Handling the workplace bully
Jul 15, 2009
SOMETHING has gone wrong at the workplace.
BY HOPE ABIMANYA
SOMETHING has gone wrong at the workplace.
Marion used to go to work in time. Now she leaves home late or sometimes does not go at all. Her husband, Shem Karuma, a businessman in Kireka does not understand what is going on.
“It looks like she is tired of work,†Karuma speaks of his wife, who works as a secretary in an NGO.
Marion could be experiencing bullying at work. Bullying does not only happen to children. It has found its way into the workplace.
It involves harassment, intimidation and aggression which are sometimes common among older and experienced employees.
Paul Nyende, a counselling psychologist at Makerere University, says work bullies are not different from your school bullies as many aggressive individuals carry bullying behaviour into adulthood.
They victimise people they perceive to be weaker and smaller.
To feel better about themselves, they try to make others feel inferior. “They can be outright abusive and violent at the workplace,†he observes.
In the end, the victim feels rejected and hates his or her job.
“Regardless of what type of bully you are dealing with, you must be assertive. Confront the bully and tell them you don’t like it,†says Rachael Aurugai, a counselling and psychology lecturer at Bugema University.
She explains that if you keep quiet, it haunts you and impacts negatively on your work output.
“One cannot do much in changing the bully but can talk to the human resource manager or someone in charge of the workers’ welfare about the situation.
“You feel worse if you keep quiet about it,†Aurugai says.
Sometimes, the victim fears to lose his or her job. Some employees also worry that complaining will make the situation worse.
What if the bully is quite senior or even a middle manager, what do you do?
Ruth Maloyo, a counsellor at Uganda Christian University, Mukono, says if the bully is above you and it is hard to confront them, one can quietly find an alternative like asking to be moved to another department.
“You can talk to people you trust and think can help so that they advise you,†Maloyo says.
Experts insist that bullying should not be allowed to thrive in any workplace.
“Bullying usually happens when workers are not properly oriented,†Stephen Langa, the executive director of Family Life Network, says.
He adds that human resource managers should ensure that new workers are properly oriented, introduced to others and their job description made clear.
He goes on to say that one should ignore bullies because lack of attention or failure to show them how you feel about it will gradually make them back off.
SOMETHING has gone wrong at the workplace.
Marion used to go to work in time. Now she leaves home late or sometimes does not go at all. Her husband, Shem Karuma, a businessman in Kireka does not understand what is going on.
“It looks like she is tired of work,†Karuma speaks of his wife, who works as a secretary in an NGO.
Marion could be experiencing bullying at work. Bullying does not only happen to children. It has found its way into the workplace.
It involves harassment, intimidation and aggression which are sometimes common among older and experienced employees.
Paul Nyende, a counselling psychologist at Makerere University, says work bullies are not different from your school bullies as many aggressive individuals carry bullying behaviour into adulthood.
They victimise people they perceive to be weaker and smaller.
To feel better about themselves, they try to make others feel inferior. “They can be outright abusive and violent at the workplace,†he observes.
In the end, the victim feels rejected and hates his or her job.
“Regardless of what type of bully you are dealing with, you must be assertive. Confront the bully and tell them you don’t like it,†says Rachael Aurugai, a counselling and psychology lecturer at Bugema University.
She explains that if you keep quiet, it haunts you and impacts negatively on your work output.
“One cannot do much in changing the bully but can talk to the human resource manager or someone in charge of the workers’ welfare about the situation.
“You feel worse if you keep quiet about it,†Aurugai says.
Sometimes, the victim fears to lose his or her job. Some employees also worry that complaining will make the situation worse.
What if the bully is quite senior or even a middle manager, what do you do?
Ruth Maloyo, a counsellor at Uganda Christian University, Mukono, says if the bully is above you and it is hard to confront them, one can quietly find an alternative like asking to be moved to another department.
“You can talk to people you trust and think can help so that they advise you,†Maloyo says.
Experts insist that bullying should not be allowed to thrive in any workplace.
“Bullying usually happens when workers are not properly oriented,†Stephen Langa, the executive director of Family Life Network, says.
He adds that human resource managers should ensure that new workers are properly oriented, introduced to others and their job description made clear.
He goes on to say that one should ignore bullies because lack of attention or failure to show them how you feel about it will gradually make them back off.