Bullying

In a new slant on the perennial problem of bullying bosses, US psychologists have found that managers who feel out of their depth in their roles are more likely to bully their subordinates.

The Working Week podcast hits a milestone this week as we post the 100th edition of Wayne Turmel's consistently excellent look at the world of work in all its guises. And for the 100th show, we tackle the issue that is the most common subject of questions sent to our advice clinic - the perennial scourge of bullying bosses.

Women-on-women harassment in the workplace may sound funny to some, or even be the source of jokes, but it's hardly a laughing matter. In fact, trauma (physical and mental) among women in the workplace is becoming a serious problem.

Imagine that you walk into your bosses' office and ask why it is that he or she seems to be making your life so difficult. Now imagine that rather than mincing their words, your boss simply says that he or she is trying to force you to quit. How do you deal with that?

Most of us, regardless of our age, can still remember the bully at school in our adolescent years. In fact, it probably wouldn't surprise you to learn that he probably still is a bully, even though he now wears a tie to work and has an MBA.

I write a lot about employees who hate their bosses, but It turns out that someone has actually done an academic study about employees and their feelings toward their bosses.

Kelly's CEO is a bullying, sociopathic micro-manager who makes life hell for everyone. With nobody to turn to for redress, is there any way she can end her suffering? The Boss Whisperer, Laura Crawshaw, has some frank advice.

If the tough economic times have given you cause to become angry and you feel justified in taking that anger out on your employees, I've dug out a great article for you that will help you reach the pinnacle of "bad boss-ness."

Workplace bullying is a problem that never seems to go away whatever we try to do to eradicate it. So maybe hitting perpetrators in the pocket might have some effect.

Sometimes the way things go on at work is enough to makew you wonder whether you're really still in high school.

With the economy as bad as it is in the United States and despite a rising unemployment rate, there are still plenty of people who feel their boss is so bad they have to leave their current job.

Linda's experience with an aggressive, abrasive boss epitomizes the distress and confusion that bullying causes in the workplace. The Boss Whisperer, Laura Crawshaw, has some invaluable advice to help Linda deal with her predicament.

Most British workers feel they are managed by a bunch of dithering, uncharismatic functionaries and would give their eye teeth for a bit of decisive decision making.

In one of the more remarkable stories that I've written about (and I don't mean that in a positive way), comes a tale from the great state of California.

Bullying managers who revel in a culture of criticism and are even more damaging than even those who consistently indulge in sexual harassment.

Gossip is ruining Aimee's life and her managers are unwilling to address the issue. Things have got so bad that she's thinking of leaving. But is there anything else she can do? Dr Rob Yeung has some ideas.

If a recent Japanese study is to be believed, strong arm tactics rule the day in the Japanese workplace.

It's easy to forget that the United States is far from having a monopoly on evil bosses. So to conduct a proper search for the world's worst boss, one really needs to spend time looking further afield.

Blogger Shweta Khare asks a simple question: Why do we Love to Hate our Bosses - and what sort of things characterize bad bosses?

It's a depressing fact that we receive more questions to our Advice Clinic about how to deal with bad, bullying or just plain psychotic bosses than we do about any other single issue.

Ellen works for a self-serving sociopath who deals ruthlessly with anyone he perceives to be a threat. Dan Bobinski has some advice on how to start a low-key mass mutiny against him without getting terminated.

What can be learned from the multitude of stores about bad bosses that we all read on the web? Well, here's a piece that not only tells a familiar story of bad management but also but explains what the writer gained from dealing with a bad boss.

Your boss is a living nightmare and is making your job a living hell. It seems like you are going to have to look for a new job, right? Well, before quitting, maybe you need to try something called F.I.R.S.T.

So, can it be proven just how much a bad boss can affect a working environment? A study from Florida State University has attempted to quantify exactly that.

A UK survey has found that two-thirds at managers believe that their own behaviour is the major factor contributing to the problem of bullying at work.

Is your boss a pain? Well, of course, just about everyone thinks that their boss is a problem at one time or another. It's nice to know, then, that the internet is full of sites that claim to be able to help you deal with that problem.

For most of us, the idea of "workplace violence" conjures up images of physical harm. But there is another form of workplace violence that is just as dangerous and insidious - and that is gossip in the workplace.

Complaining about your boss seems to have taken on a whole new dimension in the internet age. Not only are there blogs, forums and chat groups dedicated solely to our managers, there are even contests.

Bullying continues to cast a shadow of American workplaces, with three out of 10 HR execs saying they have seen an employee quit because of the way they have been treated.

