VOA慢速英语2011--Adding Up the Costs of Bullying in the W

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
President Obama held a White House conference this month to discuss ways to prevent bullying² in school. But bullying is a problem not just among young people. Workplace bullying can involve threats, baseless criticism, discrimination and favoring some employees unfairly over others.
Thirty-five percent of Americans in a survey said they had been bullied³ at some time at work. The poll by Zogby International and the Workplace Bullying Institute found that another fifteen percent have witnessed it.
What some workers might consider bullying by another worker or a supervisor⁴ might not be true. But experts say productivity suffers in workplaces where employers tolerate or accept bullying. People take sick leave more often. Some take legal action.
Jennifer Sandberg is a law partner in the Atlanta offices of Fisher & Phillips. She represents companies in labor⁵ cases. She says employers can avoid most problems simply by acting⁶ in a professional, businesslike way.
Bullying in the workplace can take many forms
JENNIFER SANDBERG: "The best advice I can give to managers and supervisors⁷ is not to worry about the law, but rather to be sure that their behavior is professional."
She says this means that everyone plays by the same set of rules.
JENNIFER SANDBERG: “There are still basic rules that every single person in an organization needs to follow.”
People who bully¹ spend less time on productive work. They can make the workplace tense and unhealthy.
Executive coach, CNN commentator⁸ and author Lauren Mackler calls it a "toxic⁹" environment. She advises people to avoid emotional conflict and child-like reactions when faced with insulting criticisms.
She also says people who show self-respect can be less likely targets of a bully. She gives examples like dressing¹⁰ well and looking people in the eye when talking to them.
And Lauren Mackler advises people who feel bullied to consider how the bully got that way.
LAUREN MACKLER: "You can equate¹¹ the behavior with the degree of pain that the bully carries inside."
She says bullies¹² were often bullied themselves as children.
LAUREN MACKLER: "That'll help you to have more compassion¹³ inside instead of judging the person and further feeding a toxic interaction.”
But bullying can cause some people to leave their job. Ms. Mackler says replacing experienced workers can cost one and a half times their yearly pay, or even more.
Last April, Australia's Productivity Commission considered the cost of bullying in a report on workplace safety. The lowest estimate of the cost to the Australian economy ten years ago was six to thirteen billion dollars.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. Follow us on Facebook and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Mario Ritter.

1 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

2 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

8 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

9 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

10 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

11 equate   

v.同等看待，使相等

参考例句：

• You can't equate passing examination and being intelligent.你不能把考试及格看成是聪明。
• You cannot equate his poems with his plays.你不可以把他的诗歌和他的剧本相提并论。

12 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。

13 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。