Bullying worse than sexual harassment
It’s those subtle gestures that hurt most. Not inviting a person to lunch. Ignoring a person during a meeting to make him/her feel neglected. Publicly ridiculing a person’s dress, way of walking and speaking, or looks without naming the person. Everyone in the crowd knows who the speaker is referring to but you can’t lay a charge against the person since he has not named anyone.
Well, if you have ever experienced something like this you know how hard it is. You have to fight your own battle and there is no one you can turn to for sympathy. A new study suggests that this type of bullying in the work place is worse than sexual harassment. Not hard to believe when you consider that a person who is sexually harassed has many places to turn to for help. Society shuns sexual harassment, and there are many support groups a victim of sexual harassment can join.
In contrast, a person who is bullied in the work place has no one to turn to. How does the person report bullying to the authorities? Bullies in the work place aren’t going to punch you. They know the consequences of such an action. Instead they will use subtle gestures, pass indirect remarks, turn people against you, and sneer at you with their friends. You get the picture.
How does a person report such behavior? If you discuss the situation with someone, even a close friend, that someone will laugh and tell you that you are paranoid. And that is if they are nice. Otherwise they will tell you to visit a psychiatrist.
The end result. Depression. Anxiety. Suicidal tendencies. The desire to leave work.
People who are bullied at the work place have to deal with the bully by themselves. They have no one to turn to for help. Additionally, they have to remind themselves that they are not imagining the situation. The inability to discuss the problem builds up stress and affects health.
The study was carried out on 110 candidates which is a small number but I think the results probably apply to a vast majority of people. It would be interesting to note what the readers have to say about this. Which is worse? Sexual harassment or bullying?