How conflict at work can morph into outright abuse

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Indeed statistics show that we have a sizeable representation of toxic or near toxic leaders, and I am certain that we can all come up with a long list of specific examples of behaviors that these type of leaders model.

Often the issue is between a team or a member of the team and their team leader. But sometimes while the toxins may be coming from one person the abuse is from many aimed at the same person. This type of phenomenon is systematic and often deliberate, it may well be that some of the aggressors are not entirely complicit, they may have been co-opted without their knowledge through manipulations by the main aggressor, for sure a few words here and there can create a powerful narrative that people can buy into seldom realizing they are being used to mete abuse on another. Usually, this type of phenomenon will have been triggered by a conflict or misunderstanding between two people. One party may try to make things right, whilst the other party may choose to escalate by focusing on sustained actions that influence and make others treat their “enemy” in a cold, humiliating, disrespectful and minimizing manner. This type of workplace bullying has a name – it is called mobbing.

Mobbing has a lot of similar characteristics with the other form of mobbing that we are more familiar with – mob justice. One such characteristic is that just like in the crowd when all are busy stoning the ‘evil’ person, a good number of those that throw stones or kick the person on the ground, are just passersby. They weren’t there when the accusation and pursuant altercation happened, but they are throwing stones too. In our offices when abuse is directed at one person, it doesn’t come only from those that feel they have cause, it comes even from those that had zero to do with you, and it will rain from people who do not even know how you look like, they may only know of you and maybe have your email address. It is our shortcomings on show; for we are all but human, totally fallible. In the face of abuses such as;

How conflict at work can morph into outright abuse

What you need to know:

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