Three online surveys were posted at the web site as part of the initial research of, and for, bullied workers. Targets of bullying had been invited to complete part one, the Target survey, and part two, the Aftermath survey, to describe some of the consequences of bullying that have lingered. A third survey for Witnesses of the bullying of others was designed for co-workers.

To commemorate Labor Day, 1998, the initial 200 completed surveys were analyzed. The summary of our findings appear below. In all, 154 Targets and 46 Witnesses completed surveys. Sixty-six Targets also completed the Aftermath questionnaire.

Though the sample of respondents does not represent a randomly representative group, thus rendering the study a "non-scientific" one, it is a look directly into the belly of the beast which too many of our sick workplaces represent.

Bullying was defined at the web site as the hurtful, repeated mistreatment of a Target (the recipient) by a bully (the perpetrator) whose actions are characterized as controlling.

The rationale for the surveys was to document the breadth and depth of the bullying phenomenon as reported by those closest to it for those who may experience it either as recipients or witnesses in the future. We hope the indisputable facts will somehow soften the blow for Targets and shorten their recovery time.

If onlookers from the general public, policy makers, and academicians looking for researchable topics are also educated, that is an added benefit. The findings contribute to the growing knowledge base cataloged by the U.S. Campaign Against Workplace Bullying.

Gary Namie, Ph.D.
Research Director
The Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute

Major Findings

1) Bullying is different from the more recognizable issues that plague the workplace -- sexual harassment, racial discrimination and violence. Both women and men are victimized as Targets and serve as perpetrators. For details.

2) Falling prey to a bully's destructive tactics is a career hazard; it is not about gamesmanship or a fair competition among equals. Bullies commonly adopt surprise and secrecy to gain leverage over Targets. For details.

3) Targets are a diverse group of normal, talented people. For details.

4) Bullying devastates the Target's emotional stability and can last a long time. For details.

5) The employer, as an organization, bears partial responsibility for the systematic disassembly of a once productive employee by a mean-spirited one-person wrecking crew. For details.

6) Wisdom from veterans of bullying wars, in their own words. For details.

Executive Summary

1) Bullying is different from the more recognizable issues that plague the workplace -- sexual harassment, racial discrimination and violence. Both women and men are victimized as Targets and serve as perpetrators.

It is a type of harassment that ignores the legal condition of disparate treatment based on gender. Female Targets were nearly equally likely to be bullied by women (46%) as men (54%). Though men were a minority of the respondents (27.2%), they, too, were bullied. For them, the bully was usually male (72% of the time). Legality is not required for acknowledging its existence.

Furthermore, less than 10% of the respondents felt that legal charges could be brought against the bully based on EEOC (Title VII) criteria--gender, race, etc.

Bullying is unconscionable meanness and a precursor to violence, if left unchecked. It is limited to verbal assaults and sabotage. Results confirmed this in that in only 6.5% of the cases were physical threats made.

2) Falling prey to a bully's destructive tactics is a career hazard; it is not about gamesmanship or a fair competition among equals. Bullies commonly adopt surprise and secrecy to gain leverage over Targets.

What exactly did bullies do? The top 10 tactics ranked from most to least frequent were: blame for errors, unreasonable demands, criticism of work ability, inconsistent application of made-up rules, threats of job loss, insults and put-downs, discounting accomplishments, social exclusion, yelling and screaming, and stealing credit for Target's work. Bullies all adopted more than one spirit-crushing technique. Witnesses tended to see making unreasonable demands, stealing credit, blaming and threatening job loss as bigger problems than did Targets themselves.

The top four causes of the bullying, as seen by Targets and witnesses, were: a refusal to accept the subservience the bully sought (31%), "bully envy" of the Target's competence and abilities (21%), nothing known since the assaults were unprovoked (18%), and top-down company policies, the workplace culture (14.3%). If bullying was a civil interaction, independence would be rewarded instead of having attack as a consequence. Bullying is as capricious and surprising as the bully's personality is unpredictable.

Most important was that three out of four (75%) of those who reported that bullying had stopped said it did so only because they left the job. Terminations were engineered by bullies with falsified facts or without bothering to concoct a reason (which is rarely illegal). Others quit after being driven out. Bullies stay; Targets leave.

The bullies' favorite arena for misconduct was in public in front of others (53.2%). Public actions not only humiliate the Target but serve notice to the group that anyone could next fall into the predator's crosshairs. The other half of the bullies divided their preference between private, truly secret settings (24%) and encounters behind closed doors but overheard (22.8%). Privacy enables deniability. Disputes become a "she said/she said" dialogue which discourages people to whom the Target turns for help to not take remedial action.

3) Targets are a diverse group of normal, talented people.

Targets and witnesses who completed the surveys were predominantly female (73%). The age range was 15 to 58, with a mean age of 36, and 78% of the respondents between the ages of 24 and 46.

Education: 43% had less than a 4 yr. college degree; 27.5% have a 4 yr. degree; 29.5% have a graduate or professional degree.

Most employers were in the private, for-profit sector (59.3%); 15.4% were nonprofit organizations, and 25.3% were government employees.

Typical employers: legal office, toy manufacturer, aerospace, chamber of commerce, private elementary school, casino, physician's medical group, substance abuse counseling center, big 6 accounting/consulting firm, national magazine, university, community action agency, state prison, hospital, semiconductor manufacturer, software design, bookseller, satellite communications, resort hotel, pharmaceuticals, pipeline construction, book publisher, market research, chiropractor.

