Women are relational and social by nature. Put women together with women in the workplace and several things may happen. You may have a work force that is highly competent and work gets done and your business moves forward. You may have a group who is fractioned, with a bully as a leader. You may have a group of employees who are floundering in a sea of work and unrealistic deadlines and this slows your company’s productivity and the morale of your employees.
Any type of negative behavior is debilitating, both to the business and to the employee that is on the receiving end of this behavior. Women especially suffer in silence because we are taught to socialize and not to fight back and “to please” at all costs to keep the environment “happy”. So what happens when we as women keep pushing all this toxicity down inside of us?
Something far worse than the bottom line is affected that’s for sure. Over time this pushing down of these negatives damages the employees family, the employees mental health, physical health, her reputation and her own financial stability. You see it is not just one thing. Be are many different parts all together. It isn’t just the one person who suffers, but an entire family, a home, a marriage, a community, a society.
54 million workers are bullied in the workplace and 70% of those are WOMEN! What is even more staggering is that this is women who bully women!
How do you know if you are being bullied at work?
*Are you routinely humiliated in private or in front of colleagues?
*Are you presented impossible deadlines and volumes of work?
*What is the language like in the conversations with your immediate superior or colleague?
*Do you fear conflict in your own work environment?
If you answered “yes” then you are in a bullying environment. Do not take on the victim role here. Stand up for yourself. Go to management and alert them to the problem. They may or may not know that this is going on. This “bullying” also affects their bottom line.
Here’s the formula for bullying: Perfection when paired with Urgency = Bullying
As women we have a tendency to want things to be completed and perfect. Life and business just do not lend themselves to “perfection” in a set period of time. As women we are pleasers by nature. This does us a disservice when it is not paired with boundaries.
What’s your bullying story?
