Bullying can be defined as repeated aggression,verbal, psychological or physical, conducted by an individual or group of people against others , isolated incidents of aggressive behaviour while not to be tolerated, should not be described as bullying. Only inappropriate aggressive behaviour which is systematic and ongoing is regarded as bullying.

In this context bullying can be classified into five major categories:

. manipulation of the victim's reputation by rumour, gossip and ridicule;
. preventing the victim from speaking by making loud-voiced criticisms or obscenities;
. social exclusion or isolation;
. manipulating the nature of the work or the ability of the victim to perform the work, e.g.by overloading, withholding information or setting meaningless tasks;
. physical abuse or threats of abuse.

Bullying can transcend organisational and reporting structures. It can occur within peer groups (for example, within teams), from supervisors to subordinates and subordinates to supervisors.

How to recognise bullying behaviour

Some examples of obvious bullying behaviour of which employers should be aware include:

. shouting or swearing at staff, both publicly and in private;
. aggression, usually over quite unimportant matters;
. insulting someone's appearance or name-calling;
. spreading malicious rumours which have no basis in fact;
. verbal or written harassment through jokes, offensive language or gossip;
. freezing out, isolation, ignoring or excluding;
. constantly cutting in, on or across people in conversations;
. physical contact ranging from unwanted touching to serious assault;
. staring, leering, aggressive gestures, etc.

Less obvious forms of bullying which employers may not necessarily readily identify or expect would include;

. persistent negative attacks on personal or professional performance without good reason or legitimate authority;
. unreasonable or unfounded refusal of annual leave,training or promotional opportunities;
. abusing a position of power by unnecessarily undermining a colleague's work and/or placing unreasonable demands on a particular individual;
. unreasonable or inappropriate monitoring of a colleague's performance;
. persistently setting objectives with unreasonable or impossible deadlines or unachievable tasks;
. removing areas of responsibility and imposing menial tasks on subordinates;
. withholding work-related information;
. over-monitoring an employee with malicious intent.

Effects of bullying on the individual

The effects of bullying on the individual cannot be overemphasised. The victim can feel isolated or rejected. Colleagues may be aware that the bullying is taking place, but they may avoid supporting the victim for fear of reprisal. This can result in exclusion or in being "sent to Coventry."

Bullying can have a physiological, psychological and behavioural impact on the individual's character. Its effects can also have a dramatic influence on an individual's overt behaviour and can change a happy, confident employee into a withdrawn,demotivated individual. At its most extreme,prolonged periods of bullying can lead to a nervous breakdown,depressive illness and even suicide.

Physiological symptoms of bullying include:

. headaches
. nausea,"butterflies"in stomach
. high blood pressure
. loss of appetite
. fatigue
. shaking/sweating
. sleeplessness

Psychological symptoms include:

. depression
. mood swings
. acute anxiety
. panic attacks
. crying
. irritability
. loss of self-esteem
. lack of motivation

Behavioural symptoms include:

. withdrawn personality
. reliance on alcohol/tranquillisers/tobacco as stress relievers
. irritated and distracted behaviour
. tendency to be clumsy
. forgetfulness
. lack of self-confidence and motivation.

Reprinted with kind permission of the Secretariat of Secondary Schools.  

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