A recent survey indicates 40 per cent of Canadian workers have experienced bullying in the workplace within the past six months. We ask what can be done to stop it.

Anna is young, reasonably attractive and moderately bright. She has little formal education, but joined a large local retail store out of high school and has risen to the level of assistant department supervisor. It’s a level she’s not likely to surpass in the foreseeable future, for Anna (not her real name) is a bully.

“When I come in for a shift and realize that she’s the supervisor on duty, my heart drops,” says one staffer. “I know she’s going to take any chance she has to make my life miserable. And I’m not the worst off! One time, she called (a member of staff) a wrinkled old hag and said that just having to be around someone that old made her sick . . . I mean, who does that?”

Who, indeed?  Read more

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Bully Article strikes a nerve by Grant McKenzie

It was so interesting to read and hear reactions to last week’s cover feature on bullying in the workplace.

While the majority of readers wanted to share their own stories of demeaning encounters with terrible bosses, a few reacted in a completely unexpected and curious way.

I heard from several people at different companies who were concerned the examples used were somehow aimed at them, and from employees who assumed it was their manager in the spotlight. After assuring the bosses they were not the template for the examples, I did suggest that if they saw themselves in the descriptions, it might be time for some self-reflection or managerial training before HR brings down the hammer.

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