Bullied at work? How are you coping with the ‘mean kids’ in your office?

According to the 2010 WBI U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey 35% of the U.S. workforce (an est. 53.5 million Americans) report being bullied at work; an additional 15% witness it. Half of all Americans have directly experienced it. Simultaneously, 50% report neither experiencing nor witnessing bullying." Even worse, the Institute reported that 54.6% of employers did nothing after receiving complaints from victims of bullying, and 28.2% of bullies were actually promoted or otherwise rewarded in the face of such complaints. Even though, the data may not be totally accurate, bullying seems to have growth as a "silent epidemic".

Bullying is present behind all forms of harassment, discrimination, prejudice, abuse, persecution, conflict and violence. When the bullying has a focus (e.g. race or gender) it is expressed as racial prejudice or harassment, or sexual discrimination and harassment, and so on. When the bullying lacks a focus (or the bully is aware of the Federal and State laws), it comes out as pure bullying; this is an opportunity to understand the behaviors which underlie almost all reprehensible behavior.

There is a bias to think that the bullied at work are uneducated or unskilled workers that do not know how to interact effectively at the work environment.

The truth is far from the above. According to a WBI 2003 online survey the five top reasons individuals are targeted for bullying, in rank order, were: (1) refusal to be subservient (being independent), (2) being more technically skilled than the bully, (3) being liked by co-workers/customers (being the go-to expert), (4) being ethical and honest, and (5) not being sufficiently political.

But what can you do about it?

1. Break your silence. Tell co-workers, friends, and family. Ask for help. Put your health first. There is a lot of data that shows how harmful to your health is the continuous exposure to stress from bullying.

2. Expose the bully You've got to go as high up as you can. Talk to HR and your manager. Try to keep proofs that bullying is actually happening. Facts talk by themselves. Look for outside legal counseling, if needed, to understand your rights if the work environment does not offer you a way-out. The Workplace Bullying Institute estimates that only 20% of bullying is legally actionable, but that estimate may be low. Laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, race or other protected status may prohibit bullying, and state common laws frequently prohibit bullying behavior like harassment, infliction of emotional distress and interference in business relationships. It can be expensive to defend a lawsuit based on bullying, and the damages awarded to injured employees can be significant.

3. Keep your Brand intact. Your professionalism will be the one you’ll take with you, either you stay or leave. Record your performance goals, achievements, success stories and proofs you are the one doing what is right.

4. Be informed on what bullying means, so then you can do something about it.
Bullyonline.org offers a great chart to distinguish between harassment and bullying. Even though, the Country and State regulations’ differences, this table offers you a glimpse on what may be actually happening to you or someone you know at work.
Harassment has a strong physical component, e.g. contact and touch in all its forms, intrusion into personal space and possessions, damage to possessions including a person's work, etc.

Workplace bullying is almost exclusively psychological (e.g. criticism), may become physical later, especially with male bullies, but almost never with female bullies.

Harassment tends to focus on the individual because of what they are (e.g. female, latino, disabled, etc).
Workplace bullying: Anyone will do, especially if they are competent, popular and vulnerable

Harassment may consist of a single incident or a few incidents or many incidents.
Bullying is rarely a single incident and tends to be an accumulation of many small incidents, each of which, when taken in isolation and out of context, seems trivial.

Often the harassment is for peer approval, bravado, macho image etc while Workplace bullying tends to be secret behind closed doors with no witnesses.

5. Share best practice. Research on what other organizations have done to prevent and stop bullying. Feel free to offer proactive data on potential savings (e.g. absenteeism rate) achieved when the right measures are placed.

Bullying is far from over when we end our school years. It is a phenomenon happening to many everywhere. There is no sense to turn your head to the other side when it is very likely you’ll be subject to this situation at one point or another throughout your career.

Be smart, proactive and ready to face it if happening to you!
Recommended Sources:
http://www.workplacebullying.org/research/WBI-NatlSurvey2010.html
http://www.bullyonline.org/
Best Success,

Your coach,
Mariela
www.linkedin.com/in/marielatinoco
+20 positive public referrals at your service.

Your own job search sabotage! Is it a conspiracy theory or are you the one to be blamed?

I have seen him in LinkedIn and I have got notes from him. I am sure you have met him, too. His words and tone tell you how good he could be for any job you may consider him for but he fails to articulate how he’d actually add value to you or your corporation.


He places notes on affinity group discussions offering his services to anyone willing to ‘give him a chance’.

He calls all his contacts and friends asking them for a job in any range fitting into his very generic field of expertise.

He talks non stop about how recruiters do not reply his notes or how the job market is tough these days.

He comes into a room and you feel the urge to run away to the opposite direction before he comes with the inevitable job question that he just asked you a few days ago.

Some people may feel inclined to help but very few know how to do so not knowing exactly what he could be good at!

What can you do not to be forgotten/avoided by those who have the power to open your next job opportunity but a talented professional who would be a great addition to a business?

