The Jekyll and Hyde of the Workplace: Understanding Splitting in Bullying Dynamics

"man is not truly one, but truly two."

- Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Workplace bullying is a deeply complex and often hidden issue, extending far beyond simple negative behavior. It's a systemic problem rooted in the underlying dynamics between three fundamental aspects: the bully, the victim, and the broader organizational culture (White 2004). One of the key psychological defense mechanisms at play is splitting, a concept that helps us understand why these situations can be so destructive and persistent. Splitting is the unconscious tendency to see people or situations as all good or all bad, an inability to hold conflicting feelings- like love and hate- at the same time.

In the context of workplace bullying, splitting manifests as a "Jekyll and Hyde" dynamic. Before the bullying starts, both the future bully and the future victim may be vulnerable, often sharing an unconscious need for recognition. A stressful or triggering event in the organization can then awaken these roles. The potential bully, feeling overwhelmed and anxious, unconsciously uses splitting to manage these intense feelings. They divide their world into "good" and "bad" parts. The bully then projects these undesirable, "bad" feelings; like frustration, envy, and inadequacy- onto a target, the future victim.

The bully begins to consciously and unconsciously attack the victim. This can involve tangible actions like criticism, exclusion, or withholding information. Unconsciously, the bully is ‘projecting’ or offloading their own internal "bad" feelings onto the victim, who, in turn, takes on the pain and anxiety on the bully's behalf. The victim, caught in this dynamic and often driven by a need for recognition, may initially respond with attempts to please the bully or idealize them, in the hopes of regaining a sense of safety and acceptance (Cilliers 2012).

In "The Office," the defense mechanism of "splitting" is a recurring theme, particularly with the character of Michael Scott. One of the most notable examples of Michael Scott using splitting is in his relationships with his employees and others. He often idealizes people, putting them on a pedestal and seeing them as perfect. However, the moment they do something he perceives as a slight or a betrayal, he devalues them completely and sees them as entirely bad.

An example of this is seen in the episode "The Injury" (Season 2, Episode 12). Michael is injured after burning his foot on a George Foreman Grill. He expects an over-the-top level of sympathy from his employees, treating his minor injury as a major catastrophe. When the staff, particularly Dwight, doesn't react with the level of concern he desires, he becomes angry and feels betrayed.

This is what creates the toxic cycle of bullying. The bully uses splitting to externalize their inner turmoil, and the victim, by containing these projections, becomes a receptacle for the bully's negativity. The organizational culture often provides the fertile ground for this dynamic to play out, with the toxic emotional climate fueling the entire process. Ultimately, splitting is not just an individual defense mechanism; it becomes a destructive systemic dynamic, trapping both the bully and the victim in a repetitive and destructive cycle that can have long-lasting psychological effects on everyone involved.

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