Sad to say, but bullying does not just exist in the schoolyard. It is alive and well in the workplace.
We probably all know what the obvious signs of bullying look like. Examples include: offensive communication (using profanity, gossip or derisive jokes); aggression (yelling or shouting at an employee); coercion (forcing someone to say or do things against their will); belittling or demeaning someone regarding their ideas or work; embarrassing, degrading or humiliating someone publicly in front of others; retaliation; threats; blocking the advancement or growth of someone, or actively campaigning to get rid of them.
In addition to these obvious forms of bullying, there are many subtle forms that may not easily be detected but still cause emotional damage.
Perhaps a bully is in charge of taking photos at a key event. He/she may take pictures of everyone but their victim to let them know who is in control.
Maybe the bully acts chummy with the victim’s friends or share jokes and social events with everyone but the victim.
These are forms of socially isolating the victim.
Bullies may constantly justify their behavior or make excuses for it (“I raised my voice because I am going through a bad time right now“).
They may act oblivious or dumb (“Oh, I didn’t know that was important to you“).
They may constantly blame the victim or use him/her as a scapegoat.
One tactic that I have heard used a lot is pitting employees against each other so that they will turn against each other.
This way, the bully comes out as the winner.
As managers, bullies may set unrealistic expectations or set their employees up to fail.
They may also display sudden mood swings, making them unpredictable.
They may take credit for others’ ideas without acknowledging them.
They may lie or distort the truth about what others have said in order to advance their own agendas.
For example, the person may say, “Josh said this is how we should run the meeting” since that is how the bully wants to run it, when in fact, Josh never said that at all.
Really clever bullies are manipulators who are skilled at reading others and understanding their weaknesses so they know how to exploit them.
In fact, many bullies can disguise their bullying behind a very nice and charming demeanor and a “pure” or noble cause.
For example, they may demean a group of employees by arguing passionately that getting rid of them or limiting their power will be for the “good of the entire institution.”
Thus, it may initially be hard to detect the bullying. Also, bullying often reflects a pattern of actions over a long course of time so it may actually go undetected in the workplace, yet still have substantial costs to an employer.
Bullies often initially try to befriend their victims.
They may use excessive flattery and praise to get others to trust them, lower their guard and be more responsive to their manipulations. And, because people, especially bosses, often want to believe the compliments, they fall prey.
They see the bully as a “stand up” person.
For employers, there are huge tangible and intangible costs associated with workplace bullying, whether overt or subtle bullying.
These can be financial and interpersonal and can affect morale, productivity and turnover, among other metrics.
Employees who are victims of bullying may experience anger, frustration and a feeling of being disrespected or treated unfairly to such a level that they plan to quit or do quit.
They may feel confused or miserable at work.
Their performance may drop because they are so afraid of being criticized that they are indecisive.
They can also experience numerous physical problems such as inability to concentrate, insomnia, stomach pains, anxiety and other sicknesses.
A culture where bullying exists may report more absenteeism, turnover, stress, costs for employee assistance programs, risks for accidents and decreased morale, productivity and customer service. And, it’s not just work that is affected. I have heard employees tell me about how their home lives were greatly affected since they spent so much mental energy stressing about their toxic work situation.
Whether obvious or subtle, bullying is extremely damaging to a workplace.
To address it, managers must clearly define what bullying is, what the behaviors are, and provide clear examples of unacceptable behaviors.
They should have a policy that clearly states the consequences of engaging in bullying behaviors.
Then, they must act to rid the workplace of the bully and his or her behaviors.
Otherwise, they will most likely lose many of their very talented employees.
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Russell is the vice dean and the director of the Executive Coaching and Leadership Development Program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. She is a licensed industrial and organizational psychologist and has more than 25 years of experience coaching executives and consulting on leadership and career management.
Special To The Washington Post.
Office bullying can be subtle
Office bullying can be subtle
Spain police dig up underground shooting range used by gun traffickers
- Spanish officers raided a house in the southern province of Granada and found the site
- Authorities believe the site was used to test weapons that the group supplied to drug trafficking rings
MADRID: Spanish police said Wednesday they have uncovered an illegal underground firing range they suspect was operated by a weapons trafficking ring that supplied assault rifles and other arms to drug gangs.
Officers raided a house in the southern province of Granada and found the site, which was located three stories underground, said a police statement.
