My definition of bullying is any act that, when repeated, could negatively impact someone’s self-esteem, or self-image. An individual’s self-esteem/image is one of the most important traits that shape that individual. Luckily, most people are of stout enough mind that a single act won’t affect them much. But any repeated acts, much like forming a habit, could impact them. It’s up to everyone around them to make sure the impact they’re leaving is a positive one.
Defining anything accurately is of vital importance in this era of easy offense. Bullying is no more important to define then, say, sexual harassment, or good management. But, much like sexual harassment, bullying is a very fluid idea. We’ve had a few decades to work out our legal definition of sexual harassment, but bullying has been, until recently, a much overlooked phenomenon. I believe this is the case because we all have, in our own way, both been the bully and the bullied.
The problem is, with the rise of exposure of bullying in our school system, it has come to light that much of the same practices are observed in the workplace. While most of us don’t get “swirlies” at work, we might get pranked on by having our tools hidden, or tricked into thinking that the office has a “casual Friday”. The difference is, in the workplace, not only do these acts affect our idea of ourselves, it also impacts our ability to do our job to our full ability. Which impacts not just the individual receiving this treatment, but they’re coworkers. This can lead to decreased productivity across the board, poor work ethics, or any number of business ailments.
My definition hasn’t changed because I believe it already covers the act of bullying rather well. I believe that a more specific definition would be beneficial, but due to the fact that the act of bullying is a very fluid concept, concrete definition is very