Antiseptic,

>> I know you're not real good at maths, but I shouldn't think you'd find that too hard to grasp. Perhaps you could ask someone when you're down at Centrelink putting in your form next time... <<

I was hoping you would prove me wrong, instead you have set up this thread as an opportunity to insult and bully others.

Won't waste any more of my time here.

Antiseptic wrote: If a person is not happy at work they have the right to leave with no questions asked. They do not have the right, it seems to me, to impose their own wish for a particular style of interaction or to demand that their colleagues act in a particular way.

I disagree. I think it is quite reasonable for workers to expect, indeed demand, that their colleagues act in a particular way: to treat all their co-workers with respect and courtesy, whether they like them or not.

Here are just a few examples:
1. Courteous, non-aggressive communication.
2. No public humiliation and put-downs.
3. No 'accidentally' forgetting to advise individuals of meetings, and then publicly attacking them for not attending.
4. No spreading false and malicious rumours.
5. No plagiarising colleagues' work.

"A workplace exists to perform a function first and foremost" and if the discourteous behaviour of one employee to another damages the efficiency of the team and hinders the work, then the function will not be performed!

I agree Ammonite. Antiseptic is effectively educating us all on the tactics of a true bully. If someone doesn't agree with them, then they should be belittled and ridiculed as being 'stupid'.

It is a common failing for those people who need to put others down to feel good about themselves.

Antiseptic, you have NO idea of my involvement in bullying at the workplace, so best you don't speculate.

Cossomby, thanks for your comprehensive response and I'm glad you didn't take my comments as a personal attack, as they weren't intended that way.

The problem you describe is one that a good boss needs to address one way or the other. If the boss is not a good one, it's all the more reason to find somewhere else, surely, especially if the rest of the staff seem to get along and you don't?

One person's "bullying" is another's "rough good humour" or perhaps just bad manners. There's also workplace cultural differences: what would be perfectly acceptable to thousands of building workers would not at all suit a group of bureaucrats or the ladies at the church opshop. I'm sure the converse also applies.

There are also some people who will take offence at the drop of a hat as a means of asserting control, or as an attempt to elicit a sympathetic response from onlookers.

You can see what I mean by the response of Ammonite. I'm fascinated to see that she also apparently agrees with me that the best thing to do is to leave a place you're unhappy.

Hi Antiseptic. There are certainly differences in work-place styles, but that's got nothing to do with bullying, which can be done by tough blokes or sweet-looking old ladies. I was working with a bunch of engineers, with whom I had no problems. The bully was a bureaucrat. In one of the other cases I mentioned, the victim was an engineer, and the way he was treated was beyond belief - and it had nothing to do with what might be assumed of a blokey workplace.

My experiences challenge the steretypes implied in some of the postings.

Dear Antiseptic,

I am not a public servant. And I certainly don't agree with your stance in this discussion. Any employee is entitled to a safe working environment. And they cannot be expected to perform well and do their job properly if they are not being allowed to do so by someone who's taken it upon themselves to do them repeated harm. It's very simplistic to say - leave the job, or put up with it, it comes with the territory. The fact remains, it is wrong and should not be part and parcel of any job situation. I've worked in both public and private sectors and have witnessed some inexcusable cases of bullying.
You will not be able to convince me - that its something we simply must put up with. That's just a lame and lazy excuse for inaction.

It also means that you're condoning behaviour that has no place in
any civilised society. I don't understand your logic. You started this thread presumably to have a discussion on this topic. I presume people have entered into this discussion in good faith, as I did. Therefore you must expect that not everyone is going to have the wisdom to agree with you.

The reason people may decide to leave - might just be due to the fact that few people like or support an illogical or weak debater. Sound reasoning will conquer unreasonable generalisations every time. If you sound too dogmatic, and you don't listen to the other person's opinion you will be deemed pig-headed and will subsequently be ignored.