We all know Punch — the baby macaque at the Ichikawa Zoo — who went viral after being bullied and seen holding a stuffed toy for comfort.

It was very human, in a way.
And it gently makes us ask — does something like this happen at work too?

Corporate bullying is rarely loud. It’s subtle and repeated.

The IAFC’s Table of Useful Signs of Workplace Bullying reminds us — it’s about patterns, not one bad day.

It may look like constant undermining, exclusion, harsh “feedback,” or unrealistic expectations.

There’s also a helpful read, “20 Subtle Signs of Workplace Bullying” by ERC, showing how easily these behaviors become normalized.

Sometimes bullying doesn’t shout.
It slowly chips away.

In his LinkedIn article How to Deal with Corporate Bullying, David McQueen highlights a challenge many HR teams face: bullying often hides behind terms like “high standards” or “direct leadership.” High performance can shield harmful behavior if we only measure results, not how those results were achieved.

But bullying isn’t just poor performance management. It creates a hostile and unsafe environment — something HR Acuity’s workplace bullying guide emphasizes clearly. Bullying can come from managers, peers or even from organizational norms that tolerate toxic behavior.

HR Acuity makes it clear: workplace bullying produces real harm — it erodes trust, crushes morale, and has a measurable impact on team effectiveness and individual well-being.

Symptoms include disengagement, burnout, increased absenteeism and, ultimately, turnover.

This is not an isolated coworker spat. It’s a pattern that costs culture and operational performance.

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We don’t need to panic.
But we do need to be intentional.

From HR Acuity’s recommendations:

• Keep anti-bullying policies active (not buried in a handbook)
• Provide safe, confidential reporting channels
• Track patterns, not just single incidents
• Train managers on accountability vs intimidation
• Hold everyone accountable — even high performers

And to stay ahead of issues, tools like EngageWith help create continuous feedback loops — so concerns surface early, not after resignation letters.