1. Define and Sell your Brand and not just a resume. You are a whole package that goes beyond a sheet of paper; therefore, having the ability to articulate the best you have to offer to the job market in a professional way will open doors to you. Once your contacts know what you’ve done successfully they will believe in your potential and refer you more likely to a potential employer.

2. Do not burn your bridges. Unfortunately, many job seekers miss the point that networking needs to be a 2-way street to be effective. It is "getting acquainted beyond the business card" what will build the real connection to your network and empower success to all who share it. Pay forward! Be Thankful and courteous!

3. Use social media to share best practice and knowledge. You want for others to see your unique talents and the best you have to offer. Get public referrals and ensure you have a strong profile that includes your top career highlights. Be a top talent to look out and not one more profile whose status says: ‘Looking for a job’.

3. Be on time and keep your word. Do not run late for meetings even if they are held over coffee. Everyone wants an employee who is dependable and a good representative of the company. Someone who's tardy to a meeting is neither.

4. Dressing for the wrong motives (or wrong job!). Appearances matter in the job market and you should dress for what's appropriate in your field. Find out what the dress code is before you show up to a networking event or interview. You're better off erring on the side of too professional than too casual.

5. Broadcasting to your network you are all up for the right career opportunity. It is correct to assess that you have a minimum salary expectation but it is wiser to be discreet on that topic with your contacts. Talking about money too soon may close potential opportunities coming on your direction.

6. Be Open to learning and advice. When making contact to share best practice, please remember to ensure your appreciation of the information you are given and ask a lot of questions in an assertive way.

7. Keep it Positive. One of the key traits I observe when interviewing a candidate is his ‘locus of control’. I want to be able to know the perfect candidate has what it takes to cope with the job/business fluctuations to motivate himself to deliver. Negative energy scares allies and potential employers away.

8. Get out and do some face-to-face networking. Face-to-face contact and telephone conversations are essential to connect. Do not rely only on your computer to network!

9. Keep a strategic job search plan. It is not just applying through a series of never ending job posts what will land you that job but how you are articulating your job transitioning process what will make you successful in achieving your vision.

10. Rely on the power of a strong network of family and friends. They may not be able to provide you with useful job leads or referrals … but they can give you something even more valuable: friendship, unconditional love and support.
“ Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill

Best Success!

Your coach,
Mariela
www.linkedin.com/in/marielatinoco
+20 positive public referrals at your service

Job scams…what actually happens to professionals like you!

Leo is a highly specialized engineer with +15 years of experience in the Oil and Gas Industry who e-mailed me a few weeks ago to check on a job offer he had got from a well known company in the UK. He was excited after having exchanged some e-mails with a recruiter from that company and thrilled there was a job offer for him to be relocated to the United Kingdom. The ‘catch’ and what created discomfort on him was a payment in advance to be made to this company in order for them to process the immigration paperwork on his behalf. He e-mailed me the notes and websites provided and everything seemed ‘legitimate’ until I noticed the employer’s originating e-mail address which ended on ’@yahoo.com’. That was the obvious sign that this was a job scam.


When I performed a quick research on Internet it was obvious this company was one of the many job scams that are taking advantage of the recession to take money from those highly educated professionals that would be willing to relocate to a different country in order to make a living.

From Jan. 1, 2010 to August 31, 2010 the US Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) received 2,431 complaints from consumers on work-at-home scams

Leo’s case is not unique. Job scams are on the rise. Be careful not to trust too easily a potential job offer when:

1. It is too good to be true. High salary potential and excellent benefits for little work and no experience necessary should be enough to make you suspicious.

2. The  corporation’s use of ‘generic’ email addresses, like Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail, rather than a specific business email address.

3. The employer offers the convenience of working from home and getting rich by doing it. While millions of entrepreneurs will earn their income from enterprises run from home offices nationwide millions of others will fall victim to work-at-home scams that are spread through classified ads, direct mailings, and the Internet and e-mail.

4. The hiring company asks for money upfront. On Leo’s case it meant some 'needed' money to fix immigration paperwork in the UK. Even the internet links shared by the employer can be potentially ‘hacked’ in order for you to provide personal financial information and/or make a payment.

5. The employer wants your credit report from the beginning. Though, it is true that employers may require this information to candidates that have been interviewed and who are most likely on the final stages of the selection process, it is unusual to get an e-mail from the potential employer that in order to be considered for the job, the applicant has to check his or her credit report through a recommended website. Beware of releasing confidential social security or financial information.

There is also a recent and fantastic article related to the Top 10 Job Scams That Target the Unemployed - See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/9DBZB6 - that I invite you to visit to get more information.

Remember that it is your job search process which means YOU are responsible for doing your own research. Use the public library, newspapers, the Internet, and your state employment office to find info on your potential employer and ensure you get the job that’s right for you.


Best Success,
Your Career Coach,
Mariela Tinoco-Aramburu
+20 public positive referrals available at www.linkedin.com/in/marielatinoco