Exposing Workplace Bullying

Face Off

In this episode, Dr. Jan Kircher examines what really happens when you confront a workplace bully — and why direct, face-to-face confrontation can escalate in ways people don’t anticipate.
She walks through a personal confrontation that intensified quickly and unpacks the miscalculations behind it: underestimating group loyalty, misreading power dynamics, and failing to account for structural risk inside a bully culture. When multiple bullies share space, confrontation is not a neutral exchange — it is shaped by hierarchy, protection, and uneven consequences.
This episode reframes confrontation as a strategic decision, not an emotional one, and explains why the skills that work in healthy workplaces often fail in environments where bullying is protected and reinforced.
Register for the Workplace Bullying Live Series:
StopBullyCulture.com — including the first session, Beyond Document, Report, Leave, on February 17 at 6 p.m. CST.
Resources:
StopBullyCulture.com for tools and support
Follow Dr. Jan Kircher for updates and stories

When Bullies Band Together

In this episode, Dr. Jan Kircher breaks down what really happens when bullies band together — not the loud, chaotic “mob” people imagine, but the quiet, coordinated, and often invisible patterns that escalate harm behind the scenes.
She explains how co‑bullying works across roles and hierarchies, why the behavior is so hard to recognize, and how organizations unintentionally reinforce it through investigations, performance reviews, and credibility bias. When multiple people align — even without planning — the abuse compounds, the trauma deepens, and the person on the receiving end is left carrying the weight of a system that protects the perpetrators.
This episode reframes why “mobbing” misses the mark, why language matters, and why clarity is essential for anyone trying to survive a workplace where bullies operate in tandem.
Register for the Workplace Bullying Live Series:
StopBullyCulture.com — including the first session, Beyond Document, Report, Leave, on February 17 at 6 p.m. CST.
Resources:
StopBullyCulture.com for tools and support
Follow Dr. Jan Kircher for updates and stories

The Mask of Respectability

In this episode, Dr. Jan Kircher examines how workplace bullying is hidden, protected, and normalized through the mask of respectability.
She explains how bullies use credibility, professional capital, and carefully managed public personas to deflect accountability — whether the bullying comes from a peer building informal power or a leader using formal authority to frame abuse as “just part of the job.” The tactics are often the same, but the protections and consequences are not.
This episode breaks down why bullying reports so often go nowhere, why people who are bullied aren’t believed, and why standard advice doesn’t apply when organizations protect the abuser instead of addressing the harm.
☕ This podcast is independently funded. Consider supporting it at StopBullyCulture.com/Support
Resources:
StopBullyCulture.com for tools and support
Follow Dr. Jan Kircher for updates and stories

The Bully Above, The Bully Beside

This episode breaks down how bullying shifts depending on where it sits in the organization. Dr. Jan Kircher looks at the difference between a peer who builds informal power through influence, access, and narrative control — and a leader who uses formal authority to mask harm as part of their job. She traces how each position uses the same tactics but with different tools, protections, and consequences, revealing why both forms of bullying are so effective and so hard to stop
☕ This podcast is independently funded. Consider supporting it at BuyMeACoffee.com/StopBullyCulture.
Resources:
StopBullyCulture.com for tools and support
Follow Dr. Jan Kircher for updates and stories

Portrait of a Bully

Season 3 continues by challenging one of the most common misunderstandings about workplace bullying: the idea that there’s a single “type” of bully.
In this episode, "Portrait of a Bully," Dr. Jan Kircher breaks down why popular explanations — personality disorders, narcissism, and neat labels — feel satisfying but don’t actually explain how bullying works in real workplaces. Drawing from lived experience and a sociological lens, she explains how bullying is learned, reinforced, and rewarded inside organizational systems.
This episode reframes the focus away from individual pathology and toward power, culture, and the environments that allow bullying to thrive.
☕ This podcast is independently funded. Consider supporting it at BuyMeACoffee.com/StopBullyCulture.
Resources:
StopBullyCulture.com for tools and support
Follow Dr. Jan Kircher for updates and stories

The Workplace Bully Dossier

Season 3 Profile of a Workplace Bully opens by going straight to the source of bully culture — the workplace bully. The confusion, the power, the patterns, and the co‑bullies who reinforce the harm don’t happen by accident. They’re part of how bullying survives inside organizations.
In this first episode, Dr. Jan Kircher begins the Workplace Bully Dossier by breaking down what we actually know about workplace bullies and why understanding their behavior gives you clearer insight into what’s happening around you. She draws from two decades of lived experience and research to expose the psychology, the power, and the dynamics that keep bullies protected.
☕ This podcast is independently funded. Consider supporting it at BuyMeACoffee.com/StopBullyCulture.
Resources:
StopBullyCulture.com for tools and support
Follow Dr. Jan Kircher for updates and stories
⚠️ Trigger Warning: Includes discussion of emotional abuse, power misuse, and workplace harm.

The Bystander's Choice

This season closes by turning the focus on the bystander — the unseen force inside bully culture. Silence, fear, and loyalty to power don’t stay neutral inside workplaces where abuse is happening.
In this concluding episode, Dr. Jan Kircher pulls together the emotional, psychological, and organizational threads from the season to explain how bystanders sustain bullying and why understanding their role changes how you understand your own experience.
Resources:
StopBullyCulture.com for tools and support
Follow Dr. Jan Kircher for updates and stories
⚠️ Trigger Warning: Includes discussion of emotional abuse, institutional betrayal, and workplace harm.
☕ This is an independent, listener‑funded podcast. If you value this resource, consider supporting its production at BuyMeACoffee.com/StopBullyCulture

The Case For Collective Action

Most people respond to workplace bullying alone — but that’s exactly why nothing changes. Collective action is a powerful way to make workplace bullying harder to deny. When experiences connect, the system loses its hiding place. In this episode, Dr. Jan Kircher explains how to safely collaborate, map out organizational dysfunction, and enlarge the problem so leadership can no longer minimize it. Even small connections can shift the power dynamic. 
Resources:
StopBullyCulture.com for tools and support
Follow Dr. Jan Kircher for updates and stories
⚠️ Trigger Warning: Includes discussion of emotional abuse, institutional betrayal, and workplace harm.

The Art of Coalition Building

Coalition building inside a bully culture isn’t about rallies, big movements, or calling people out in meetings. It’s about strategy — small, quiet moves that protect you and shift the power dynamic over time.
In this episode, Dr. Jan Kircher breaks down how to identify potential collaborative partners, how to approach them safely, and how to build support without putting yourself at risk. You’ll learn what subtle allyship really looks like, and why even one steady connection can make a real difference in a hostile work environment.
Resources:
StopBullyCulture.com for tools and support
Follow Dr. Jan Kircher for updates and stories
⚠️ Trigger Warning: Includes discussion of emotional abuse, institutional betrayal, and workplace harm.
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The Power of Bystander Action

Bystanders are told to “speak up,” but in bully culture, that can backfire fast. In this episode, Dr. Jan Kircher breaks down what real bystander action looks like — small, strategic moves that protect you and start shifting the power balance.
You’ll learn why quiet resistance often works better than bold confrontation, and how bystanders can help without making things worse.
☕ This podcast is independently funded. Consider supporting it at BuyMeACoffee.com/StopBullyCulture.
Resources:
StopBullyCulture.com for tools and support
Follow Dr. Jan Kircher for updates and stories
⚠️ Trigger Warning: Includes discussion of emotional abuse, institutional betrayal, and workplace harm.