Workplace Bullying
The Pandemic Within
The informative business guide Workplace Bullying is powerful as it exposes a growing problem in workplaces; it illuminates means of preventing and dealing with bullying, too.
Shelley Boulet’s helpful business book Workplace Bullying diagnoses, and recommends treatments for, “the pandemic within”: abusive behavior at work.
This guidebook identifies types of workplace bullying, outlines the extent of the issue in the professional world, and provides guidance on how to maintain a supportive work environment where all are welcome. It itemizes actions, comments, and signs of harmful conduct that managers and colleagues are sometimes not aware constitutes abuse. It also relates the real human costs of harassment, including self-harm and suicide. Its broad, thematic sections make it useful as a reference, as does the concision of its subsections.
Surveys and other data lay the groundwork, as of the tactics used by workplace bullies and tips on how to circumvent them. A wide range of news articles, essays, court cases, and academic studies are included, ranging from specific examples of bullying to coverage of the fundamentals, like the book’s terms. It becomes clear that workplace aggression affects workers and managers across the board: anyone can be subject to toxic behaviors.
Boulet is a punctilious guide. The book lists a bevy of examples and supports them with bullet point information, as when it catalogs the excuses that are often used to condone workplace bullies, as of their performance. The prose is clear and professional, too, ensuring that the book’s lessons about leadership and workplace culture are accessible to all.
Case studies demonstrate examples of workplace abuse, including bullying that Boulet faced while juggling the responsibilities of her new job with those of caring for a special needs child and handling a family death. Even when they skew personal, they are related in a matter-of-fact way that makes them simultaneously convincing and empathetic.
The book builds to a cogent argument that it’s in the self-interest of businesses to crack down on workplace bullying in a proactive fashion. Doing so, Boulet says, also serves to reduce turnover, improve productivity, and increase profits. A closing section includes affirmations for those who have experienced trauma at work, though the late placements of the book’s dedication, statement of intention, and description of how the book evolved over time muddle their power.
The informative business guide Workplace Bullying is powerful as it exposes a growing problem in workplaces; it illuminates means of preventing and dealing with bullying, too.
Reviewed by
Joseph S. Pete
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
