Even "Isolated Incidents" Can Be Bullying

Definitions of workplace bullying are numerous (45 million hits in a recent Web search). Although there are minor differences among definitions, all definitions do include the intentional use of aggression by one person to inflict harm or physical or psychological pain on another person. But members of a very large subset of these definitions insist that aggressive behavior is bullying only if it's part of a repeated pattern.

Trouble awaits organizations that have anti-bullying policies based on definitions that require a repeated pattern of bullying incidents. Trouble awaits organizations that treat "isolated incidents" as merely destructive conflict or "personality clashes."

Defining bullying in a way that includes "isolated incidents" — and does not require patterns of repetition — is essential both for the safety of individual employees and for organizational health.

For individuals, this isn't a minor point. Being targeted in even a single incident of aggression can be debilitating. Targets suffer extreme distress. Some suffer sleep disturbances. Some change jobs, even relocating to do so. Some of their marriages fail. Some become depressed or abuse family members.

Nor is this a minor point for organizations. Organizations pay a high price in depressed performance if they fail to address isolated incidents of aggression, addressing incidents of aggressive behavior only if they are found in patterns. As I outline below, this happens because even one incident of aggressive behavior can have the same effects as a repeated pattern.

"Isolated incidents" can be as damaging as patterns

From the viewpoint of the organization, the damage done by workplace bullying incidents arises from its impact on the work performance of targets and witnesses. So-called "isolated incidents" of bullying can be just as damaging as repeated patterns of workplace aggression. Every incident of workplace bullying has the potential to have persistent and repetitive effects.

Consider theOrganizations pay a high price in depressed
performance if they deal with incidents
of interpersonal aggression only if
they are found in patterns situation from the viewpoint of a target of workplace bullying. The target of a single aggressive act cannot know whether or when a second act will follow. Because targets so terrorized must necessarily assume that another incident could occur at any time, the effect on their performance is the same as the effect of a repeated pattern of aggression. The same dynamic applies to witnesses of incidents of aggression.

Why we must address even the "Isolated incidents"

Some might claim that while addressing isolated incidents of aggression is important, much more important is addressing repeated patterns of aggression incidents. Their claim rests, in part, on the idea that aggression incidents that comprise patterns are plainly more numerous than are the isolated incidents, and therefore they present a more significant threat to organizational performance than do isolated incidents. Three factors weaken this claim.

Aggression incidents have long-term impact

The effects of some aggression incidents don't "fade with time." Some aggression incidents can be so severe that the effect on the target can induce a condition known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). [APA 2013] [Rodríguez-Muñoz 2010] If that condition persists, the target can, in effect, relive the aggression incident when triggered by stimuli that the target associates with the incident. This can happen even if the perpetrator doesn't commit a second act of aggression, and even if the perpetrator isn't present or has permanently left the organization.

The consequent effects of aggression incidents that create targets who manifest symptoms of PTSD therefore can mimic the effects of a repeated pattern of aggression incidents.

Unrelated incidents of aggression can have effects equivalent to repetition

Some assert that the pattern of repetition required by their preferred definitions of bullying must include only incidents involving the same perpetrator and the same target. That is, a perpetrator who commits one and only one act of aggression on each of Target A, Target B, Target C, and so on, has produced a string of isolated incidents, but not a repeated pattern, because each target experienced only a single act of aggression. Some who define bullying as requiring a pattern of repetition would exclude these multiple-target single-incident cases.

Such a definition of bullying leaves organizations exposed to significant damage comparable to that from the single-target multiple-incident case. This exposure arises because subsequent incidents involving Target B can reopen Target A's psychological wounds. So if another bullying incident occurs involving another target, the effect on Target A can be as severe as if Perpetrator A had bullied Target A again.

Even if a subsequent aggression incident doesn't involve Target A or Perpetrator A, witnessing or otherwise learning of a subsequent aggression incident can have effects on Target A in kind and intensity similar to being bullied again by Perpetrator A. That is, for Target A, any other subsequent aggression incident, involving anyone at all, can produce effects similar to those of a repetition of Target A's first experience of workplace aggression.

And it can pertain even if Target A doesn't witness directly the subsequent incident — acquiring the knowledge that a subsequent aggression incident occurred can be sufficient to reopen Target A's psychological wounds.

Some isolated incidents are actually parts of patterns

One authoritative definition of bullying is this: "Bullying is the aggressive behavior arising from the deliberate intent to cause physical or psychological distress to others." [Randall 1997] One must surely wonder about the mental health of someone who engages in behavior the intent of which is to cause physical or psychological harm to others. Indeed, it is legitimate to ask whether someone so inclined would be likely to engage in such behavior just once.

