Types Of Bullying
Facts About The Different Types Of Bullying
There are many types of bullying or ways people go about bullying. If could be said, with some truth, that there are many types of bullies as well, just as there are many types of people. Most bullies however, whether they are managers in a large corporate organization, or the school yard bully, share something in common, which doesn't make them all that different from one another after all. A bully is a person who wants to be a grown up, but either doesn't know how or feels he (or she) is inadequate for the role. Unable to grow up and be an equal among others, the bully tries to bring others down, into a subservient role.
A bully in general doesn't know how else to behave. Bullying is a form of obsessive compulsive behavior. If the bully can't intimidate you, he or she will seek out someone else to intimidate and bully.
The schoolyard bully often gets away with his actions because he is big enough and strong enough to do so, or at least bigger and stronger than most. Most bullies are smart enough not to pick a fight with someone they think will clean their clock, although some aren't that smart. Instead they'll pick as targets those they feel will be afraid to retaliate.
It can be tougher to be a bully in the adult world, as the bully is confronting adults, most of whom won't allow themselves to be bullied. An exception of course is when the bully is in a position of power, a Director, CEO, or the President of a company or a country.
Corporate Bullying - One of the types of bullying we often see or experience is what is known as corporate bullying, where executive management feels free to abuse their employees to a certain extent, knowing the employees are fearful of standing up for themselves or retaliating. Corporate bullies often use the threat of job loss as a tool, or the withholding of promotions or pay raises. Corporate bullying is no different from individual bullying in the sense that the corporation feels inadequate to some degree, or is struggling to make changes, and makes policy out of fear.
While in corporate bullying, we are bullied by our bosses, we can just as easily be bullied by our clients. Customers sometimes bully shop owners or clerks, pupils and parents can bully teachers. No bullying is good, but this type is among the worst, bullying those who serve us.
The Secondary Bully - There are instances where some of our less desirable traits come to the surface, and that is in the case of secondary bullying. Secondary bullying is when a bully picks on one or more people who are presumed to be weak. Either out of fear of the bully, or in trying to pacify the bully (which never works for long), we may jump into the fray and become bullies ourselves, piling on if you will. It's like the taste of blood.
Some bullies are extroverts, leading with their mouth. Others are more on the quiet side, and scheme more than talk, but are bullies nevertheless and bear watching. If a bully wants to wear you down and destroy or remove you, their ultimate goal, the strategy employed may differ from person to person. The bully can challenge you directly, trying to humiliate you, or work behind the scenes, trying to make you look bad.
The Regulations Police - Among the least recognizable bullies, but bullies nevertheless, are those who use rules and regulations as their weapon of choice. These are the police or law wannabes. They will for ever report you, nitpick, or simply remind you of your real or imagined transgressions, knowing you are being humiliated or made to feel miserable, while they can act with a sense of self-righteousness, knowing that rules and regulations back them up. In this case the rules and regulations make up for the bully's own feelings of inadequacy.
The Cyberbully - Although the reasons behind bullying seldom change, the types of bullying often do, as new opportunities present themselves. The newest kid on the block in the world of bullies is the cyberbully. You'll find this person in e-mails, chat rooms, forums, and social networks, where they send inflammatory or derogatory messages, including threats, to those they will never meet face to face, nor will have to converse with. While a cyberbully may be as educated as anyone else, though most don't appear to be, they almost invariably show a lack of communication skills, or a lack of being able to sustain interpersonal relationships. The cyberbully's inadequacies are hidden behind the keyboard.
Types of bullying may evolve with the times, but as far as bullies themselves go, evolution left them with the short end of the stick.