Having worked for over 30 years as a technical manager in heavy industry I have some experience with the type of associates and superiors described. I recall three comments from one individual superior which I can still quote verbatim.
1. "....don't you think its your job to do what the MD (now CEO) wants."
and my reply, "No, its my job to do the best I can."(That of course required me to point out where I thought mistakes were being made.)
2. ".....I don't necessarily disagree with you but..." (Understand that we will continue the current course despite your arguments). If a boss cannot win the argument on solid reasoning he should change course.
3. "Christmas is an historical accident." He had no concept of a spirit of goodwill even for a few days of the year.
I understand that the nickname of the Chairman of one large compamy is "Don't Argue." This is a recipe for long term disaster as is the concept of a substantial salary margin for the CEO. All the doubters who realise that sometimes the "Emporer has no clothes" won't rock the boat as they might hurt thier chance of winning the salary lottery. A study once indicated that to avoid this problem the top four or five executives should have a salary spread of no more than about 30%. The present salaries of senior executives is obscene and unnecessary.
Foyle

There has been much hype about anti-bullying in the media especially in schools. Government departments have anti-bullying sites promoting a safe workplace, yet bullying in the Public Service is rife.

I made the mistake of lodging a complaint against a maniacal Section Head. HR turned the tables on me with the help of Senior Executive gunning after me for 'support required' in my performance. Under new-IR CA I have 16 weeks (in the eyes of the bullying Section and Branch Heads) to get my work performance up to par. Overloading a subordinate with inane reading and multiple 'all important' tasks is a well documented form of bullying.

To think People Management (that's what they're called in Education, Science and Training) is there to support 'workers' is wrong. They act as a buffer & is totally pro-management. The union advocate was told that he had no voice.

Evidence provided in support of my case was ignored while People Management & bullies (Section & Branch Heads) and others put together 'statements' got up. 'One-eyed', 'biased' representation of falsehoods are taken as FACTS. Even statements where stakeholders felt 'shell-shocked' and like they just came out of a "war zone" after a meeting with the Section Head were blatantly ignored. It was all HIS WORDS and management's statements OVER mine & my witnesses' statements.

Politicians lie. Bullying public service management lie. And they lie in a language that carries authority because HR are mere stooges of Management. "People Are Our Assets", " Employer of Choice" and a safe workplace?

Cynthia Shapiro's career guide, Corporate Confidential, subtitled 50 Secrets Your Company Doesn't Want You To Know About ~ And What To Do About Them, wrote: "HR's primary concern is NOT to help employees, it is to protect the company FROM its employees." Shapiro added: NEVER make a sexual harrassment claim; NEVER go to HR to resolve a conflict; Don't file a worker's compensation claim; and NEVER complain to HR". Your personal details would be used against you.

Alas I didn't read Shapiro's book 1st. I am being put through the Performance Wringer. Bully for some.

Hey, did anyone else read the list of "Workplace psychopath" characteristics and think this was going to be an article about John Howard?

For the victim of bullying who would like to hit back, an excellent source of material can be found on www.badapplebullies.com

After working with the Government, private enterprise and small business I have observed that the biggest bullies are trade unionist. Their bullying tactics have sent many small businesses to the wall. You would think that they are the people paying the employees instead of looking after them. Thugs who have bullied for decades through the union movement are very slowly being weeded out.

Runner, I'm usually a very tolerant person who listens to all perspectives in OLO posts, but you're really starting to get my goat with your unbridled passion for all things Howard. Now, it seems, you're into union bashing in order to do Howard's dirty work.
Could it be you're hiding behind a nic-name for a reason. Is it because you don't want the world to know you're perhaps Tony Abbott, the very miserable J W Howard himself, or perhaps that over weight blight in spread-sheet journalism Piers Ackerman?

Runner, you call yourself a Christian, but your posts continually show an underlying hatred for the common people. It shows in the way you post and the words you use, mostly underpinned with sarcasm and vitriol. You show few, if any, Christian attributes and appear never to "turn the other cheek." You seem to have a very sour outlook on life as far as I can see and appear to have turned to the Bible in order to find peace. It's plain to see it hasn't worked and for that I'm genuinely sorry.

That said, I must now appoligise to the other posters on this forum for getting way off subject.