Workplace bullies not only make your time on the job miserable, but new studies show this behavior can also be toxic to your life and relationships outside of work. According to data from the Workplace Bullying Institute, more than a third of American workers claim they have been victimized. Research also shows that the targets of bullying can even suffer from post-traumatic stress.

You already know that bullying happens among children and teens in schools. The real unknown is how to stop it. According to NoBully.org, bullying and cyberbullying happen in four main ways - often repeatedly and in combination:  

Over the last few months we have been discussing the prevalence of bullies in the workplace. We’ve talked about identifying bullying behavior and what to do if you are a witness or the target. If you have been reading our articles and thinking you’ve never experienced anything like this… or you think the whole issue is ridiculous… you might need to take a serious look at yourself to see if just maybe- you could be the bully.  

What would you do if you saw a speeding, lifted, diesel, bright orange eight-wheeler truck crash into a little electric car sitting motionless at a red light? At first glance you’re probably thinking you’d call 911. Of course you would, you’re a decent human being and would want to ensure both drivers are safe. Unfortunately you’d be wrong in your answer.

We write about Uber quite a bit on this blog... especially when one of their drivers is accused of a crime. But the newly released video of a passenger hauling off and beating a driver senseless is nothing short of shocking. If you missed the video of the attack you can see it here (Warning: NSFW language):

In 2011, I was in a terrible accident. Without going into too much detail, my dog and a city trolley were involved. The local news stations covered the story and posted their news clips on their websites. It wasn’t long before the comments section was full of a hateful string of nastiness. People said I was too stupid to own a dog and it should be taken away from me. They said I should be dragged into the street and shot for being so dumb. They said they wished I hadn’t survived that accident because people as idiotic as me shouldn’t be walking the streets of our fine city.

Is the Internet destroying civility in our society? The anonymity of the online world has created a realm overflowing with astounding rudeness, and in many cases pure bullying.

“Nurses eating their young.”  Have you heard that one before? I have always heard horror stories about what young doctors had to go through as they navigated the first few years of their profession, but apparently the hazing and outright bullying of young nurses has been a way of life in American hospitals for decades.

The news media is always interested in workplace violence. Mass shootings get wall-to-wall coverage for days on end and terms like “going postal” get coined.  On August 26th, the two collided in an unspeakable tragedy as Alison Parker and Adam Ward were executed on live TV by Vester Lee Flanagan, a former co-worker who had been fired by the station.