What is it that makes millions of people around the world, regardless of national culture, afraid of their bosses? The answer is that our workplaces are unwittingly designed to produce fear - and because all bosses are, by definition, dictators.

If you need a reminder of just how much damage a single bad manger can do this post over on Fthisjob.com provides some pretty powerful evidence.

If you need to fire somebody, try doing it right. That means not doing it by email, particularly when if the person you are firing is at the hospital visiting a sick relative.

Organisational culture in many American workplaces actively encourages and even rewards bullying, according to new research, with employees in the U.S. bullied up to 50 percent more often than those in Scandinavia.

If some of your people are whining about your management style, you may want to point them in the direction of this story of a boss from hell - just to prove how lucky they really are.

Does having a tyrannical boss leave any kind of lasting imprint on the employee - or are employees just fond of complaining? A posting on JobSchmob.com suggests that that the mental fallout can have lasting effects.

Anita's CEO is an arrogant bully who makes life for most of her staff a living hell. Staff turonover is sky high, yet no-one seems able or willing to deal with her. So short of quitting herself, is there anything Anita can do?

Far too many organisations are stuffed with sycophants prepared to overlook anything shady, illegal, or unethical as long as they are getting to hang around and share some power. Even if that means pandering to a corporate psychopath.

Should the bad behavior of workplace bullies and jerks be tolerated in the name of success? That's the contentious question posed in a new manifesto by by Robert Sutton, a professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford Engineering School.

Getting back into work mode after Christmas is hard enough at the best of times, but many of us are also returning to bosses who are negative, fail to keep their word and never take the blame for mistakes.

We've all heard of - or experienced – the foibles, tantrums or bullying behaviour of a bad boss. But just how big a problem are bad bosses, and what are their effects on employee health and job performance?

Bullies use a wide range of subtle tactics and behaviour to intimidate colleagues at work, but victims' torment is being made worse by endless rounds of organisational change as well as ineffective action by employers.

One fifth of all employees in the UK claim to have experienced some form of bullying or harassment over the last two years, according to new research.

Is modern society increasingly plagued by bullies or is the compensation culture encouraging too many people to believe that the slightest raised voice must belong to a sociopathic bully?

Another huge damages award against a City bank has underlined the risks that employers in Britain now run if they fail to tackle workplace cultures that tolerate bullying or harassment.

Violence at work, ranging from bullying to sexual harassment and even murder, has reached epidemic levels in some countries, according to a new report by the International Labour Organisation.

Fed up with feeling harassed and intimidated at work? If a new poll is to be believed, then move to the Netherlands for an abuse-free work environment. But avoid working in Hungary at all costs.

British workplaces are becoming infested with aggressive, rude, bullying behaviour at all levels, a new study has suggested.

Further evidence has arrived – if any is needed – of the damage that organisations can inflict on themselves by failing to root out the bad apples from their senior management teams.

Poor management is rife in the UK workplace with nine out of 10 employees claiming to have worked for a bad manager. And according to a new study, the problem is getting worse.

For the executive from hell, help is on the way. Fast Company looks at the work of Worth Ethic, a consulting firm in Austin, which for about $30,000 will put an alpha executive through a rigorous program designed to rein in their unhealthy impulses.

Employers in Britain are increasingly aware of the problem of workplace bullying and are getting tough in an effort to stamp it out, new research ahs found.

Computerworld Magazine has contributed to the growing tide of web resources designed to help you survive a bad boss. Aimed at tech workers, it highlights the familiar scenario of technologically brilliant bosses who have no management skills.

Some two million people have been bullied at work in the past six months, latest figures have suggested – many of them managers and many of them by their managers.

A macho environment of bullying and harassment is stopping women progress within the British workplace, according to a study by equal opportunities group Opportunity Now.

Despite overwhelming evidence that macho management is totally ineffective, many senior managers in the finance sector are opinionated, arrogant bullies who blame their staff and take credit for the work of others.

Bullying is rife across British businesses, with senior managers often the ones most affected by psychological intimidation, according to new research.

Most workers reckon that their bosses are excessively bureaucratic, blame people wrongly and are inconsistent when it comes to making decisions, according to a damning report.

A new guide has been published by Britain's Chartered Management Institute to help organisations manage and address the impact of bullying at work.

Being ambitious, assertive and authoritative will, as a chief executive, win you plaudits from your shareholders, but are also the most likely character traits to hold a business back, a consultancy has said.

Misconduct, harassment and unethical activity remain rife in may organisations because a significant proportion of employees feel unable to report or challenge unacceptable behaviour.