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We are regularly reminded of the hazards of bully bosses. But Queen's University professor of organizational behaviour Jana Raver wants to remind us of the importance of colleagues who are bullies. In fact, bullying often occurs in tandem, with both bosses and colleagues harassing an individual. "People often look to their supervisors to determine how to behave. If the supervisor is engaging in aggressive, hostile behaviour, it is communicating to co-workers that is perfectly acceptable," she notes in the Queen's Leaders Forum. "People see that as an appropriate way to act in that workplace - and replicate it toward each other."
In one study, for example, during which she surveyed 700 people waiting in line at a licence bureau, 51 per cent of participants reported aggression by both a boss and co-worker, compared with 21 per cent who reported only aggression by a co-worker, 8 per cent only by a supervisor, and 19 per cent who reported no aggression. So bullying only by a boss was the least likely situation in that and her other studies. The most common bullying experienced was from bosses and colleagues.
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