If you always feel reluctant to go to work in the morning, it’s either you hate your job or you’re a victim of workplace bullying. Anyone can be a bully at work, whether it’s a boss or a co-worker or a client. If you’re a target, it’s important to recognize your situation and respond appropriately, in order to minimize the damage to your psyche and career. No wonder, in a nationwide survey commissioned by CareerBuilder earlier this year, 28 percent of workers reported they have felt bullied at work. Some of the more passive-aggressive and lesser known bullying examples include, but are not limited to: purposeful exclusion from team meetings/activities, consistently taking credit for your work, sabotaging your work, overloading you with work or taking away all of your work, purposely withholding information from you, and spreading false rumors and gossiping. There is an urgent need for this madness to stop. Here’s what to do;
UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF BULLY AND WHAT A BULLY DOES
Like their immature little brothers and sisters on the schoolyard, workplace bullies use same tools of intimidation and manipulation to bring you down. Learning to recognize their behavior is the first step in putting a stop to it and getting back to work in a comfortable environment. A bully gains enjoyment from tormenting others. You might not always get along with everyone at work, but that doesn’t mean you’re a bully yourself. Distinguish between the two by recognizing this trait-does this person seem to make special effort in messing with you, tripping you up, or bringing you down? Do they seem to enjoy it? If the answer is yes, this might suggest a bully. Bullies often have deep-seated psychological issues related to control. Know that your bullying has less to do with your performance and your personality and more to do with the bully’s insecurities.
TALK TO THE BULLY
The bullying may not be deliberate as the person concerned may not realize how their behavior has been affecting you. If you can, talk them directly but work out what to say beforehand. Describe what’s been happening and why you object to it. Stay calm and be polite. If you don’t want to talk to them yourself, ask someone else to do so for you.
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GET ADVICE
Speak to someone about how you might deal with the problem informally. This might be talking to; an employee representative likes a trade union official, someone in the firm’s human resources department and your manager or supervisor. Some employers have specially trained staff to help with bullying problems; they are sometimes called bullying advisers, if the bullying is affecting your health, visit your doctor.
TAKE YOUR COMPLAINT TO HIGHER POWER AND DOCUMENT IT
Bullies can be tenacious and unreasonable, so you may need to call in the big guns. Your first line of defense is talk to your manager, assuming he or she is not the culprit. But you may have to go to HR. if you take your complaint to your boss or HR, frame it as something constructive, not whining. Yes, it’s an emotional grievance. But you must make an objective case about the cost of bullying to the organization. Have your documentation pulled together. Describe what’s been happening in precise detail and explain how the situation is taking a toll on your ability to do your work.
COME UP WITH A PLAN B AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Lastly, you can adopt this method if after you’ve talk to the bully and the harassment still continue. The unpleasant truth is that many employees who get caught in a bullying scenario wind up moving to another department within the organization or leaving altogether. You don’t have to change jobs or employers soon, but waiting to create plan B until you’re out of time is a very weak approach.