Neighbours could not hear guns going off because of the depth of the range, it added.
Police said it was the first time they had found a “illegal shooting range run by a criminal group” in Spain.
Authorities believe the site was used to test weapons that the group supplied to drug trafficking rings, who then used them to defend themselves or attack rival gangs.
“The operation has removed weapons from the streets that could have been used to commit extremely serious crimes,” the statement said.
Police said the group offered to sell assault rifles, submachine guns and automatic pistols, as well as ammunition, bulletproof vests and other tactical equipment.
Officers arrested three people and seized several weapons and more than 60,000 euros ($68,000) in cash. They said further arrests were possible.
Spain is a major gateway to Europe for drug trafficking networks due to its ties to former colonies in Latin America and its proximity to Morocco, a top cannabis producer.
Millions tune in for 24-hour live coverage of Sweden’s epic moose migration
- Livestream kicked off a week ahead of schedule due to warm weather and early moose movement
- From now until May 4, the livestream’s remote cameras will capture dozens of moose as they swim across the Ångerman River
Before Swedish slow TV hit “The Great Moose Migration” began airing Tuesday, Ulla Malmgren stocked up on coffee and prepared meals so she doesn’t miss a moment of the 20-day, 24-hour event.
“Sleep? Forget it. I don’t sleep,” she said.
Malmgren, 62, isn’t alone. The show, called “Den stora älgvandringen” in Swedish, and sometimes translated as “The Great Elk Trek” in English, began in 2019 with nearly a million people watching. In 2024, the production hit 9 million viewers on SVT Play, the streaming platform for national broadcaster SVT.
The livestream kicked off a week ahead of schedule due to warm weather and early moose movement. Malmgren was ready.
From now until May 4, the livestream’s remote cameras will capture dozens of moose as they swim across the Ångerman River, some 300 kilometers (187 miles) northwest of Stockholm, in the annual spring migration toward summer grazing pastures.
Not much happens for hours at a time, and fans say that’s the beauty of it.
“I feel relaxed, but at the same time I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s a moose. Oh, what if there’s a moose? I can’t go to the toilet!’” said William Garp Liljefors, 20, who has collected more than 150 moose plush toys since 2020.
Slow TV success
“The Great Moose Migration” is part of a trend that began in 2009 with Norwegian public broadcaster NRK’s minute-by-minute airing of a seven-hour train trip across the southern part of the country.
The slow TV style of programming has spread, with productions in the United Kingdom, China and elsewhere. The central Dutch city of Utrecht, for example, installed a “fish doorbell” on a river lock that lets livestream viewers alert authorities to fish being held up as they migrate to spawning grounds.
Annette Hill, a professor of media and communications at Jönköping University in Sweden, said slow TV has roots in reality television but lacks the staging and therefore feels more authentic for viewers. The productions allow the audience to relax and watch the journey unfold.
“It became, in a strange way, gripping because nothing catastrophic is happening, nothing spectacular is happening,” she said. “But something very beautiful is happening in that minute-by-minute moment.”
As an expert and a fan of “The Great Moose Migration,” Hill said the livestream helps her slow down her day by following the natural rhythms of spring.
“This is definitely a moment to have a calm, atmospheric setting in my own home, and I really appreciate it,” she said.
Nature in your living room
The calming effect extends to the crew, according to Johan Erhag, SVT’s project manager for “The Great Moose Migration.”
“Everyone who works with it goes down in their normal stress,” he said.
The moose have walked the route for thousands of years, making it easy for the crew to know where to lay some 20,000 meters (almost 12 miles) of cable and position 26 remote cameras and seven night cameras. A drone is also used.
The crew of up to 15 people works out of SVT’s control room in Umeå, producing the show at a distance to avoid interfering with the migration.
SVT won’t say how much the production costs, but Erhag said it’s cheap when accounting for the 506 hours of footage aired last year.
Erhag said Swedes have always been fascinated by the roughly 300,000 moose roaming in their woods. The Scandinavian country’s largest animal is known as “King of the Forest.” A bull moose can reach 210 centimeters (6 feet 10 inches) at shoulder height and weigh 450 kilograms (992 pounds).
Despite their size, the herbivores are typically shy and solitary.
“We actually don’t see it very often. You often see it when you’re out driving maybe once or twice in your life,” Erhag said. “I think that’s one thing why it has been so, so popular. And then you bring in the nature to everyone’s living room.”
