Some things are easy to spot, hard to explain. Examples include the definitions of bullying and what is and what isn’t obscene or pornographic.

In a 1964 Supreme Court obscenity case (Jacobellis v. Ohio) Associate Justice Potter Stewart wrote that “hard-core pornography” is hard to define but “I know it when I see it.” The issue was whether director Louis Malle’s movie, The Lovers, was art or porn. Bullying is a lot like porn in that respect. Hard to define, but we know it when we see it.

Thursday’s column was about bullying at the office. It was built around an incident I witnessed in my early newspaper days. The story was true and is a good example of how two people can perceive the same situation. In the column, I asked anybody who had witnessed or been involved in bullying at the office to get in touch.

Q: So did they get in touch?

A: Holy Overflowing Inbox, Batman!!!

For instance:

No Way Out: ” I only recently got out from under a bullying office situation, though I remain at the same federal agency — just a different office within it. I lasted five months. Others are still there who have been there for years and can’t find a way out for different reasons. I could tell you stories …  anonymously. But like all bullies in the workplace, if they want to ruin your career and or reputation, they can, and might well, so it can only be very anonymous. Otherwise, it’s just too dangerous to tell these stories that really ought to be told.

“I’m glad you’ve taken on the topic. It’s important.” B. C.

Please Close Door Until Beatings Stop *”Equal Opportunity Bullying. Alive and well here. There are rules against it, but it is everywhere and ignored. Our worst bully in the office was a (now retired) manager who screamed at everyone and anyone whenever they were unhappy about something. There was only one way to do something and if it wasn’t done that way and/or to their satisfaction, the screaming began. There was no such thing as a normal conversation when that person was not happy. That was one reason we had doors on the offices — they could be closed to knock down the noise even when it also knocked out the AC for the room in the summer. Everyone avoided passing in front of that office, so those people in rooms between the manager and the front door used the front door to enter and exit and those whose room was past there always used the back door even when it was easier to go out the front. All we could do was ignore the screaming. We couldn’t take it personally because everyone was screamed at and the senior managers one or two offices ahead of the screamer completely ignored the situation. Contractors who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) accept it left, regardless of how good they were at their job, some after only a few weeks. Regular staff stood it or found work in other offices or agencies. The reign (of terror) lasted only a few years and we had a fairly steady turnover of contractors and staff during that time, even though we moved people to other floors.

“While that one is gone now, it still occurs at a lower level now that we have reconsolidated our office into a single location on several floors of a building. The bullying still happens, just not as loud as before. I still ignore it as best I can because most of it now comes from an SES in another state and I can just not answer the phone on occasions.” Dave, State Department

Bully or Strong Boss? ” I had been a victim of bullying by a Division Chief. I ended up filing an EEOC complaint that led to that person moving out of the Bureau into a job in a different government agency. Then a few years later they were hired by the Bureau again. There have already been a number of union complaints about this person. I cannot fathom why this person was let back into the Bureau. Maybe because it’s easy to confuse someone who bullies people with someone who’s strong. In reality, it’s exactly the opposite. “ In Labor at BLS

More to come? You better believe it.

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

The word “chef” is from the French phase”chef de cuisine“, which means “head of the kitchen.”

Source: Etymoline

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