Representative jobs: "a checkout chick, a register dog," nutritionist, professor, janitor, training officer, corrections officer, machinist, researchers, beverage supervisor, fraud investigator, heavy equipment operator, tech support, clinic director, engineer, child care worker, nurse, bank teller, teacher, purchasing, security officer, design engineering, sales, quality control assistant.

4) Bullying devastates the Target's emotional stability and can last a long time.

As rated by Targets, the list of most prevalent 8 effects bullies had on Targets were: stress, anxiety (79.4%), depression (64.7%), exhaustion (64%), insecurity, self-doubt (59%), shame, embarrassment and guilt (58%), obsessive thinking, nightmares (58%), poor concentration (56%), and sleeplessness (53%).

Those who completed the Aftermath survey were evenly divided into two groups. The shorter-term group was removed from their bullies for one year or less. A second, longer-term group had a "recovery time" that spanned 18 months to 10 or more years. The short-term group reported frequent or constant intrusive negative thoughts about the bullying in 81.25% of the cases. This alone is horrific.

More disturbing is that 23.5% of respondents in the long-term group were bothered by frequent or constant thinking about the bullying. Remarkably, for those removed from the bullying for 10 years or more, 80% said they "sometimes" still thought about it.

Subsequent to the bullying episode to which respondents referred in their questionnaires, 58% reported that they were still troubled by bullying (that it was either an infrequent or debilitating part of their current job). Freedom from bullying is obviously difficult to achieve once wounded.

These data confirm the anecdotal evidence we gather as part of our advising service.

5) The employer, as an organization, bears partial responsibility for the systematic disassembly of a once productive employee by a mean-spirited one-person wrecking crew.

The bully's rank in the workplace was higher than Target's in 89% of the cases. Of the others, 6.7% were co-worker bullies and 4.5% bullied up the organization chart.

Recall that the fourth-ranked perceived cause of bullying was the employer's culture (top down policies). Further support for the employer's condoning, rather than condemnation, of bullying came from the question asking who supported bullies. Management was the principal source of support (76%) while the bully's peers ranked second (56.3%).

Sadly, the Target's co-workers were seen as pro-bully, though at a level less than half that of management (32.4%). This could reflect the success of a "divide and conquer" tactic that bullies sometimes adopt to turn co-workers against peers. The final noteworthy supporter of bullies was Human Resources, according to 30% of survey respondents.

When asked to rate the helpfulness of company representatives, the two least helpful were Human Resources (an average of .423 on a scale of 0 to 2, and only 3% saying they were helpful) and Senior Management (an average of .424 and 7.6% crediting them as helpful).

Witnesses tended to discredit HR and Management more harshly than did Targets, though the differences were not statistically significant. It is reasoned that, as outsiders, they saw more objectively how the Target's downward spiral could be attributed to HR and Management's indifference or deliberate obstruction of a compassionate resolution on behalf of the Target.

The question of responsibility for bullying was raised by having respondents distribute 100% of accountablity across four groups. The average percentage assigned to Targets for their own fate was 8.2%. Bullies bore the brunt of responsibility, an average 59.5%. However, the organization was given an average 24% and the law (society or unknown external factor) was assigned slightly more culpability (8.3%) than Targets. Clearly the bully and her accomplice, the organization, were seen as the culprits.

Again, witnesses tended to view the bully more harshly than Targets (64.5% vs. 58%), but the difference was not significant.

Some good news about co-workers came from the list of sources of support for Targets. Co-workers topped the list, but co-workers saw themselves as more frequently supportive than did Targets (95% vs. 72%). Next most supportive as seen by Targets were friends away from work (62%), a spouse or partner (58%) and family (51%). Note how friends are consulted more frequently than mates. We infer that the shameful nature of assault victims drives them to shield loved ones rather than burden them first.

Management was the least supportive of Targets (8.5%). Management loyalty is showered on bullies.

6) Wisdom from veterans of bullying wars, in their own words.

What they would have done differently:

I would have challenged the bully more and stood up for my own beliefs instead of backing down.

I would have the nerve to confront the bully on his terms and tell him what he was doing to me and my life. I would tell him that his two-faced nature was visible to everyone but himself!

Recognized it for what it was, and not tried to figure out what I was doing wrong or misunderstood.

Not tried to get action from within the workplace as this only made me more of a target. I should have sought legal action and outside options far earlier when I still had my health.

The problem was the idiot, not me ... 40 people leaving this company in a period of 18 months ... The company was FULL of bullies-look at the absurdly high turnover!

Advice to future Targets:

Never put up with it, no job is worth losing your self-worth

Don't stay until your emotional health is so adversely affected, that you can't work ... was told by attorneys to just file a complaint and leave. Easy for them to say. I never wanted to leave, but work was intolerable.My co-workers were threatened with their jobs, if they contacted me ... I suffered emotionally beyond belief and have not been the same ... This has been an extremely isolating experience.

Work to get an anti-harassment policy in your workplace. Consider counseling/therapy. LEAVE, if the job situation does not get better; no one deserves to be treated that way.

Take a stand and get the help you need to confront the bully, because you wouldn't have a bully on your back if there were more people on your side.

Remember, it's not about you, it's about the bully. I believe my work place bully to be an extremely unhappy individual who has little joy in life and is unable to permit others to have what he cannot.

Fight back from the beginning.

Realize that the bully is really a coward.