8 common workplace bully types
1. The Screaming Mimi. This is the most easily
recognizable type of workplace bully. Screaming Mimis are loud and
obnoxious, and their abusive behavior is meant to berate and humiliate
people. They thrive on the notion that others fear them.
2. The Two-Headed Snake. To a co-worker’s face, this
employee acts like a trusted friend or colleague. However, when the
co-worker is out of earshot, this person will destroy his colleague’s
reputation, stab him in the back and even take credit for his work.
3. The Constant Critic. This bully’s goal is to
dismantle other people’s confidence through constant – and often
unwarranted – criticism. A critic will look for any possible flaw in
someone’s work and labors tirelessly to kill that person’s credibility.
Impeccable work? No problem: This type of bully isn’t above falsifying
documents or creating evidence to make others look bad.
4. The Gatekeeper. Every office has at least one
employee who gets off on wielding his or her power over others –
regardless of whether that power is real or perceived. Gatekeepers deny
people the tools they need – whether it’s resources, time or information
– to do their jobs efficiently.
5. The Attention Seeker. This type of bully wants to
be the center of the action at all times. They’ll try to get on their
superior’s good side through consistent flattery and even come on as
kind and helpful to their peers – especially the newer employees.
However, if co-workers don’t provide the right amount of attention,
these bullies can quickly turn on them.
Attention seekers are often overly dramatic and relate everything to
something that’s going wrong in their own lives to garner sympathy and
control. These bullies also have a tendency to coax personal info out of
new employees – only to use it against them later.
6. The Wannabe. This is an employee who sees himself
or herself as absolutely indispensable and expects recognition for
everything. But Wannabes aren’t usually very good at their jobs. To
compensate, these bullies spend a majority of their time watching more
competent workers and looking for areas of skilled workers’ performance
to complain about.
Wannabes will demand that everything is done their way – even when
there are better ways of doing things. Because they’re automatically
opposed to others’ ideas, they’ll do everything in their power to
prevent changes to their work processes.
7. The Guru. Generally, there’s nothing wrong with
this bully’s work performance. In fact, it’s not unusual for a Guru to
be considered an expert in his or her own niche area. What these bullies
offer in technical skill, however, they severely lack in emotional
maturity.
Gurus see themselves as being superior to their co-workers. As a
result, they don’t consider how their actions will affect others, aren’t
able to fathom the possibility that they can be wrong and don’t accept
responsibility for their own actions. In addition, because these bullies
feel as though they’re “above it all,” they don’t always feel compelled
to follow the same rules as everybody else.
8. The Sociopath. Intelligent, well-spoken, charming
and charismatic, sociopaths are the most destructive bullies of all.
Reason: They have absolutely no empathy for others, yet they are experts
at manipulating the emotions of others in order to get what they want.
These bullies often rise to positions of power within the company,
which makes them extremely dangerous. Sociopaths tend to surround
themselves with a circle of lackeys who are willing to do their dirty
work in exchange for moving up the ranks with them.