Hanna Sandberg, 36, first began watching the show in 2019, though she didn’t spot any moose. She tuned in the following year, finally saw some and got hooked.
“You can watch them and be a part of their natural habitat in a way that you could never be otherwise,” she said.
Moose mega-fans
After hours of showing an empty forest, a camera captures footage of a moose approaching the riverbank. Suddenly, slow TV turns urgent.
The push alert hits SVT’s app — “Första älgarna i bild!” which translates to “First moose on camera!” — as viewers worldwide tune in. The livestream’s chat explodes as commenters type encouragement for the animal, now making its way into the water.
“I would actually like to be a little fly on the wall in every household that watches the moose migration. Because I think there is about a million people saying about the same thing: ‘Go on! Yes, you can do it!’” Malmgren said.
Mega-fans like Malmgren, who is in a Facebook group of 76,000-plus viewers, are committed to watching as many hours as possible. Some viewers on Tuesday posted photos of their dogs and cats staring at their televisions, enthralled by the moose on the screen.
“I was late to school because I saw moose and my teacher was like, ‘What, you saw moose in the city?’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s on the TV,’” Garp Liljefors said ahead of Tuesday’s showing.
Malmgren said friends and family have learned not to bother her when the moose are on the move.
“When someone asks me, ‘What are you doing? Oh, never mind, it’s the great migration,’” she said. “They know.”
Vespa love affair: Indonesians turn vintage scooters electric
- Indonesia has long suffered from air pollution partly driven by its addiction to inefficient, old cars and scooters, including nearly one million Vespas as of 2022
- The country’s leaders are pushing for more EVs on its roads, with a target of 13 million electric motorcycles by 2030 – ambitiously far from the current number of 160,000
JaJAKARTA: When Indonesian executive Heret Frasthio takes his antique 1957 VL Vespa for a ride, its white paint peeling off, the usual fumes and hum of the free-spirited scooters cannot be seen or heard.
The two-wheeler is just one of the vintage models converted by his company as it tries to turn a love for the Italian icon into an environmentally friendly pursuit.
Indonesia has long suffered from air pollution partly driven by its addiction to inefficient, old cars and scooters, including nearly one million Vespas as of 2022, according to the country’s Vespa Club.
“Vespa has a unique design. It has a historical and nostalgic value. It’s not just a vehicle, it’s also fashion,” said Frasthio, chief executive of Elders, which converts the older bikes into electric vehicles.
The country’s leaders are pushing for more EVs on its roads, with a target of 13 million electric motorcycles by 2030 — ambitiously far from the current number of 160,000, according to transport ministry data.
But Elders is playing its part in what the government hopes will be the early stages of an electric vehicle revolution.
Frasthio says the firm has converted and sold around 1,000 Vespas across the country since its founding in 2021 and one day aims to develop its own electric scooter.
Once converted, a Vespa’s fully charged electric battery can last 60-120 kilometers (37-74 miles), and up to 200 kilometers for an upgraded battery.
“This electric Vespa can be a solution for countries that require low emissions from motorcycles,” Frasthio said.
Yet pricing remains a major stumbling block in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
Frasthio’s proud but humble Vespa cost $34,000 to buy before conversion.
A brand-new Vespa Elettrica imported from Italy can cost 198 million rupiah ($11,750) and the European company already sells a range of electric scooters in the continent.
But for those who want to stay retro, there are kits to convert to vintage scooters to electric that cost between $1,500 and $3,900, Frasthio said.
The chance to switch is attracting customers who want a fashionable ride without contributing to noise and air pollution.
One of them is Hendra Iswahyudi, who bought a converted Vespa from Frasthio’s firm, remembering the effort of riding an old model as a student.
“You would turn on the ignition and take a shower while waiting for the engine to be ready,” the 56-year-old said.
Riding an antique Vespa from the 1960s without the pollution and the noise in Jakarta’s heavy traffic has also earned him curious looks.
“People who like Vespa came to have a closer look and told me that my scooter was very cool,” he said.
The civil servant supports the niche industry for converting scooters, despite government plans to put a new fleet of electric vehicles on the road.
“I feel comfortable riding the Vespa. I feel like I’ve contributed to the clean air,” he said.
