What are bullying behaviors examples?

Examples of bullying at work could include: constantly criticising someone's work spreading malicious rumours about someone constantly putting someone down in meetings deliberately giving someone a heavier workload than everyone else excluding someone from team social events putting humiliating, offensive or threatening comments or photos on social media. Bullying can also happen from staff towards someone more senior, for example a manager. Examples of upward bullying can include: showing continued disrespect refusing to complete tasks spreading rumours constantly undermining someone's authority doing things to make someone seem unskilled or unable to do their job properly. It can still be bullying even if they do not realise it or do not intend to bully someone. Bullying might: be a regular pattern of behaviour or a one-off incident happen face-to-face, on social media, in emails or calls happen at work or in other work-related situations.

Bullying behaviors examples include shouting or swearing at a colleague and persistent negative and inaccurate attacks on a colleague's personal or professional performance. Criticising a colleague in front of others and spreading malicious rumours or making malicious allegations are also examples. Threatening behaviour, both verbal and physical, body language and non-verbal communication which is inappropriate, such as invading personal space, are considered bullying behaviors. Use of inappropriate tone, language and quantity of emails, for example, inappropriate use of capital letters, is another example. Additionally, use of social media platforms as a method of enacting inappropriate behaviours, such as cyber-bullying or cyber-harassment, and behaviour perceived as sexually threatening or intimidating are also considered bullying behaviors. Other examples include persistently setting objectives with impossible deadlines or unachievable tasks, removing and replacing areas of responsibility with menial or trivial tasks, and taking credit for work achieved. Undervaluing a colleague's contribution, placing unreasonable demands on and/or over-monitoring a colleague’s performance, and withholding information with the intent of deliberately affecting a colleague's performance are also bullying behaviors. Isolating staff, preventing staff accessing opportunities, and inappropriate, unfair and/or inconsistent use of management policies or procedures are also examples of bullying behaviors. Any of the above behaviours can be by individuals or a group, using verbal, non-verbal, written or electronic communications.

Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. Bullying behaviour can be: Physical – pushing, poking, kicking, hitting, biting, pinching etc. Verbal  - name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, threats, teasing, belittling. Emotional – isolating others, tormenting, hiding books, threatening gestures,  ridicule, humiliation, intimidating, excluding, manipulation and coercion. Sexual – unwanted physical contact, inappropriate touching, abusive comments, homophobic abuse, exposure to inappropriate films etc. Online /cyber – posting on social media, sharing photos, sending nasty text messages, social exclusion. Indirect - Can include the exploitation of individuals.

Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. Verbal bullying includes teasing, name-calling, inappropriate sexual comments, taunting, and threatening to cause harm. Social bullying includes leaving someone out on purpose, telling other children not to be friends with someone, spreading rumors about someone, and embarrassing someone in public. Physical bullying includes hitting/kicking/pinching, spitting, tripping/pushing, taking or breaking someone’s things, and making mean or rude hand gestures. Bullying can occur during or after school hours, and it can also happen in places like on the playground or the bus, travelling to or from school, in the youth’s neighborhood, or on the Internet. Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include: An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.