Bullying isn’t confined to the middle school playground. It’s alive and well in offices, boardrooms, labs, etc. Here are some things that you can do if you face bullying at work.
Many people face bullying at work and here’s what you can do in such situations
Bullying isn’t confined to the middle school playground. It’s alive and well in offices, boardrooms, labs, conferences, break rooms, and cubicles around the world, and the stress and trauma caused from bullying can be just as intense for adults as it is for adolescents.
Here’s a snapshot of the most important steps you should take if you feel there’s bullying at work:
What to Do If You Face Bullying at Work
Identify the behavior.
First, learn to recognize when you face bullying at work by a coworker or boss. Aggressive behavior from a colleague (while still a problem on its own) doesn’t always translate to bullying, especially if it’s not directed at anyone in particular. If you find yourself the target of intimidating, hurtful tactics to undermine your voice, ideas, credibility, or authority, likely you’re dealing with a bully.
Don’t give in.
When it comes to being bullied at work, you want to make sure you stand your ground. Don’t allow yourself to be silenced, deterred, or pushed around by the office bully. If your aggressor senses that their tactics are working and they’re getting the reaction they want, they’ll likely continue to threaten or strong-arm you on a regular basis.
Don’t meet aggression with aggression.
When you feel threatened, belittled, or like you’re being backed into a corner by a bully, it can be tempting to respond with similar aggressive tactics to make them back off. But often this only escalates the situation and can even reflect poorly on you. In short, don’t let the bullying at work turn you into a bully as well.
Document everything.
If you’re being bullied, keep a detailed record of your interactions so that you can report the behavior with specificity and authority when it’s brought to the attention of your organization’s leadership. Having a well-documented body of evidence against your bully will turn any “it’s-your-word-against-mine” type of conversation into a fact-based discussion that’s likely to be taken much more seriously.
Voice your concerns.
Don’t stay silent when confronted with bullying at work. Tell your coworkers, your boss (or your boss’s boss), or HR about your concerns so that you can rally the resources and support you need to stop the situation and make sure it doesn’t get worse. If you find it’s a systemic or organization-wide issue, then the leadership and HR need to know so that they can put wider policies or checks and balances in place to change the company culture.
Find a new job.
While quitting your job at the first instance of bullying isn’t realistic, if you find that your workplace allows an entire culture of bullying and aggressive or manipulative tactics to dominate, then it’s probably time to find a new employer and a healthier, more positive professional environment.
Avoid contact.
If you find yourself being forced to work with a bully and little is being done by your employer to address their aggressive behavior, try as best you can to minimize the contact you have. Pull in additional team members to collaborate so you’re not forced into repeated one-on-ones with the bully, and try to hold meetings or correspondences by email or inter-office chat rather than in person. Not only will that provide you with a written record of any communications (those come in handy when dealing with bullies), but it will also reduce face-to-face conflict and bullying at work, which tends to be more unsettling and harmful than a rude email sent here and there.
Advocate for the company, not just for yourself.
When employers invest in establishing positive, healthy work environments and creating psychologically safe company cultures free of intimidating tactics, their workers are more productive, instances of workplace conflict decline, they have higher recruitment and retention rates, and they reduce the number of absences. If you’re having trouble convincing management that internal bullying is a problem based just on your own personal experiences or feelings, come prepared to speak to them about the benefits of investing resources, energy, and time in creating a better work environment for everyone. Once they realize the effort is worth their time and it will actually save them money in the long run, your advocacy is more likely to get results.
So, by using these tips you can stop or manage bullying at work and better focus on your work performance.
