The Bully-Free Workplace: Stop Jerks, Weasels, and Snakes From Killing Your Organization

Tactics Used by Bullies

There is no character, howsoever good and fine, but it can be destroyed by ridicule, howsoever poor and witless.

—Mark Twain

In 2003, WBI conducted an online survey of 1,300 website visitors. This nonscientific sample provided a glimpse of the work world through a bullied individual's eyes. Bullies most commonly adopted 15 tactics. In descending order from most to least frequent, they are as follows:

1. Falsely accuse someone of “errors” not actually made

2. Stare, glare, be nonverbally intimidating and show clear signs of hostility

3. Discount the person's thoughts or feelings (“Oh, that's silly”) in meetings

4. Use the “silent treatment” to “ice out” and ostracize others

5. Exhibit presumably uncontrollable mood swings in front of the group

6. Make up his or her own rules on the fly that even the bully did not follow

7. Disregard satisfactory or exemplary quality of completed work despite evidence

8. Harshly and constantly criticize having a different “standard” for the target

9. Start, or fail to stop, destructive rumors or gossip about the person

10. Encourage others to turn against the person being tormented

11. Single out and isolate one person from coworkers, either socially or physically

12. Publicly display “gross,” undignified (but not illegal) behavior

13. Yell, scream, or throw tantrums in front of others to humiliate a person

14. Steal credit for work done by others

15. Abuse the evaluation process by lying about the target's performance ...