Workplace Bullies

 

Abuse Reared It’s Ugly Head Where I Least Expected It

Abuse can rear it’s ugly head when you least expect it. Where you least expect it.  I am the author of this blog. I started this blog a couple of years ago to help my daughter get through the end of her marriage and regain her self worth once again.  It was cathartic for both of us. I became somewhat of a self proclaimed expert in this field.  I researched , blogged and knew all the signs of abuse. It has never happened to me, it could NEVER  happen to me. But like many others who spoke those words, perhaps naively, it did happen to me.  Before I knew it I was entangled in  abusive relationship. Not with my partner, but with my boss.

At  work, emotional abuse can be just as obvious or subtle as it is in a partner relationship. Thousands of employees quit their jobs each year, or even worse, start each day with the dread of going to work.  Abuse can occur at the supervisor-subordinate level, or among co-workers. It comes in many forms of acts or verbal comments that create emotional pain or isolation. These  acts or comments become repetitive, intimidating, and designed to humiliate or degrade.

Here Some broad examples of abuse in the workplace by a superior are:

1. Intentionally excluding subordinates from benefits, activities, or opportunities.

2. Deliberately impeding or sabotaging the work product of a subordinate (such as setting impossible work deadlines, withholding critical information, not providing enough work so as to create a sense of uselessness).

3. Removing responsibilities or changing work habits in an attempt to coerce resignation.

4. Creating or allowing a hostile work environment