Red Flags: Differentiating Bullying from Management Styles.

Management styles including, but not limited to coaching, democratic, authoritative, and assertiveness aim to enhance productivity and foster team growth in any organisation.

Every employee needs to know when a behaviour becomes bullying. Bullying is a consistent and deliberate misuse of leadership or power in relationships or the workplace through repeated verbal, physical, and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm to a team member or subordinate.

I have listed here other signs that you are being bullied;

• Consistent use of harsh language and insults.
• Public humiliation or belittling remarks.
• Excessive criticism without constructive feedback
• Deliberately excluding an individual from team activities or meetings.
• Spreading rumours or gossip to isolate someone.
• Making threats, either physical or verbal, to induce fear.
• Displaying aggressive body language or gestures.
• Taking credit for an employee's work.
• Constantly questioning competence without valid reasons.
• Consistently assigning an unrealistic amount of work.
• Setting unattainable deadlines with no regard for workload balance.
• Deliberately overloading an individual to create stress.
• Sending offensive emails or messages.
• Harassing individuals through social media or other digital platforms.
• Treating individuals unfairly based on gender, race, religion, or other protected characteristics.
• Making offensive comments or jokes.
• Creating a hostile environment for certain groups.
• Excessive control over every aspect of a person's work.
• Imposing unjust disciplinary actions without proper cause.
• Singling out individuals for punishment without fair treatment.
• Using punitive measures as a form of control.
• Ignoring complaints or reports of bullying behaviour.
• Dismissing concerns without proper investigation.
• Failing to take corrective action when bullying is identified.

Please note that a single occurrence of the behaviour listed may not necessarily indicate bullying, but a pattern of such behaviour over time is cause for concern. If you experience any of the signs consistently, it may be necessary to address the situation through appropriate channels in your workplace.