Bullies in the workplace : seeing and stopping adults who abuse their co-workers and employees /

In the US, no federal laws make bullying illegal. In the interest of providing an overview of bullying in the workplace, a topic not often discussed in the literature on the work environment, Paludi has brought together contributors (mostly psychologists) from the US and other countries (mostly in Europe). The essays offer a number of definitions of bullying in this context: for example, the contributors of one essay identify it as repeated "generally deliberate demeaning of co-workers or subordinates." The volume looks at bullying in a variety of workplace settings: the academy, health care institutions, middle schools. Contributors discuss the characteristics of perpetrators and victims (men and women are in both categories), the effects of bullying on victims (less job satisfaction and more stress--particularly among women), and the impact of bullying on organizations (increased turnover and lawsuits, decreased company performance and reputation.) In an essay titled "The Role of the Victim and the Perpetrator-Victim Relationship in Understanding Workplace Aggression," Jennifer Bozeman and Sandy Hershcovis offer a well-researched discussion of whether victims contribute to their selection as victim. The book argues that organizations should institute strategies to identify perpetrators and support victims, and that those who observe bullying incidents should be willing to report them. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. --Frieda Reitman, Pace University