There are many bullying facts gathered through bullying research, focus groups, and psychological examinations. We have provided some basic bullying facts for you to familiarize yourself with.

What is Bullying?

Bullying occurs in a wide range of situations for both adults and children:

• Youths: bulling in school, camp, playground, and sports
• Adults: bullying in the workplace and within sports

What is the Definition of Bullying?

According to Dr. Haber, a person bullies another when:

• The bully intends to harm the victim in order to increase her power
• The bully acts on this intention
• The bully does so repeatedly over time

What are the Three Types of Bullying?

Bullying comes in physical, verbal, and relational varieties.

What is Physical Bullying?

Physical bullying occurs when the bully intrudes on the victim’s physical space, threatens physical violence, or actually engages in unwanted physical contact. Some examples include:

• Throwing objects or using objects without permission
• Stealing or hiding things
• Slapping the victim “in jest”
• Defacing with graffiti

What is Verbal Bullying?

Verbal bullying occurs when the bully intentionally uses language to hurt or undermine another individual. Some examples include:

• Teasing or poking fun
• Jokes at the victim’s expense
• Verbal rudeness
• Name calling with hurtful intent
• Intimidation, humiliation, and screaming

What is Relational Bullying?

While physical and verbal attacks are painful, relational bullying arguably causes the most harm. The relational bully seeks power over the victim by harming the victim’s relationships with others through blackmail, humiliation, manipulation of friendships, and other means. Some examples include:

• Making someone look bad
• Spreading rumors (ranging from trivial to highly malicious)
• Threatening to reveal personal information
• Using the Internet for any of the above actions
• Exclusion

What Does Bullying in the Workplace Look Like?

While physical and verbal attacks are painful, relational bullying arguably causes the most harm. The relational bully seeks power over the victim by harming the victim’s relationships with others through blackmail, humiliation, manipulation of friendships, and other means. Based on the above definitions of bullying in hand, we can see that the colleague who spreads rumors in the office, the boss who refuses to speak to a subordinate, and the team member who takes credit for others’ work are all exhibiting bullying behaviors. According to Dr. Haber, it can be difficult for managers and leaders to deal with bullying in the workplace for a number of reasons:

• It may go unnoticed or be hidden from those who would act to stop it
• Witnesses may stay silent for fear of retribution

Organizations may embrace a culture of bullying because:

• They believe it increases productivity
• The believe that bullying is normal behavior

How Do You Create an Anti-Bullying Culture in the Workplace?

How Do You Create an Anti-Bullying Culture in the Workplace? It is possible for firms to eliminate this undesirable bullying behavior by:

• Encouraging executives to serve as models of anti-bullying behavior for subordinates
• Creating procedures that allow fast response to bullying
• Training staff to recognize bullying

Your organization can create a culture of respect, civility, and empathy.

For more information, see Dr. Haber’s Workplace Bullying Programs.

Click Here to Hire Bullying Expert, Dr. Joel Haber to Speak at Your Next Corporate Training Event

With bullying facts in hand, click here to learn about the anti-bullying programs Dr. Haber offers.