Adult Bullying Becoming More Common [POLL/AUDIO]
You may not hear a lot about adult bullying, but it is a problem. There are bullies at work, at home, on the internet and in social cliques.
Research shows that bullying is happening to around 1 in 4 adults and as many as a quarter of adult employees experience some sort of bullying while at work.
“Some people never grow up and you have some adults who are very immature and still have that very childish mentality” said Dr. Steven Tobias, a psychologist at the Child & Family Development Center in Morristown.
A Wisconsin anchorwoman is fighting back after a bully viewer wrote her a letter about her weight, calling her a bad role model.
“Many times the goal of an adult bully is to gain power over the other person or have some sort of superiority” said Tobias.
He said the effects of bullying can be just as bad for an adult’s emotional health as a child’s.
“They can develop all sorts of problems, distress, anxiety, they can be afraid to go to work, have trouble sleeping, they may be uncomfortable in social situations.”
How do you deal with a bully? Tobias says recognize what is happening and unless the person is physically harming you, stand up for yourself and confront them. If you’re bullied in the workplace, report the incident to a supervisor.
“Bullying is not going to change until it is something that everyone knows is unacceptable, that is really when we are going to see an impact in terms of a decrease in this behavior” he said.
October is national anti-bullying month.