The behaviour of bullies is driven by a need to control the targeted individual. They want to call all the shots and insist on having things their way. If anybody disagrees or chooses not to comply, they will be targeted. Many of these bullies have strong social skills and a lot of influence within the company. There are only a handful of people who stand up to them. They use these attributes to dominate other people.

However, workplace bullies could be targeting people out of envy. They are threatened by his/her strengths and accomplishments. If an employee is getting positive feedback and attention from co-workers and supervisors, workplace bullies are likely to feel jealous and insecure about themselves and their work. They do not want the attention to be given. They bully the taget to attempt to reduce the recognition he/she is getting at the workplace and wants employees and supervisors to turn against him/her. They want to ruin his/her reputation and put a negative light on the person as a whole. These type of bullies are extremely dangerous for employers because they spend time demoralizing productive employees and want to disrupt the unity in the organization.