Bullies Are Children and Adults: School and Workplace Bullies

It's common to think of bulling in relation to kids. But what about adults? Workplace bullying is a serious problem and can be traced back to kids who bullied. According to Mona O'Moore, Ph.D., persistent bullying can lead to suicide. (See Wikipedia under "Effects".) The effects are staggering on workplace environment, psyche and turnover and the International Labour Organization states violence (emotional and physical) as a serious problem in our places of employment.

School is not only a place for kid bullies--it's for adults alike. Some adults who go back to school later in life experience it from whomever feels the need to be more powerful and controlling, whether an administrator, advisor or classmate. It's everywhere, including in the home, and it has become an epidemic since the 1990s.

The most obvious form of aggression is physical. We have either witnessed or read about school shootings and employees who have gone back to their workplace armed with weapons and reaping revenge. Those who did not commit suicide said they were bullied themselves and couldn't put up with the treatment anymore. This does Not justify their murderous behavior, however.

Generally, kids are told not to bully back. They are told to tell an adult. A word of warning to parents with bullied-over kids. Where do you think those kids learned how to bully? Some parents support bullying in a world where almost anything can be justified. Some cyber bullies have been told by parents that it's okay to write nasty, threatening messages to their classmates because it is in their right of Freedom of Speech. If your child dares to talk about the bullying-many do not-then listening is crucial. Don't just tell them to get over it or not let it get to them. PBS Kids Go! Web site has a great point: "But why should something that can make a person so miserable have to be part of growing up? The answer is, it doesn't!" Thank you, PBS. That just validated tons of kids and adults.

The Canada Safety Council Web site offers some great insight into the causes and problems of adult workplace bullying. This is important because if it carries over from the controlling kid on the playground to the power-hungry employee/employer, then where does is stop? Either the behavior carries over into the home, or it is there where it began in the first place.

Bullying costs companies money, time, resources, sick leave, and a continued list of other negatives. In childhood, a bullied kid may be seen as weak or incapable of taking care of him/herself. But in the adult workplace it is often the opposite. The bullied employee is not only very capable, but well-liked by co-workers with a personality that is teachable. Therefore, the Canada Safety Council rightly relays bullying workplace behavior as "unjustified" and "trivial" in criticism and fault-finding. When a host of employees become involved in bullying, it is sometimes referred to as mobbing.

Anti-bullying policies are just as important as sexual harassment and physical conduct policies in the workplace. Since bullying is sometimes subtle, such as an employer giving menial tasks that may deliberately go unnoticed, it can be hard to make a case for it. Adults can speak up to other adults, but how often are they taken seriously? Remember what PBS says about not telling our kids to ignore it and it will go away. It simply doesn't, no matter how much you buck up and take it. There is up to a 70 percent difference between a well-managed company and one that is not in terms of out-performance. One with bullied employees will underperform up to 40 percent of the time, according to the Canadian Web site.

Bullying extends beyond the types mentioned here. Employers and education systems would do well in consulting professionals for finding real-to-life solutions to the problem. It will take more than saying a few simple words of encouragement and a pep talk from a motivational speaker. The ones who are doing nothing need to get over that.