, but women bullies tend to disrupt relations or pit worker against worker. Men would rather push people around to show hierarchy.”  Regardless, it is becoming clear that the damage inflicted by online bullying can have more traumatic impact than even in-person sexual harassment. This is perhaps because online harassment tends to be much more personalised usually touching on a target’s deepest insecurities which is a common mode of female harassment across the board. 

Statistics also show that over 80 percent of female bullies choose female targets where the bullying typically involves ostracising a victim to spreading rumors or betraying trust. As surprising as it may be to find this kind of activity in the adult workplace, it continues to be a significant problem that only some employers take seriously.  Polls indicate that the vast majority of women experiencing this kind of negativity at work, believe their supervisors and bosses consider it a trivial matter and therefore must endure an abusive environment.  

Workplace Bullying Video identical to Cyberbullying Dynamic

By Carolyn Davies, Contributing Content Blogger

I've found a thorough and excellent look at bullying in the workplace and how it negatively effects not just the victims but also the organisations in which it occurs. This clip does focus more on bullying in general but the same motivations, justifications, and consequences of the bully-victim dynamic are identical to cyberbullying so it's worth a look. This is it for me until after the holidays so I wish everyone a Happy Christmas and much prosperity in the new year!

The Thin Line Between On Site Workplace Harassment and Social Media

By David Simms, Senior Contributor

There has been an issue arising about harassment in the workplace. Although this type of harassment has always been an issue, it has become more complex due to social media.  There are many cases where employees access their personal social media accounts to harass co-workers while on the clock. This has brought up a debate on where the line should be drawn by employers as they try to maintain an ethical standard and provide protection for employees.  The laws in the United States vary and actually limit  what employers are legally allowed to do.  Numerous states have enacted laws prohibiting employers from accessing employee social media accounts or even requesting that they can.  Typically, employees don’t have a right to privacy in work-related documents or any electronic information or communications within the workplace, but this does not necessarily include social media websites.  Because of this, employers face challenges as privacy laws restrict them from being able to conduct immediate and thorough investigations pertaining to workplace harassment that they might otherwise conduct when social media accounts are not involved. 

Even though laws surrounding social media are constantly in flux, there are a few actions employers can still take in reducing their liability related to social media harassment. Most important, employers need to have a clear, concise, and specific social media policy spelling out that employees must comply if they are suspected in electronic harassment or intimidation while at work and that their personal social media accounts may be accessed to confirm or rule out involvement.  An electronic communications policy should also indicate an employer's right to access any content on its own technology systems, so that if the alleged harassment occurs on the company system, the employer will have the right to access it and use the information to take action. Employers should also address all harassment, whether in-person or electronically, the same way and give clear warnings that a full investigation will occur regardless of the nature of the harassment. People should not be able to hide behind privacy protection at work to carry out personal attacks on others.