Workplace bullies
By Ann_marie Moodie
The Sydney Morning Herald
Actors are showing how to deal with difficult colleagues, writes Ann-Maree Moodie.
Emma was shocked and embarrassed when she found two male colleagues in the staff cafe looking at a photo on a laptop computer.
The image was from an office party the night before and it showed her dancing on a desk, revealing more than she had intended.
"What a hottie," Craig said. "Yeah, she's got a great pair," Michael responded. And they both laughed.
As Emma confronted the men she was emotional and nearly in tears. "What are you worried about?" Craig asked.
"Everyone thinks you look great."
"What do you mean, 'everyone'?"
"Oh, no," Michael said. "She doesn't know you've emailed it around the office."
It's the type of scenario that plays out all too often in offices around Australia.
Fortunately in this instance, the scene is being performed by professional actors as part of a workshop aimed at helping managers and others deal with workplace bullying.
Emma is actually Emma Buzo, the eldest daughter of the late playwright and author Alex Buzo.
She asks the group - which comprises experts in human resources, industrial relations, disability and workplace counselling - to offer advice on how she could better address the situation the actors have portrayed.
The actors then perform a second version of the play in which it is Michael and Craig who are embarrassed and ashamed as Emma calmly points out the implications of what they have done.
The men apologise. Emma leaves to report the incident to the human resources director.
The course, Don't Entertain A Bully, is a joint initiative between the National Institute of Dramatic Art and The Alex Buzo Company, which was formed to present plays by Buzo, who died in 2006.
Excerpts from his 1968 play Norm And Ahmed are performed to highlight the problems of racism, prejudice and miscommunication.
"The play was inspired by an incident Alex witnessed as an arts student in the bar of the University of NSW," Buzo says.
"Like any great play, the premise is universal and eternal.
"Humans carry the same fears and share the same flaws, no matter what the era or country."
The passages the actors perform in the course aim to show the different types of prejudice held by the person harbouring them.
Norm, the "bully", is played by Michael Harrs. Ahmed is played by Craig Meneaud.
Through the selections, the group brainstorms the ways in which prejudice elicits predictable behaviours to better understand what motivates the bully.
"The play encourages people to reflect on their own attitudes to people and cultures different to our own," Buzo says.
"I believe there's a little bit of Norm in everyone, myself included.
"We all have moments [when we're] afraid of things that are different. It's what makes us human.
"Personally, the play has made me confront my occasional and misguided notion that everybody wants what I want, which is simply not true."
Although 40 years have passed since the play was written, a revised version - depicting Norm as a Vietnam veteran rather than a returned World War II soldier - needed little rewriting for its performance last year.
The text is also on the NSW high school drama syllabus.
"I will never cease to enjoy the reactions to Norm And Ahmed and its premise to 'never underestimate the power of difference'," Buzo says.
"It truly is the undercurrent of most human discord.
"My father had an urgent message for Australians about the cultural and generational tensions he was witnessing all around him. There is no better cross-section of cultures and generations than the workplace."
The fourth presenter, actor Lyn Lee, says the techniques performers use to prepare for a scene, to quell nerves and to stay alert and flexible are immensely useful for someone who is being targeted by a bully.
"Actors learn how to breathe, to speak with authority, to understand the messages that their bodies are sending and to rehearse," Lee says.
"The actor's tools can be employed to calm, empower and help victims to be assertive."
Don't act the victim
Actors regularly use a range of techniques to hone their craft.
Many of these practices translate to the workplace and are useful for people who experience intimidation.
* Practise breathing techniques to help calm and centre yourself, so you speak in a tone that conveys confidence.
* Rehearse bullying manifests in many ways, from violence and overt intimidation to insidious, underhanded behaviour.
Just as the bully has a script, write one for yourself.
Rehearse lines such as "Do you think you can put that in writing?", "Please let me speak" and "Let's talk about this when you're calmer."
* Talk to yourself. Practise saying "Good morning" while thinking about something that makes you feel worried, angry or happy. This exercise will help you rewrite your inner monologue so that the persona you show to the public is one of strength and composure.
* Create a new image visualise a wall around yourself that the bully can't penetrate. Imagine a scene where you confront your intimidator on your terms. And you win.
Published: 04 October 2008
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