award-winning educator, mental health advocate, social entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, author/writer, program executive, and radio host

My Response to an Article "How to Deal with Cyberbullying in the Workplace"

My response to an article on "How to Deal with Cyberbullying in the Workplace" by Flavio Martins.

Cyberbullying is a subset of a bigger issue related to organizational culture, which allows any type of bullying behavior to go unchallenged and/or is not reported. There are many types of workplace bullying, but bullying is not always related to the power-hungry types or those who seek to intimidate others. Bullying can be subtle, passive-aggressive, related to one's knowledge, or other factors.

Workplace cyberbullying doesn't need to be treated differently than any other type of bullying. It’s important that anyone who feels uncomfortable with a situation address the issue, even if it’s not addressed directly with the bully.

A lot of the suggestions to deal with workplace cyberbullying in this article are related to changing one’s individual behaviors or actions. These suggestions can be followed, but cyberbullies can continue to be bullies --- even if the individual doesn’t see the message(s) anymore. However, bullying targets shouldn’t have to adjust their behavior to appease the bully. Individuals should

continue to be themselves and address any behavior, actions, or comments that makes them feel (unnecessarily) less than their worth.

Many times bullying is about power and bullies can be limited in the damage that is inflicted by addressing any behavior that is unwanted, not welcome, or beyond standards of common decency.

Additional information on workplace bullying can be obtained in my book "Bullies...They're In Your Office, Too: Could you be one?", which details workplace bullying issues along with thoughtful solutions.