Bullying or Normal Competition?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Bullying has become a universal issue, whether in school or at work. Is it really bullying or just a normal competition among peers?

Let’s find out more about it through the audio conversation below. Be prepared to answer the questions that follow.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-150108

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on corporate bullying?
  2. Have you witnessed bullying within your company?
  3. What policies are there to curtail bullying in the workplace in your country?
  4. How do we draw the line between competition and bullying at work?
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2 replies on “Bullying or Normal Competition?”

In Spain, when we talk about bullying, we talk most of the times, about bulling at school.

So my first thoughts have been to say that I haven´t heard before about bulling at work, but then I have realized that we use another word, this word is mobbing.

In my last company I didn´t witness the situation, but there was a man that have been working for 25 years in the company, and he felt very very bad, because his boss, gave him things to do that were not for him, and also, the boss decided to make a place change, and he had to sit in a place separeted from his workmates.

In my country, there are policies to curtain bulling at work. In the spanish constitution there is an article that says that all people have the right to be respected in their dignity, and that applies everywhere.

There is also an occupational hazard prevention law that tries to protect and avoid those situations.

The line between competition and bullying at work should be easy to draw. We should work together and cooperate thinking in getting the best result for the company, not the best result for ourselves. So when a workmate needs help, we should be willing to help, we should share all the information that can help others to do their duties, instead of creating islands in where we are the best.

Great job getting your two cents in!

Here is a sentence you can improve. Be a bit mindful about how you spell “bullying”.

In Spain, when we talk about bullying, we talk most of the times, about bulling at school.

In Spain, when we talk about bullying, most of the time, it is about bullying at school.

Keep up the good work!

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