Dealing With Bullying at Work3 min read

Workplace bullying is not something new. More and more workers are victims of bullying every day and unfortunately, some of them can’t do anything about it, because they are afraid to talk about it to someone. Others feel that speaking up might not change the situation. Nowadays, as the boundary between professional and private life is getting more and more blurred, well-being at work has become something essential, and nobody wants to be subjected to that kind of persecution. In this article, we will first see what bullying at work is, before we can put a stop to it.

What is bullying at work?

Bully at work is a type of harassment which is not recognized by many labour codes and other civil laws. Even if there are more and more sentences given in many countries, cases of bullying is not very much represented, especially because it is harder to prove that it is intentional and recurring. One thing is sure, nobody deserves it.

Workplace bullying can manifest itself in different forms. It can start with whispers, to talking behind someone’s back, which can turn into defamatory statements on company social networks, via email, in phone conversations. You could be exclused from meetings, or completely ignored by your colleagues even in a professional context, or avoided by others.

What needs to be understood is that these types of behavior are not always visible, but it is sure that if someone feels slighted or excluded, it should be investigated. Nasty behaviour can effect productivity in the office and even lead to mental health issues for the victim. HR personnel are  something has to be done to solve the issues.

How to deal with it?

People victim of workplace bullying are sometimes afraid to tell someone about their problems, because they don’t know who to approach, and they are sometimes afraid that people would think that they are paranoid or lost, and that they don’t belong to a team or to a company. A very interesting article found on the Telegraph explains that the managers must do something if one of their employees is bullied, especially because they have to make sure that their employees are healthy, physically and mentally, at their workplace. Being ill at ease at work can affect employees outside of the workplace, that is to say in their personal lives and this could lead to serious consequences, like mental breakdown or worse. This obligation of health and safety at work is described in many countries’ labor codes.

The article’s author gives many different solutions in order to fight against workplace bullying:

• Write down in a kind of diary the incidents, in a precise and detailed way (date, hour, what was read or heard). This will help you prove that you’re a victim of bullying.
• Stay informed about bullying and how companies deal with it.
• Talk about this to other colleagues, ask them if they have ever heard or seen something, or if they are also victims of bullying, so as to help each other.
• Talk about it to your boss. Stay calm and be very precise. Bring evidence if you can. Don’t forget to ask if you can bring someone at your meeting. In some countries, it is possible to be assisted by a staff representative.
• Finally, if the situation doesn’t improve, fill a complaint.

Nobody deserves to be bullied. You have to be strong and to make sure that you leave this situation.

Author: Anne-Marie