Spotting and Addressing Bullies’ “Sticky” Storytelling: Serendipitous Findings of a Mixed-Methods Study

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Telling stories is central to lived experience, a mechanism for emotionally engaging the storyteller and listeners. For the storyteller, telling stories is a powerful way of bolstering social cooperation. For listeners, stories support sensemaking, or the subconscious ability to rationalize the actions witnessed or heard. The investigators’ previous research demonstrated workplace bullies’ skills in telling stories. Findings of that work highlighted the ways bullies use a tone of voice and body language to make the stories they tell—whether those stories comprise brief one-liners or ongoing diatribes—hard to resist. Bullies’ stories are not always factually accurate. They often solicit substantial social cooperation from stakeholders around the workplace. Most significantly, and of most salience in regard to this study, bullies’ stories, while delivered with a particular style or flair, readily come to define listener perspective despite their often intentionally misleading content. This study tested the utility of a novel intervention designed to help listeners who believe the implications of bullies’ stories—that is, those who are victimized—to recognize the often self-defeating impact of bullies’ narrative affronts. Findings indicated that the study’s primary intervention did not demonstrate the effect intended by the investigators. However, the findings emphasize the significance of acknowledging the impact of bullies’ storytelling on the thoughts and feelings of the individuals they target. It underscores the necessity for providing assistance and empathy to those who have experienced bullying while also considering the significance of the work environment, communication dynamics, and administrative measures in shaping the experiences of those affected by bullying. The findings emerged as an unexpected and valuable discovery that might define a research focus worthy of future consideration and suggest appropriate interventions for workplace administrators.