Bullying: Could bystanders help!
It is difficult to believe that bullying has ceased to exist at workplace or educational institutions.
Recent studies from across the globe have revealed 60 to 80% of interviewed people admitted witnessing bullying in their organizations. When administrators or teachers vehemently deny the existence of this menace in their institutions, it is often the ‘Ostrich phenomenon’ wherein it does not seem to happen because we choose to keep our eyes shut.
Bullying occurs when a student or employee is subjected to repeated negative behaviours that harass, exclude, humiliate or frighten him, and may range from physical violence to the subtle mocking, ridiculing, excluding or ostracising conducts. It can seriously impact the victim’s health – physical or mental, and can sometimes lead to bigger harm or suicide.
The conventional approach to tackling bullying has been to formulate strict rules, try and catch the bully, and punish him. This requires someone to stick his neck out and report, risking retaliation and vengeance. Further, what this approach does is merely push bullying underground and changing the format to psycho-social than physical forms.
Recent research is shifting the focus to the role of bystanders in controlling the practice. There are two broad types, each with two subtypes:
Constructive:
The Active Constructive bystanders actively discourage or confront the bully or report him or her to the authorities. If they are in significant numbers, bullies tend to become the minority, and often change their behaviour.
The Passive Constructive ones may not directly take on the bully, but empathize and support the victim, mitigating some of the trauma caused.
Destructive:
a. The Active Destructive type encourages the bully, often joining him in the act. This is how ‘bully groups’ are formed and expand in size, each one member venting his bullying instinct on the victim. b. The Passive Destructive ones, who often watch but do nothing, often finding the whole episode amusing, thus encouraging the bully. Bullying is a psycho-social disease, and its control requires much more than strict rules and action. Sensitising and converting workers or students to play constructive anti-bullying roles could be the workplace environment changer.