Character Assassination at work
Character assassination, or sometimes called “career assassination, is a common tactic used by workplace bullies. They seek to destroy the employee’s good character or reputation or work record. They may spread rumours or lies about the person to discredit them, to make them lose their good reputation and credibility on the job.
Some employees have lost good positions or even their jobs by clever, artful liars, who seek to draw attention to themselves by discrediting their own fellow employees. What are the causes of “character assassination” or bullying at work?
One of the main causes is jealousy. One employee may secretly envy the good work of another employee, they may even sense that they could be eligible for a promotion. Seeking their own prominence, they may begin to spread rumours about the individual, portraying them in a poor light. Others may readily or gullibly believe such lies, perhaps even avoiding the employee altogether.
When the facts are brought to light, the person’s reputation on the job may be restored, but their good name and personal honour may be ruined.
It’s no surprise why such persons have taken legal action against the individual(s) involved or the company itself; some have actually won millions of dollars or pounds, which begrudgingly has to be paid out by the company for allowing such behaviour to exist as they should have done something about the workplace bullying.
Character assassination is not a game, it’s nothing to play with. A person can lose their job because of it or even have criminal charges imposed againt them because of it.
Like a crazed peron who kills a prominent person like a political figure because of some personal gripe they have against them, character assassination is a form of a ‘killing’ that can be done without a gun. In some cases it can even be worse than actual assassination.
Tags: Assassination, Character