London at night
by Lynda
Archard
©: November 2005
November 5th 2005
Saturday November 5th 2005
Serial bullying in the workplace should never be tolerated!
Bullying can be done in a subtle way over years, often by someone you thought of as a friend or colleague, especially in the work place. Recently, in order to gain a qualification in counselling techniques, I studied the topic of bullying and was amazed to recognise many of the characteristics in people I know. Up until now I had often excused immature behaviour by adults as jealousy and ignored it until it affects my work or private life. It is sad to have had to make excuses for the behaviour of others knowing how hard I have worked to get to where I am now. Human nature is a very strange concept and can often surprise when motive is examined and patterns betray the serial bully.
I knew that some people were capable of psychological bullying and that this type of bullying is often difficult to prove. I was wrong. It seems there is always a pattern and a reason behind the motivation that is betrayed if a diary is kept over time. Patterns reveal incompetence that is hidden by the distractions of nit-picking and complaining without reason.
One of my friends had recently told me of her fight to gain justice within the legal system. She has suffered depression and could not put the words into a way that people could recognise the pattern of events. In fact that is a symptom of someone who is bullied while the bullies stay calm enough to cover their tracks. If she had known that or if bullying was understood by those claiming to fight for her perhaps she would still be working in her job and the bullies would have left her to do her job in peace.
My purpose in writing this particular article is to help highlight the effects of bullying and to motivate people into taking action. No one has the right to interfere with another person in order to prevent them being successful. The bully is usually determined to gain status or promotion to a role they are not capable of fulfilling. The best way to succeed is to work hard and be the best you can be. If you have done your best and do not get the success you deserve you might want to consider if there is a chance for success where you are now. A change of career might be the answer. If you have been prevented from completing your work then visit the bully-on-line website and see if you recognise any of the articles there.
Keep a journal of everything you do. A journal is useful for recognising patterns, proving what you have done and improving or reminding you of how hard you have worked. At the very least it can show how things can be improved to help you on your road to success.
If you think you are a victim of a bully the following link is the best resource on the Internet with information on every type of bully, how they work and suck in others and plenty of advice on how to treat them:
I hope you have enjoyed 'Lynda's London.' Please come back again soon for the update.
I was asked to change this article to the one you have just read. I changed to a more general article while an enquiry took place. That was never concluded so here it is in full. I updated my experience and have included what actually happened to the company. Enjoy reading it but most importantly never let it happen to you!
© Lynda Archard
