Hi all,

Today I want to talk about bullying again and today I want to focus on bullying in the work place and among adults since I think this is as big of a problem as bullying among children.

I found this article from a tv series in Sweden some years ago and I thought it´s so sad to read and see that its so many suffering from this and just some weeks ago a 53 year old man took his life here in Sweden due to bullying in his work place. Sad and as we can see, its not only a problem in schools and among kids.

I´ve translated the text freely and the origin can be found here: http://www.svt.se/2.8402/1.128544/utfryst_och_ensam_pa_jobbet_020108

Outfrozen and alone at work Only during year 2000 1120 cases were reported where people felt they were subjects of bullying or harassments in their working place. In five years time these reports have tripled. The evidence demands in the legislation make it almost impossible to get the damages approved by Försäkringskassan (our health service). Uppdrag Granskning have met two men who in different ways have felt violated at their jobs and due to this their lives have changed totally. During five years as a HR consult at Landstingshälsan in Hudiksvall, Oscar Frieberg did working related environmental investigations and taught managers about the environmental legislations in working places. During a development talk Oscar had with his own manager, Oscar suggested they should do something to improve their own working environment in their common working place. He experienced that he had a pressured working situation. The secretary at their work place felt bullied since she had gotten in -between when their manager had forbidden her to tell Oscar where their manager was. instead, the manager started the operation "take away Oscar" instead. During six years Oscar Frieberg tried to get back to the labour market. His friends disappeared around him and he went into a depression and got shingles. In january this year Oscar also got to know that Försäkringskassan, after their investigation had decided to decline him his annuity.Only the person who has gotten their working injury approved by the law is in titled to get annuity and by that the right of having the same salary as before you got injured or hurt. From the union he didn´t get any support, He had to prove by himself that he had been harassed. Through more or less a detectives work, he traced the managers order of an advertisement brochure for Landstingshälsan, where every single coworker were in the picture, except for Oscar. This is just some of the events that Oscar Frieberg had to point at so he finally could get the events approved as a working injury. All studies seem to have stopped when it comes to bullying in our working places. There´s no statistics from either scientists, government or judicial organizations that shows how many, after offensive treatment, are able to get their working injuries approved. According to LO-TCOs (unions in Sweden) legal protection, who runs most of the errands, only a few people succeed every year. The highest law instance has since 1993 only taken two cases up for trial. Both were refused. In Uppdrag Gransknings report (the tv-show) you will also meet Per-Johan. Today he walks around with a walking frame after a suicide attempt. He threw himself from the fifth floor in the house where he lives together with his girlfriend. Per-Johan had lost faith in life after being harassed during a longer period at the car company he worked in. His boss had, among other things, threatened him with a shot-gun in front of his co-workers because he didn't do his job "the right way" and wasn't fast enough. Per-Johan also had to drive the other co-workers to McDonalds during lunch time so they could eat. But Per-Johan had to sit and wait in the car while the others ate. Per-Johans girlfriend noticed during a long time that his mood changed. He easily got irritated and in the end he often got aggressive right to the day when it got so far that he tried to end his life. Per-Johan survived the fall at this suicide attempt and are today looking more lightly at life, but still he can't work.