The bully and the bullied

Who is a bully? And why do they do it?

Over 80% of bullies are bosses, some are co-workers and a minority bully higher ranking people than them.

• A bully is equally likely to be a man or woman.
  
  
• The common stereotype of a bullied person who is weak, an oddball or a loner is false.
  
  
• The target person chosen by an adult bully will often be a bright, dedicated staff member, well liked by co-workers.

Profile of a bully:

• Adult bullies, like their schoolyard counterparts, tend to be insecure people with poor social skills.
  
  
• They turn this insecurity outwards and find short term satisfaction in their ability to attack and diminish the capable people around them.
  
  
• A workplace bully may unjustly criticise the target person or humiliate them in front of others or even ignore or isolate someone.
  
  
• Regardless of tactics used, the abuse is driven by the bully's need to control others.

Bullying:

• Bullies poison their working environment with low morale, fear, anger and depression.
  
  
• The bullied person's family and friends also suffer the results of daily stress and eventual breakdown.
  
  
• Our health care system ends up repairing the damage (visits to the doctor for symptoms of stress, prescriptions for anti-depressants). While the problem of bullying often goes on.