It is officially fall! The leaves are turning and ushering us into one of the captivating seasons of the year. The cooler weather can't come fast enough for us here in Texas! And the colors of the leaves are starting to change. Fall gives us a glimpse into another dimension of God's beautiful creation. Then we have our mid-term elections in November. Be sure you are registered to vote and get educated on the vital issues at stake and support our candidates. If you are not sure who to vote for, send us an email and we will connect you. Below is a repost from my incredible husband on bullying. This is a topic we all need to address to make our world a better place for all. Next month I will be sharing on school bullying. Read. Reflect. Receive. Refresh. Repeat. Love & Blessings!!
In 2016 we established the Excellence In Character Scholarship to recognize a graduating senior in Tarrant County. The following year we expanded to Dallas County. The intent of the scholarship was to communicate the tangible love of God to the recipient as he or she pursued the destiny God had designed and assigned. After our daughters graduated college and God positioned each one of them successfully, my wife and I knew our next steps was to help next generation by doing our part to position them for success to attain their destines as we have seen in our adult children.
This year we received many applications for the scholarship program from well-rounded graduating students in both Tarrant and Dallas Counties. It is always a tough decision for the scholarship committee to make one selection among all the outstanding applications. This year’s scholarship recipient caught the attention of the selection committee in a special way. She is a survivor in many ways. During her entire elementary years she was a victim of bullying. Today’s post is a two-part series. I am covering this first part on workplace bullying and my beautiful wife will cover the second part on school bullying.
Many of us are familiar with the saying, “we are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.” The truth of this saying is the fact that the heart of our heavenly Father beats for that one soul as much as that of thousand souls. The example Jesus gives in Luke 10: 25-37 about the Good Samaritan shows us the Father’s heart for one soul. The example of Jesus feeding the five thousand in Matthew 14:13-21, shows us the care of the Father for thousand souls. When we help one or thousand, we fulfill the Father’s desire because Luke 15:10 tells us that, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." This is why we do what we do here at Oasis Focus Inc. We believe if we can reach one for Christ it is all worth it. And if we can reach thousands for Christ it is all worth it too. We are honored to be Jesus hands and feet to those He allows us to touch for His glory.
Our society is losing civility in many ways. We are seeing the rise of domination, intimidation, harassment, oppression; which are forms of bullying. As Christ ambassadors, we have a mandate according to Proverbs 31: 8-9 to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. To speak and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” This means we should not tolerate or condone any form of bullying; but rather speak up for those that cannot speak for themselves.
According to StopBullying.Gov, bullying can be defined as unwanted aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. Workplace bullying is all about control. It is a repetitive mistreatment of one of a more individuals by one of more perpetrators. There is always a target or targets and there is always a perpetrator or perpetrators. The aggressive behaviors from the perpetrator (s) are meant to intimidate, harass, humiliate or threaten the target (s).
When we were preparing for the TV taping on this topic, we examined some research on bullying. One been from National Center for Education. It was eye opening to see the types of bullying reported on the diagram at the bottom of this post. This weekend broadcast on Oasis Connection on the UANetwork will feature the first part of our Bullying episode. Tell a friend and tune in this Saturday at 9:30AM Central Time Zone. There are several ways to watch, which we have highlighted on the TV Broadcast tab of this website.
The following is in no way substitute for legal counsel. Seek the legal counsel of an employment attorney. If you happen to be the victim of workplace bullying, your supervisor is always your first line of contact. What happens, if your supervisor is the perpetrator? In that case, your next line of contact is the human resources office. What happens if the human resources office is the perpetrator? In that case, your next line is your organization’s next chain of command. At this point, it is good to know these two outside agencies that can be a resource to you if you are a victim of workplace bullying:
1. EEOC: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency that manages and administers civil rights laws against workplace discrimination.
2. WBI: Workplace Bullying Institute is the premier U.S. organization focused on the eradication of workplace bullying. WBI is founded by a husband and wife team-Drs. Gary & Ruth Namie. WBI provides help for victims of workplace bullying, resources in areas of research, education, training, policy advocacy and consultancy for organizations.
Beloved brothers and sisters, we are Christ's ambassadors! Our response to bullying behaviors should send the message to all perpetrators that it is never acceptable, and we will take a stand to speak for the voiceless as we glorify our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!
For The Cause of Christ,
Dr. Johnson Obamehinti