A recent article in The Irish Times welcoming Frank Fahey's declared interest in tackling the problem ("Bullying is no short cut to success", July 9th, 2004) generated a huge response. These are some of the viewpoints:
When you see an optimistic and enthusiastic young person being reduced to tears at the thought of going to work thinking she cannot hack it, it's very frustrating - mother of young woman being bullied in her first job.
My boss has been falsely accused of bullying one of the girls. He is incapable of bullying anyone.
If anyone's a bully, it is her. Senior management will not lift a finger to help - male middle manager
I'm sitting at home, in my 40s. I have a mortgage, a master's degree in a science subject, and no job. I was driven out of the last one by a woman who bullied me, until after two awful years I could stand it no longer - scientist, female.
My mistake was going to the union. The union rep is a pal of the boss who was bullying me, and he told him I was a troublemaker. That made the bullying worse, not better - male junior civil servant.
Does nobody notice that there's someone off sick in our section every week with stress or exhaustion? - newly qualified accountant, male.
Some people are always victims and quite often their sensitivity/meekness/ability to be bullied is reflective of other things that are happening in their lives but they won't acknowledge it or want to deal with it - HR executive, female.
The supervisor stormed into the office and questioned me in front of everybody about a procedure I had carried out, insisting there was an error... which there wasn't. Things went rapidly downhill from there - analyst, female.
I thought I was going mad. Then I found a staff list for two years ago for my department. Of the eight people listed, six had left. I immediately took out my CV and updated it.
What I cannot understand is that management cannot see that the problem is in those who stay, not those who leave - clerical officer, male.
Where there is respect, you work harder for a good boss even if he/she is a hard taskmaster. Employers have to understand the behaviours and traits of those they promote to supervisory roles. In particular, on-the-job performance does not guarantee a good team leader.
Leadership depends on the way you influence people, your listening skills, your capacity for motivation - manager in a multinational company.