How to spot a workplace bully

Bullies aren’t just nasty children in the school playground. The reality is people can be bullied
at any age in any environment.

And it’s not as uncommon as you’d think. It has been reported that a 1,700-person academic
survey revealed New Zealand to have the second-worst rate of workplace bullying in the
developed world, with one in five workers afflicted.

If you are struggling to motivate yourself to go to work or if you feel anxious around certain
people in the office, you may be a victim of workplace bullying.

Indentifying workplace bullies isn’t always easy as it can often be subtle and devious such as
efforts to undermine credibility, performance or confidence. Personal attacks and put downs
are also common methods of bullying that are more easily recognised.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment define workplace bullying as
“repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or a group of workers
that creates a risk to health and safety”.

It affects people physically and mentally, resulting in increased stress levels, decreased
emotional wellbeing, reduced coping strategies and lower work performance.

Identifying a bully

Anyone can be a bully at work, whether it’s a boss, a co-worker or a client. If you’re a victim
it’s important to recognise your situation and act.

Signs you are being bullied include:

Being belittled and extensively micromanaged
Having unwanted gossip and rumours about you spread
Constantly brining up your trivial mistakes again and again, especially if it’s done in front of colleagues
Having your achievements ignored and your potential for promotion overlooked
Causing public humiliation and/or excessively yelling or swearing
Being given an excessive amount of work or not receiving all of the necessary information making it impossible to complete a job
Backhanded comments designed to be condescending
Being excluded from necessary team meetings or emails isolating you socially and professionally.

How to respond appropriately

Assess the bully’s behaviour; is it a one-off incident or repeated attacks over a period of
time? If it is an ongoing issue, then you need to take action.

If possible, gather evidence of the bullying. This might mean keeping notes of your
interactions, saving threatening emails or asking a witness to support your claim.

Know your organisation’s policy on workplace bullying so you have a better understanding of
how your employer will handle the situation, then report the bully. It can be difficult,
especially if the bully has knocked your confidence. Report the bullying as factually and
objectively as possible. Recount your experiences and share your documented proof.