Intimidation at work

A neighbor recently related her most unpleasant experience at work. Someone at work was trying to bully her and her colleagues. And with some people, he seemed to be succeeding.

One day, my neighbor decided she’d had enough of the bullying tactics. When he threatened to talk to their boss and mess with her work performance report, she yelled that she’s not taking anymore crap from him.

My neighbor is a huge woman and if it weren’t for cooler heads who intervened, she could have wringed the breath out of the puny guy.

Some people achieve or maintain power by intimidating others in deniable and devious ways.

Too often, when intimidators succeed, their success rests in part on your unwillingness to resist, or on your lack of skill.

Intimidators force you to comply through fear, rather than asking nicely. They can be 5 or 50 years old (there is no age limit). They latch on to the "bullying gets results" tactic and never let it go. As far as they are concerned, it’s the only approach that works for them.

With each potential victim, the intimidation escalates gradually. The intimidator is always testing to see how far they can push you

They may be just cowards inside, feeling inept, not knowing how to do things differently, and are afraid of failure or they may just be nut cases.

When there is a bully in your office, know these truths: the bully is emotionally stuck in adolescence, you are smarter than that bully, you can handle the trouble maker by speaking-up and staying cool.

Remember, silence is the bully's best friend.