Unbelievably, every day we see how bullying at work operates through the reality shows that all the channels broadcast.
What is also unbelievable is the severity of the violence (mainly verbal) employed by the contestants to their teammates, or by the jury, where there is one, towards the contestants, with very few exceptions. We as viewers see the public verbal humiliation inflicted on mostly young people who, in pursuit of their dreams, are essentially travelling to the dark side of the moon. These are in many cases behaviours and actions that we have seen befall colleagues or ourselves in our workplace, and unconsciously or consciously we identify or sympathise with the player who is being bullied and want to punish the bully with a vote to leave.
Such brutality in such a limited apace, with such intensity and frequency, is not assumed to be reasonable. This we find in the portrayal of society in a Greek ‘reality’ show.
The prizes awarded, and the popularity gained by the participants or the leadership of the team, are exactly the same motives that may drive an employee to be a workplace bully, or, conversely, make other employees suffer.
These protagonists are not actors as in a movie or a play. They are everyday people playing themselves, like public or private sector workers. The brutality we are witnessing has a purpose, i.e. deceit. The counter argument, however, is that the reality attracts those who have nothing else to do in their lives.
We don’t really know what motivates a contestant for going on a reality show; we may presume certain motives. It’s not illegal, not immoral, not a bad thing. It may be the contestant’s only outlet. We are not all born at the same starting point, with the same resources, the same desires, the same talents , the same access to goods we take for granted.
On the other hand, what is revealed is that the emotion of fear is dominant and can transform a player into an oppressor, an intimidator, targeting his opponents. The fear of losing advantages, the fear that there are other capable or more capable players who can win the game, resembles the pressures in companies.
In addition, the way in which the judges talk to the contestants consists of verbal violence, one of the most basic forms of workplace bullying. They tell the contestants, with terrible disdain and irony insulting behaviour, that if they do not ‘comply’ or ‘submit to instructions’ they will never have a career, that this is real life on the outside, etc. They are subjugated body and soul by hazing , having insects crawl over them, making then undress in front of their parents, friends and relatives, (because the TV is in every home), for no real reason, while telling them sternly that they will not ‘have a career’. I can’t imagine any of these “judges” talking to their own children in this way or teaching them to accept humiliation and degradation of their personality ‘because that’s life’. Unfortunately in these cases the belief is created that workplace bullying is normal.
In reality shows where contestants are voted on by the public, we see that bullying in the form of targeting, spreading fake news as well as personality degradation works powerfully..
When a team targets a teammate and goes as far as depriving him of food (whereas if he were a dog even a morsel would be given to him), it is pure bullying. What makes it more intense is that the whole team agrees that the teammate who is targeted should not be fed. This also confirms the fact that the one who bullies has allies. What crime could anyone have committed to be deprived of food in starvation conditions – and in a game at that?
In conditions of peace, in a lawful society, even the condemned have the right to food that no-one can take away. It is not enough for the group to vote to punish the member it wants to expel. It also wants to punish him. As in workplace bullying, the same techniques are used to get the weak member to either quit his job or be forced in that direction.
Of course, in the workplace while there is a viewership, there is no public vote. Things are more difficult for the person who has been bullied at work. That is why the employee must also understand that when workplace bullying is real, it can be avoided and managed. But it takes effort and method on his part.
Companies and organisations, on the other hand, must develop procedures and rules that will protect their staff from workplace bullying because not only do they risk losing their employees but also their ecosystem; their reputation and their social footprint are irreparably damaged. Of course, rules and procedures alone are not enough. What is important for them to succeed is diligence and smooth functioning of procedures.