What Should You Do if You’re Being Bullied at Work?

Workplace bullying occurs in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways, and this duplicitous nature makes it a difficult thing to stamp out.

While bullying can include verbal abuse, property damage and public embarrassment, it can also take the form of unrealistic expectations, lies and deceit.

If you are being bullied, you may be worried that calling out the abuse will not result in action being taken or even retribution from the bully. However, if you take the proper steps, you can maximize your chances of resolving the situation in a way you can live with.

Step back and consider the situation

Before you start developing a plan to rid yourself of abusive behavior once and for all, it’s important to take an honest and objective look at the situation. Are you truly being bullied? Are others seeing the abusive behavior? Are there other victims in your office? Is the bully simply someone with a bad attitude? Are you being too being overly sensitive out of stress or exhaustion?

While you don’t want to ‘victim blame’ yourself, it’s important to remember that tempers are lost and egos are bruised in the course of a typical work day. Also, there are bound to be personality conflicts, which is a completely separate issue from workplace bullying.

If you think someone is setting unrealistic expectations for you or talking about you behind your back, ask around the office to get a comprehensive view of the situation. Then, take this 360-degree view to a trusted friend or family member to get their outside opinion.

If you end up concluding that you are in fact being bullied, you should take action immediately.

Set limits on acceptable behavior

The first step in dealing with a workplace bully is to decide what kind of behavior is unacceptable to you. Then, you should approach the bully and calmly explain what behavior(s) you don’t appreciate, how the behavior is affecting your work and what behavior you won’t put up with in the future.

You may want to rehearse this conversation to avoid being overly emotional. This discussion should be about calmly setting limits, not venting anger or frustration.

Document future abuse

If the bully continues their abusive behavior after you have drawn a line in the sand, you need to start documenting what this person does, when it occurred and who was there to witness the behavior. This documentation can be invaluable if the situation comes to a head.

Get management/ HR involved

If the abusive behavior continues and you have several well-documented instances of bullying, you should bring the issue to a manager or human resources worker. When getting these folks involved, it’s important that you approach them with a solutions-based mentality. Don’t go to management looking for revenge. Go to management looking for an amicable resolution.

If this meeting doesn’t produce satisfactory results, it might be time to start looking for either a new position in the company, or a new employer.

At Career Concepts, we fully support those looking to get out of a toxic workplace situation. Please contact us today if you are looking to move on from your current situation.