Gary Namie

“What makes someone a Target is when the bully is testing her or his humiliating tactics on several people at work, the Target who does not fight back or confront the bully immediately. That yielding opens the door to future mistreatment because the Target failed the test of being a jerk just like the bully. In fact, the Target turns her or his cheek, a morally superior act according to several religions. The Target may also delay action, hoping that with the passage of time, the bully will stop. Unfortunately, the bully interprets all inaction as submission.”
― Gary Namie, The Bully at Work: What You Can Do to Stop the Hurt and Reclaim Your Dignity on the Job

“Targets, as you will learn throughout this book, are blessed/cursed with a strong work ethic. They just want to be “left alone” to do their work. In the most bullying-prone industries, we’ve found that many employees share a prosocial orientation. They are the “do-gooders.” They want to heal the sick, teach and develop the young, care for the elderly, work with the addicted and abused in society. They are ripe for exploitation. While they focus on doing good and noble things and wait to be rewarded for their quality work, they expose their backs for the bully to sink her or his claws into.”
― Gary Namie, The Bully at Work: What You Can Do to Stop the Hurt and Reclaim Your Dignity on the Job