“It’s like grade school around here!”

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard this line from frustrated workers as they describe the atmosphere in their workplace.

In my role as an employee assistance professional, the issue I repeatedly run into is acting-out behaviors in the workplace. From frontline workers to the top of the company ladder, childish behavior turns worksites into schoolyards replete with rumors, name-calling, finger-pointing, and bullying.

These behaviors often create toxic environments in which good workers either check out emotionally to avoid the drama or leave to find more mature pastures.

Getting to the root of why grown adults choose to replay the misadventures of their youth can be a frustrating search that requires an understanding of the purpose of acting out and the resistance to changing these behaviors.

According to the NIH, negative work behavior (NWB) is “exposure to ongoing negative and unwanted behavior by superiors or........

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