Workplace bullying can come in many different forms, some of which you might not notice and some that make you struggle to get through the day.
Workplace bullying may be spreading malicious rumours about you, giving you unfair treatment, picking on you or regularly undermining your work and ideas or even denying your training or promotional opportunities without reasoning. It can also happen in different forms such as face-to-face, by letter, by email or by phone.
Your work environment should always be seen as a safe space and no one should have to face bullying. If you feel that you are struggling with workplace bullying, here are some things to look out for and what you can do to combat it.
- Speak up early on
One of the best things you can do to combat workplace bullying is to try and fight it early on before it becomes more frequent or increases in severity. The minute you feel that you are being mistreated, even if you feel that it is only a small matter you should call them out on it and stand up for yourself.
At this time it is best to be calm and kind in your tone and clearly explain why you believe it is a problem and how it makes you feel, as they might have not done this intentionally or realised they are wrong. If you brush off underlying bullying in the early stages it will only continue to get worse and harder to fix.
- Learn more about your workplace bullying policy
If you weren’t able to speak up early on and the bullying has worsened, you will need to find out your best route of contact and information source within your workplace and find out all the information in your workplace’s bullying policy.
The policy should outline the business’s unacceptable behaviours and how you can address the problem with the appropriate procedures. You may find this in your employee handbook or contract.
Since bullying isn’t illegal, many companies don’t have a formal policy against it. If your workplace doesn’t have an outlined policy, your employer will still have the legal duty to inform you of reasonable steps that will ensure your health and safety at work, with their support.
- Discuss the issue with someone you feel comfortable with
If you feel that you are struggling to deal and resolve the issue alone, it is important you confide in someone else in the workplace for extra support.
This may be found within your manager, the HR department, welfare officer or union representative, dependent on your workplace structure.
It will be important for you to be prepared to speak about your experiences and provide examples of workplace bullying moments for them to help you in the most effective way possible.
- Resolve the issue informally
If you feel confident enough you can arrange a meeting to speak with the person you believe is bullying you.
It would be advised to get support from your manager or a colleague within the meeting as a mutual party.
However this might not always be possible or appropriate in situations, so don’t feel pressured to try to resolve issues this way.
- Raise a formal complaint
If you don’t see any improvements or changes in your situation after first raising the problem with others in your business, you may be left to raise a formal complaint about the bullying.
This will mean the complaint will go through formal procedures at work and will be taken seriously by higher authorities.
- Take care of yourself outside of work
Suffering from bullying in the workplace each day can have an impact on your overall mental health and happiness if you allow it to take over.
If there isn’t much you can do to make a change to your surroundings and experiences at work it’s important that you focus on what you can control outside of the workplace.
If you can try to make a conscious effort to exercise more, get out of the house and socialise with friends more, focus on the things that make you happy.
Also using your friends and family as a support network may help you escape from your work struggles. In extreme cases it may be worth considering professional help from a therapist or counsellor for some expert advice and help.
- Look for a new job
In the very worst case scenario, when you have exhausted all other options and not seen any improvement it might be time to start looking to move companies.
It will also be distracting and overpowering, meaning you can’t complete your tasks or reach possible opportunities and promotions with this person in the way. Therefore it may be in the best interest to search for an alternate job as soon as you can.
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