The Fine Line Between Joking and Bullying

BY NIKKI JOHN C. NABAT

When do you consider a joke or teasing an act of bullying? Are you just sensitive or are they just insensitive?

In an office setting, the workplace should be a friendly environment for all employees. Everyone should feel that the work environment promotes positivity and safety. Employees should “look forward” to going to work rather than “feel compelled” to work just for the paycheck. A conducive, fun, and positive workplace is one of the keys to increased productivity and employee satisfaction.

Likewise, colleagues and co-workers play a vital role in establishing a good workplace. It’s always fun to be around people/ officemates who tell jokes and make work synonymous to having fun. Every day you get to laugh, work, laugh, and work. However, we should find the balance between the time to be serious and the time to enjoy. But what if the topic of the joke or the teasing becomes you? Should you just laugh and ride along because it was “just a joke”? When does a joke cross the line?

First, let’s define what a joke means. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a joke is “something said or done to provoke laughter.” On the other hand, bullying is defined as “abuse and mistreatment of someone vulnerable by someone stronger or more powerful.” Bullying is often repeated and habitual. Now that we’ve differentiated the two, when does joking and bullying really overlap?

Sometimes, we get too carried away just to make people laugh, especially when we are using others (co-workers) as our laughingstock. Mocking, mimicking, or imitating someone’s actions, gestures, and voice just to cause laughter may

JOKING bullying

already fall under bullying. In general, people don’t like to be the subject of a joke. Just to act nice and not be a killjoy, people tend to laugh it off and pretend it’s really funny, but deep inside, it may impact their self-esteem. It can also be worrisome for others, causing them to stop interacting with their peers because of embarrassment.

Part of the culture we grew up in is making fun of someone else’s mistake. Whether you’re the boss or the employee, there’s no escaping this. If you’re the boss, of course you won’t know that your subordinates are laughing their lungs out when you make a slight mistake with your speech or presentation (especially when you don’t have a good relationship with each other). If you’re a regular employee, which is more common, your co-employees laugh whenever you bust out a sentence with incorrect grammar, wrong answer and, sometimes, they would even poke fun at your daily outfit. It’s disheartening when you’re trying to be your best, only to be the center of the joke with just one mistake.

It’s healthy to laugh during busy and serious situations at work, but not when fun is at the expense of others. While bullying is usually associated with force and physical abuse, others might not be aware that sometimes, emotional attack can inflict more pain than physical ones. The fine line between joking and bullying is the emotional damage it causes to a person who is the subject of laughter. Being sensitive toward the feeling of others is crucial in understanding the difference between joking and bullying. There is nothing wrong with being funny, but we need to practice self-control when making fun of someone.

Yes to Fun, No to Bullying! Let’s make KMBI an enjoyable place of work!