Workplace Bullies

Statistics say that one out of every four people has been the target of workplace bullying (Lutgen-Sandvik et al., 2007).  Unfortunately, just like kids on the playground, there can sometimes seem like no way out for employee being bullied, whether the aggressor is a supervisor or coworker.  What to do?  Documentation is one of the biggest things you can do to help yourself.  Document everything.    Quitting only lets the person continue what they’re doing.  Yes, maybe not to you, but to someone else.  Try to resist or sabotage the bully, and you may look subversive.  Document everything and do what you can through official channels.

 

Reference:

Lutgen-Sandvik, P., Tracy, S. J., & Alberts, J. K. (2007). Burned by bullying in the American workplace: Prevalence, perception, degree, and impact. Journal of Management Studies, 44, 837-862.

Dealing with Conflict

Everyone has there own theories about how manage conflict.  Here is a great discussion of different kinds of conflict and different ways of approaching each type.  Workplace communication tips presents a more linear and perhaps overly simplistic view but still provides useful information.

Equifinality

Have you ever heard the word, “equifinality?”  Look at the parts of the word and think about what it could mean.  That’s right.  It is the idea that there are often a number of ways of getting to a solution that are approximately equal.  Have you ever noticed in situations like that, even though there may be a number of ways of fixing the problem, we tend to pick one and really take it personally when someone else suggests a different way?  Whenever we have a conflict, we pick an idea and really dig in to defend that idea, even when there may be multiple ways of accomplishing the same thing.  The next time you are in a conflict at work (although this idea works in other contexts as well), consider carefully if your position is the only way to solve the problem.  My experience has been that is rarely the case.  I can hear what you are saying.  “Sure there are other ways, but my way is just better than those ways.”  Sometimes that’s true and sometimes it’s just how we rationalize things to ourselves.  It may be helpful to ask yourself this question: are the advantages of sticking to your position greater than the costs of the conflict (time, future interactions, etc.)?  Sometimes, the answer may be yes.  Other times, it might be helpful to recognize equifinality, that multiple options may get to similar results.