When you hear the words "harassment" and "workplace" together you probably automatically insert "sexual" in there somewhere, don't you? Although sexual harassment does seem to get most of the press these days (sex sells, I guess) there's an even bigger threat lurking out there: workplace harassment in the form of bullying.

Surprised? Some of you might be thinking that bullying is something that doesn't survive past the school-age years, but a whopping 37% of you have a real idea what being bullied at work means -- at least that's how many people have experienced it according to this article in The New York Times. That's more than 1/3 of us! Can that be right?

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Quick pop-culture quiz question for you ... What did Arnold Jackson (played by Gary Coleman on "Diff'rent Stokes") fear more than anything?

The Gooch.

Yup, the schoolyard bully that used to threaten to knock him all around if he didn't cough up his lunch money. The Gooch - the bane of Arnold Jackson's existence. But this bullying situation is not only reserved for 80s sitcoms; rather, it is a very real problem facing many kids across the country.

Studies show that bullied kids are more likely to have sleep troubles, upset stomachs, depression, and anxiety, in addition to under-performing at school. If your kid happens to be on the Arnold Jackson end of these schoolyard incidents, psychologists suggest the following means of support:

• Always remind your child that it is not his or her fault
• Boost your child's confidence by getting them involved in activities they enjoy, such as sports, art, etc.
• Contact teachers or after-school program counselors and provide specific information about the incident(s)
• Be aware that "cyber-bullying" -- kids posting and writing mean comments online -- can also be occurring, so take steps to filter out emails of this kind

You can find additional tips by clicking HERE.

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Bullying was a definite part of my childhood, though other students were either the victim or the perpetrator much more often than I. Even when you try to stay away from it, it affects you -- at least, that's the lesson I learned throughout my school years. Do you agree?

A government official in Britain, Tim Gill, agrees that's it's a part of life, but he goes on to say that it's a necessary part of life -- it prepares children for the hard knocks they'll encounter later in their adult life.

I can see his point -- sort of. But I don't see how tearing someone down over and over again until they have no shred of self-esteem and are on the verge of depression, suicide or worse is constructive later in life. Minor teasing is one thing, but if you ask me, full-on bullying is something that has very little use to someone at any point in their life. What do you think?

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