Reports of disharmony on the Miami Dolphins football team have reminded many Americans not only that bullying extends beyond school playgrounds, but also that victims come in all sizes.
Sports coverage this week has been dominated by stories about Dolphins linemen Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. Incognito, a veteran with an unsavory reputation but popular among most teammates, is said to have harassed second-year linemate Martin with text messages and voicemails laced with profanity, racial epithets (Incognito is white, Martin is black), and threats of physical violence....
The saturation coverage suggests a resonance beyond the sports world, throwing the larger issue of workplace bullying into the open....
Clues that physicians may notice [in adults] are often the same as those seen in childhood bullying victims, said Marlene Seltzer, MD, of Beaumont Children's Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., in an email. Seltzer runs an anti-bullying program for children but said adults frequently ask her for advice.
"The similarities between youth bullying and workplace bullying are striking," she wrote. "What is most unnerving is to see the same paralyzing fear in adults as is exhibited in youth -- the fear of retribution, that if they tell someone about what they are experiencing it will make it worse; also the feeling they have that their organization is not trustworthy, that what they say will not be held in confidence."
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