[Describes even some politicians... Trudy] Australian Financial Review http://www.afr.com.au/content/990407/news/news12.html April 7, 1999 Bullies drawn to top jobs Work Relations By Stephen Long Does this describe someone you know? Could it even be you? The subject of our profile: * Is a convincing, compulsive liar who, when called to account, will invent anything to fit his/her needs. * Has a Jekyll and Hyde nature: is vicious and vindictive in private, innocent and charming in front of witnesses. * Displays a compulsive need to criticise while refusing to acknowledge, value and praise others' achievements. * Portrays him/herself as wonderful, kind and caring but when called upon to support others in need, responds with impatience, irritability and aggression. * Is controlling in his/her behaviour and displays an arrogance bordering on contempt. We are talking here about a serial bully: an expert in psychological violence with a devastating impact on those around him/her. Sadly, these people often rise to the top - though often incompetent, they are drawn to power. Tim Field, who provides this character profile on his website Bully OnLine (www.successunlimited.co.uk), estimates that one person in 30 is a serial bully: a manifestation of the bullying epidemic sweeping workplaces. Its symptoms are staff turnover, absenteeism, breakdowns and misery. According to Field, every day the UK loses the equivalent of more than 1000 years - a millennium - of labour due to sick leave caused by stress, which he attributes mainly to bad management and bullying. Individual behaviour is one aspect of the problem. Field also identifies "organisational bullying" which occurs when an organisation struggles to adapt to changing markets, reduced income, cuts in budgets, imposed expectations and external pressures; and corporate bullying where an employer abuses employees with impugnity knowing the law is weak and jobs are scarce. Many Australians are familiar with the types of corporate bullying Field describes: coercing employees to work 60/70/80 hour weeks on a regular basis then making life hell for (or dismissing) anyone who objects; spying on employees by listening in on telephone conversations; "encouraging" employees to give up full-time positions in favour of short-term contracts; deeming any employee who suffers from stress as weak or inadequate. At its most extreme, workplace intimidation can cross the line into sadism and violence. In Victoria last month, a County Court judge awarded $350,000 to an apprentice who suffered repeated acts of cruelty, including having grease applied to his genitals, being pinned in a vice by his overalls, and being threatened with having a grease gun put in his anus. The judge said there had been a "culture of intimidation" at the premises, operated by the Murray Goulburn Co-operative dairy company. Bullying usually takes more subtle forms. Consider Chris, who headed a successful product launch for his company. It was reported on the front page of a national newspaper together with his chief executive's comments that if the product failed, Chris would be out of a job. Interviewed by independent researchers Mescal Stephens and Val Marsden, Chris likened his experience to the Aboriginal practice of being "sung". His boss's comments signalled that Chris was out of favour, undermining his position in the "tribe". [EMAIL PROTECTED] c This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited. ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
