L. Lies. Workplace bullying.

Bullies will lie to protect themselves, openly, shamelessly, and without let up. Observing it, it's hard to believe others can't or wont, see through the sham. They'll twist and manipulate events and comments to suit themselves and make themselves look good and you look foolish.

They have the shameless ability to say one thing to the target then even within seconds contradict this to a superior and leave you in the lurch if it will make them appear better in that persons eyes. If you've naively taken the heat in any way, you won't be supported or thanked.

The bully chooses to deceive and lie, it has become a habit, but it is a choice. They are unwilling to accept responsibility for the consequences of their actions, and will lie to avoid acting like a responsible adult.

They are unable to "take it on the chin"and will avoid accountability even when paying lip service to superiors.

Serial bullies pretend to be golden
but they manipulate events to
suit their own ends.

The glibness can be breathtaking the "yes of course I apologise and I can see where I acted inappropriately, it'll never happen again" may be said at an investigation. Yet minutes later this same person speaks scathingly about the incompetence of the investigators, calling them wicked witch-hunters and speaking of highly competent professionals with derisive, belittling comments. Scornful trivializing comments are made for months or years after a formal investigation - about those who investigated, as well those who gave evidence to attempt to expose the serial bully.

They will use an array of strategies to avoid accountability, possibly claiming that the 'disagreement' was simply an insignificant, trivial inability to see eye to eye, a mere personality clash, of which they are innocent in all ways. However, when one person lies and discredits another,  it is bullying, not a misunderstanding or personality clash. Bullying is the persistent, malicious undermining and vile behaviour of a person unable to hold a mature, rational discussion. The bully may hold resentments for years, and refer to wrongdoings against them ad-nauseum. They have such a desperate need to play the victim and avoid accountability that they have difficulty letting go when they fear they have been exposed.


Here tomorrow: Mind, Mates & Movement
Over at JumpingAground - A celebration - my 1st blogiversary!

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There are many outstanding resources on line. A couple I find useful are Bullying. No way! an Australian resource for teachers and students, and a UK site Bully On Line. This is in no way an exhaustive list, and each country will no doubt have equally good or more relevant websites.

Over at jumpingaground I'm spending the month Drabbling using alliteration, often with an environmental related theme.

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