NFR Bullying

[Holders]

It's relative and depends on the culture of the organisation and the perception of the recipient. One person's bullying is another's strong management.

The best example I can think of is a managing director who was passionate about the company, very hard-working himself and ultra-demanding of others who were no more than 100% committed to the job. I observed it over time and there's no doubt that he knew that he was doing it and gloried in doing so. After some years of this, it came to a head and, after a confrontation, the MD was dismissed. Quite radical, that, and no-one expected it, least of all him.

Over-strong management to the point of bullying is not the way to get the best out of people, better to get them onside, bought into the "project"  and take them along with you. Justine Greening expressed this very well on R4 on Friday.

I used to represent my company at Employment Tribunals and there is no doubt that matters like this, being so subjective, are the hardest to handle. I can see the "inadvertent" defence being deployed in the future, just to complicate matters. But then, it shouldn't be allowed to get to that point and is best dealt with in the early stages.

[filham]

I am thinking back to national service and square bashing and our drill sergeant , brings  a smile to my face.
Everyone should be aware the different codes in operation in different workplaces.

[Statto]

As for harden up a bit thats as bad as man up when talking about those who are having mental health issues.

I expected that comment would get this sort of response because I know the "harden up" concept has been banned by the Owen Jones/Gary Lineker mob who've decided that being compassionate is about unconditionally saying we've got absolute sympathy for every problem, without ever actually analysing it (or our own behaviour) with any real thought.

I've seen a colleague (who was a close friend) bullied, exactly in the manner Wooly Mammoth very eloquently describes above, a few years ago and he's not worked since, so I appreciate the seriousness of it. As to mental health issues, I won't go off on a tangent but suffice to say I've experiences of that and have no shortage of sympathy or understanding. FWIW mental health is also in my experience a much more complex problem and it's a bit unfair to compare or conflate it with the narrower (relatively speaking) issue of workplace bullying.

It's a fine line to walk but all these issues are diminished IMO when they're exploited (and it is exploitation, in this case for political gain) by being stretched to cover the normal upsets of human life.

[F(f)CUK]

I was seconded to the GLA back in the early 2000s and the minister that I worked under there was known to get a bit shouty. You realised pretty quickly that it would blow over and the minister would apologise and give the victim some sweets afterwards. I really liked the minister and as I was only working there for six months, never took the stress that seriously. In reality the minister only shouted at me once and later offered me sweets. I looked at her and said that I didn't even know what she was apologising for. I have always told people who work under me that you should treat everybody as though you are talking to the queen. I think I can say that I have only raised my voice once in 30 years of work.

[mrmicawbers]

Left school at 16 and worked in a local Bank.Many of my work colleagues were women and were very bitchy not to me but with each other.Always talking behind each other's backs.I'm sure some of them felt intimidated and not a great environment to work in.I didn't stay there very long.

[rebel]

Who knows, I might write a book one day. 

In the not too distant future, robots will do most of the jobs we do at the moment, people will have more leisure time. In some countries they are already planning for this, where the state will provide an income for citizens. There just won't be the jobs in society when 'Robo-World' takes over.   

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170118-what-if-the-state-provided-everyone-with-a-basic-income

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/germany-universal-basic-income-trial-citizens/

Driverless cars are on their way.

[Mince n Tatties]

I love being bullied by the wife,especially when she has all her gear on and chases me with that whip...😋

[rebel]

I love being bullied by the wife,especially when she has all her gear on and chases me with that whip...😋

If we lose today, you'll need to advise her that you require a 'double session'.

[Mince n Tatties]

My big sister was bullied by a classmate(male) for years at school.
I couldn't do nothing at time as I was little,but he got what was coming to him when I was about 23 one night...He was speaking with a squeaky voice for a while I should think...😭

[bog]

Only had to deal with bullying once...... I sacked the Ba****d, which in our company was still a long drawn out issue in itself.
Bullying should be dealt with ruthlessly at every level of society.

+1

[Andy S]

Looking at the replies it shows just how many cases of workplace bullying there are and they are all different. However so are the victims and the odd bit of bullying is not as bad as the ongoing bullying over a period of time. I worked with a guy some years ago who was a nervous type of man. A good worker but a perfectionist. Consequently he wasn't the fastest worker. But I liked him because you never had to go back on his work. The boss was a bully and completely ruined his confidence levels. One day I pulled him and gave him a piece of my mind. I thought this could be trouble. I stood as union rep and never had a problem after that.

[toshes mate]

I experienced and witnessed bullying in the workplace during a short term IT contract which I worked for the UK government.  This lead to an employment tribunal where I acted as a witness.  The bullying was persistent against those who didn't fight back and I intervened on one occasion which is why I was also targetted.  I was not fazed by the threats but I had much less to lose being on a fixed contract and able to request a transfer from my employer if I deemed it necessary.  It was a very unpleasant experience watching people 'harmed' on a routine basis but I did see some sense of justice at the tribunal.  I would guess it is commonplace in the civil service because the standards of management seemed, at that time, very poor, and staff I spoke to said bullying was a regular feature.  I noted at the time that promotion was based on ability to follow orders, good or bad, with military precision, but I never was quite sure who the war was between.