Unacknowledged Threats Proffered “in a Manner of Speaking”: Recognizing Workplace Bullying as Shaming

Abstract

This study directs formal attention to the language of workplace bullying. Further study might strengthen opportunities to effectively address and curtail the long-term personal, professional, and organizational injuries deriving from workplace bullying.

Incivility as Bullying in Nursing Education

“…The desire to flee the room is demonstrative of the shame felt. A hermeneutic study by Dzurec, Kennison, and Albataineh (2014) supported shame as being present in persons being bullied when they reported “shame surfaced as the dominant victim theme in our analysis” (p. 287). Dzurec and colleagues further explained that shaming seemed to be the force behind “silencing victims’ voices” (p. 287) and that persons who were shamed by bullying were often unaware of their feelings of inadequacy and their eventual withdrawing behavior.…”

Commentary: The Effect of Words on Health and Diabetes

“…Although words are the outward signs of thoughts and attitudes, tone and body language also can impart messages of judgment and blame ( 49 ). Communication also includes touch, eye contact, and inflection ( 20 ).…”

Nursing Academic Administrators’ Lived Experiences With Incivility and Bullying From Faculty

“…Incivility negatively affected the overall education environment and relationships 10 and resulted in feelings of betrayal and shame in the victim. 16 The study participants reported similar consequences of faculty incivility and bullying, including negative impacts on professional relationships, reputations, and professional careers. The most alarming finding in the study revealed that only 35.7% of the participants remained in nursing academic administration.…”

“…Without the language to define the behaviors experienced, the victims themselves were often seen as the ones who cannot manage the situation or communicate with difficult people. 16 The victim of the behavior can become the scapegoat when the organizational structure chooses not to address the issue, 15,17 resulting in dysfunction at the individual and organizational levels. When incivility has gone unaddressed over time and becomes a cultural workplace norm, 15 it is defined as a toxic workplace.…”