"If you've spent enough time in workplaces, on boards, or in other community organizations, you've probably had that moment where your stomach tightens in a meeting and you're not entirely sure why. A comment lands sideways. A tone shifts. Someone interrupts you for the third time. You walk away replaying the exchange, wondering whether you imagined it or whether something subtle but unmistakable just happened. That confusion is often the first sign you're dealing with a workplace bully."
"Explosive behavior at work is disorienting precisely because it violates the story we're told about professionalism. We're taught that adult leadership comes with emotional control. So when someone yells, slams a table, or lashes out publicly, people scramble to explain it away. It gets framed as stress. Passion. A bad day. A one-off. Individually, each outburst can be rationalized. Collectively, they form a pattern."
Bullying can continue into adulthood and professional settings, undermining the expectation of baseline mutual respect for experienced, credentialed professionals. Subtle signs include gut-tightening moments in meetings: sideways comments, tone shifts, repeated interruptions, and replayed exchanges that leave doubt. Confusion over such incidents often signals a workplace bully. Explosive behavior violates norms of professionalism, and observers rationalize outbursts as stress, passion, or isolated incidents. Repeated eruptions create a pattern of disproportionate reactions, public reprimands intended to humiliate, and sudden escalations. Even if the volume subsides, the lasting message warns colleagues to avoid becoming the target.
Read at Fast Company
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