Bullying in the workplace
 

Bullying at work does happen, it just doesn't stop when people leave school. I have copied Stropz's debate but changed it to suit in the workplace as that is slightly different.

I know a person who is in his 50's who was bullied at work by 3/4 other males...this resulted in him turning to the bottle and drinking himself into a bad state. At the time he didn't tell anyone he kept telling himself that it was all "banter" and he was just the person they had the "joke" on that day. To a point he felt he was doing something wrong and didn't say anything which in a way made him an easy target for them to pick on more & more. Now this bullying wasn't violent but it was 2 years of being at the end of the "joke", the person people would wind up, the name calling etc and he just got on with it, ignored it but it gradually wore him down and he hit the bottle hard...only then was when other people noticed something was wrong & even getting him to speak about it was a hard enough task but eventually he told it all and asked for help to form a complaint. Now he is happy at work (well as happy at work as you can be) and the bullying has stopped. Luckily it all worked out right in the end.

- Were you bullied or are you currently being bullied at work?
- If so, has it affected you in the long term?
- Did you tell anyone about it at the time?
- If so, was anything done about it?
- Do you know anyone else who has been bullied at work?
- Have you ever intervened to stop bullying?
- Would you ever intervene to stop it?
- Were you ever a bully?
- If you are having trouble at work, do you know how to form a complaint or who you need to contact?
- Do you feel awkward complaining about another workmate?
- As you are in the workplace do you let alot more things go by because you can handle it more as an adult/rise above it or could some things class as bullying in your workplace?



Discuss..

I have actually been the victim of some pretty nasty workplace bullying/harassment. In a previous job I fell foul of someone I had thought was my friend. He made my job pretty unbearable and in the end I was left with very little choice but to find another job and leave. The shame of it was I loved that job. He has since been sacked for a similar treatment of another staff member who was brave enough to stand up to him.

Long term it has made me a stronger person. I will not accept anyone speaking to me in an inappropriate way or even attempt to bully me. I would also actively challenge anyone else who was trying to be a bully towards anyone else.

Having been a bully myself as a teenager it was weird to be on the recieving end, and to be honest I wasnt sure it was really happening at the first. I thought I was over reacting to things but with time I realised it was really happening. I did speak to colleagues about it and even went as far as writing to the Director and asking for some support but his answer was to give my letter to the person in question to deal with as he was a senior manager which just made things a whole lot worse for me.

Bullying can be done in so many ways in the workplace. Some are moer sublte than others, even unreaslitc timescales can be a subtle form of bullying. Some Managers like to keep work until the last minute then dump it into another persons lap insisting it is done straight away. Then there is the more obvious ones of shouting at an belittling that goes on. A friend of mine is in a difficult position at the minute. She works for another friend of ours who thinks it is ok to flip out at her at any given moment. I have actually spoken to my friend about this and said that what she is doing is bullying but she cant see it.

I think this is an interesting subject. Sometimes people think that adults can't be bullied, but they most definitely can. Fortunately, I have never been the victim of bullying at work. I work in an office where pretty much everyone gets on most of the time, and any bullying would soon be knocked on the head!

It seems to me that adults are bullied at work quite alot of the time. I can understand bosses getting angry at deadlines if they are not getting hit but taking it out on one person is completely wrong. Even in some workplaces it seems there is an "in crowd" and the people who don't go the pub afterwork for example because they have children or have other concerns are easily targeted. I think there is different elements in bullying in the workplace and alot of people actually don't speak up because of the risk at loosing their jobs...challenging your boss or a higher up the table member of staff can be very hard going. Even when they are exposed doesn't always mean it will go away completely.

So many different types of bullying out there and here is a perfect link to explain all the different kinds and an explaination of examples of bullying

I was bullied in my last job when i first started. i worked for a stockbroker and when I joined 6 years ago I made quite a lot of friends. We used to go for lunches, after work drinks etc. But my boss went away for 3 weeks and a colleague, who was in the same position as I was, took it upon herself to take over the office. We kind fell out but over nothing really. When my boss came back there were a lot of meetings with my so called friend and I started to worry what was being said. Nothing came about from my boss but all of a sudden i was being ignored by my work colleagues. Nobody that i assumed was my friend would talk to me anymore. i would get snide little sniggers and looks of contempt. I felt so alone and most days I could go through with nobody saying a word to me all day. So i decided to get my head down and just do my work. Once the day ended i would forget about what had happened. This ostracization lasted about 8 months.

The funny thing was this colleague got promoted and went to a different department because she thought she couldnt progress in the one she was in. She really wanted the managers role but that didnt look like it was going to be open for sometime........then a month later it did.... and i got it :bigsmile:

Yes but im going back to when I was about 16 in my first Job in a shipping department (office) My boss was a bully towards me in more ways than one, Made my life unbearable until my dad walked into the office one day and said to me get yer coat pet. My daughter dosent need this job mate. Find someone your own age to bully. Thant was the end of that

Im a lot older and wiser now and wont let anyone get the better of me .

yep Ive been bullied in my last two jobs. the last one ended by me being physically assaulted. I dont like socialising much nowadays and have been out of work a year and a half.

Did you make any complaints or just leave the jobs?

no way would i complain, even the bosses were scared of the guy that attacked me, he works as a bouncer at nights at the weekend. I just left.