Consider the case of a supervisor who bullies. In many organizations, to become a supervisor, one must work diligently over a period of years, if not in the substance of the job, at least in the political dimension. What could motivate someone to put at risk the fruits of those labors by engaging in any behavior that might be characterized as aggressive, abusive, or bullying? My own view is that aggressive behavior isn't the result of a rational choice. Many of those who engage in bullying do so as a result of a compulsion. And it is that compulsion that produces repetition.

Perpetrators driven by compulsion work diligently to protect their positions. One approach entails adopting tactics of concealment. They endeavor to control the number and identities of witnesses. They adjust their behavior so that charges of bullying are unlikely, or are deniable on plausible grounds. They choose targets who are unlikely to file grievances, or who won't be credible if they do.

In these cases, incidents we regard as isolated are not actually isolated. They're just the ones we know about. They seem to be isolated because we aren't aware of the other incidents that comprise the pattern.

Last words

Crafting organizational anti-bullying policy so as to focus only on incidents that comprise patterns of repetition exposes organizations to ongoing risk of depressed productivity. This happens for three reasons. First, isolated incidents of intentional interpersonal aggression can be as harmful as can incidents that comprise patterns of such aggression. Second, incidents of interpersonal aggression aren't "isolated." When targets of previous incidents learn of new incidents involving others, their experience can be similar to being targeted again. Finally, people who bully often do so as a result of a compulsion. That compulsion drives them to conceal their activities so as to evade detection. The result is that what appear to be single incidents of aggression might be just the known elements of repeated patterns.

Workplace bullying is any aggressive behavior, associated with work, and primarily intended to cause physical or psychological harm to others. To protect employees and the organization from bullying, craft organizational anti-bullying policy on that basis.  Top    Next Issue

Is a workplace bully targeting you? Do you know what to do to end the bullying? Workplace bullying is so widespread that a 2014 survey indicated that 27% of American workers have experienced bullying firsthand, that 21% have witnessed it, and that 72% are aware that bullying happens. Yet, there are few laws to protect workers from bullies, and bullying is not a crime in most jurisdictions. 101 Tips for Targets of Workplace Bullies is filled with the insights targets of bullying need to find a way to survive, and then to finally end the bullying. Also available at Apple's iTunes store! Just . Order Now!

Footnotes

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Workplace Bullying:

Confronting the Workplace Bully: I

When a bully targets you, you have three options: accept the abuse; avoid the bully or escape; and confront or fight back. Confrontation is a better choice than many believe — if you know what you're doing.

Confronting the Workplace Bully: II

When bullied, one option is to fight back, but many don't, because they fear the consequences. Confrontation is a better choice than many believe — if you know what you're doing.

When the Chair Is a Bully: III

When the chair of the meeting is so dominant that attendees withhold comments or slant contributions to please the chair, meeting output is at risk of corruption. Because chairs usually can retaliate against attendees who aren't "cooperative," this problem is difficult to address. Here's Part III of our exploration of the problem of bully chairs.

Shame and Bullying

Targets of bullies sometimes experience intense feelings of shame. Here are some insights that might restore the ability to think, and maybe end the bullying.

Judging Others

Being "judgmental" is a stance most people recognize as transgressing beyond widely accepted social norms. But what's the harm in judging others? And why do so many people do it so often?

See also Workplace Bullying and Conflict Management for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming July 6: Fake Requests for Help

When a colleague asks for assistance, we can feel validated, even flattered. But not all requests for help are what they seem. The more devious amongst us can be endlessly creative in employing requests for help to achieve devious ends. Available here and by RSS on July 6.

And on July 13: What Do We Actually Know?

Precision in both writing and speech can be critical in determining the success of collaborations in the modern workplace. Precision is especially important when we distinguish between what we surmise or assume and what we actually know. Available here and by RSS on July 13.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenEMudcCzvnDHFfOEmner@ChacTcmtXTCJBjZfSFjIoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Public seminars

The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power

Many people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   
• A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   

Bullet Points: Mastery or Madness?

Decision makers in modern organizations commonly demand briefings in the form of bullet points or a series of series of bullet points. But this form of presentation has limited value for complex decisions. We need something more. We actually need to think. Briefers who combine the bullet-point format with a variety of persuasion techniques can mislead decision makers, guiding them into making poor decisions. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   
• A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.