Typical series of events
- the target is selected using the criteria above, then bullied for months,
perhaps years
- eventually, the target asserts their right not to be bullied, perhaps by filing a grievance
- the bully is interviewed, they use their Jekyll and Hyde nature, compulsive lying, and charm to tell the opposite story (charm has a motive - deception)
- it's one word against another with no witnesses and no evidence, so
personnel/PSD may take the word of the senior employee - serial bullies excel at deception and evasion of accountability
- the personnel department are hoodwinked by the bully into getting rid of the target - serial bullies are adept at encouraging conflict between people who might otherwise pool negative information about them
- once the target is gone, there may be a period of several days, then a new target is selected and the process starts again (bullying is an obsessive compulsive behaviour and serial bullies seem unable to survive without a target on to whom they can project their inadequacy and incompetence whilst blaming them for the bully's own failings)
- even if the employer realises that they might have sided with the wrong person in the past, they are unlikely to admit that because to do so may incur liability
- if legal action is taken, employers go to increasingly greater lengths to keep targets quiet, usually by offering a small out-of-court settlement with a comprehensive gagging clause
- employers are often more frightened of the bully than the target and will go to enormous lengths to avoid having to deal with bully(promotion for the bully is the most common outcome)