But a yearning for the nostalgia of an original Vespa is keeping some from taking the cleaner option, instead choosing to keep the roar of an older engine.
“I prefer the authentic Vespa with its original noise because it’s what makes it unique. You can hear it coming from afar,” said Muhammad Husni Budiman, an antique Vespa lover.
“It’s classic and nostalgic.”
The 39-year-old entrepreneur fell in love with antique Vespas when he was young and started to collect some from the 1960s and 70s.
In 2021, he established a Jakarta-based club for Vespas produced in the 1960s that now boasts hundreds of members.
Despite trying an electric Vespa, Budiman’s club is mainly for those who love original models.
Frasthio is conscious that some Vespa lovers like Budiman will be hesitant about the EV uptake.
But he was quick to dispel the theory that his company was putting the conventional scooters they adore in a bad light.
“We are not trying to lecture anyone about pollution issues,” he said.
“We are just offering, for those not used to manual motorcycles, that electric motorbikes can be a solution.”
Ant smugglers arrested in Kenya as government warns of changing trafficking trends
- Two 19-year-olds who were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi
- Kenya has in the past fought against the trafficking of body parts of larger species of wild animals
NAIROBI: Two Belgian teenagers were charged Tuesday with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser known species.
Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, two 19-year-olds who were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives. They told the magistrate they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal.
In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a and Vietnamese Duh Hung Nguyen also were charged with illegal trafficking in the same courtroom, following their arrest while in possession of 400 ants.
The Kenya Wildlife Service, or KWS, said in a statement that the four men were involved in trafficking the ants to markets in Europe and Asia, and that the species included messor cephalotes, a distinctive, large and red-colored harvester ant native to East Africa.
The illegal export of the ants “not only undermines Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits,” KWS said.
Kenya has in the past fought against the trafficking of body parts of larger species of wild animals such as elephants, rhinos and pangolins among others. But the cases against the four men represent “a shift in trafficking trends — from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species,” KWS said.
The two Belgians were arrested in Kenya’s Nakuru county, which is home to various national parks. The 5,000 ants were found in a guest house where they were staying, and were packed in 2,244 test tubes that had been filled with cotton wool to enable the ants to survive for months.
The other two men were arrested in Nairobi where they were found to have 400 ants in their apartments.
Kenyan authorities valued the ants at 1 million shillings ($7,700). The prices for ants can vary greatly according to the species and the market.
Philip Muruthi, a vice president for conservation at the Africa Wildlife Foundation in Nairobi, said ants play the role of enriching soils, enabling germination and providing food for species such as birds.
“The thing is, when you see a healthy forest, like Ngong forest, you don’t think about what is making it healthy. It is the relationships all the way from the bacteria to the ants to the bigger things,” he said.
Muruthi warned of the risk of trafficking species and exporting diseases to the agricultural industry of the destination countries.
“Even if there is trade, it should be regulated and nobody should be taking our resources just like that,” he said.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs pleads not guilty to new sex charges
NEW YORK: US music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs pleaded not guilty Monday to two new charges added to the criminal racketeering and sex trafficking case against him, which is expected to go to trial next month.
The superseding indictment includes an additional charge of sex trafficking and one of transportation to engage in prostitution, relating to a woman identified by prosecutors only as “Victim-2.”
Combs, 55, appeared in federal court in New York to deny the accusations that could spell more prison time if the multi-millionaire entertainer is convicted.
In the new charges, prosecutors say that over the course of two decades Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.”
With employees and resources of his business empire, Combs created a criminal enterprise that engaged in crimes including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice, prosecutors said.
The hip hop magnate is accused of sexually abusing people and coercing them into drug-fueled sex parties using threats and violence, with prosecutors also alleging he forced employees to work long hours while demanding their silence.
He has denied all charges thus far, insisting that any sex acts were consensual.
The trial is expected to start in May with jury selection but US media reported that one of his lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, said Monday the defense might request a two-week delay to examine new evidence.
The judge gave the defense two days to make their request in writing.
Public allegations have been building against the Grammy winner since late 2023 when singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs, as well as a 2018 rape.
Along with the federal criminal case, Combs faces a mountain of civil suits that allege harrowing abuse by the artist with assistance from a loyal network of employees and associates.
The rap superstar has been incarcerated since September, during which time he has started to look noticeably aged, with a crop of salt-and-pepper hair.
