Bullying in work

Don't want to give away too much here, but I feel I am being bullied/victimised at work by someone on a power trip. Myself and the other girl who do the same job both feel this way. We have never, ever been treated with such a lack of respect and I can hardly believe that anyone could talk to a coworker/employee in this way. This person treats us like dogs - barking orders at us, being overly sharp with us for absolutely NO reason, accusing us of things we just didn't do, b*tching about us to other employees. I could understand if I was taking the p*ss or rubbish at the job but people seem to think I'm doing very well and I really do my best every day, and there is absolutely no reason to act like this. It honestly reminds me of the girl who bullied me in secondary school. I am shocked and appalled that someone in a position of authority, a grown adult, has the audacity to act this way. I feel she knows she's getting away with it because I need the money, and generally like where I work and am happy there.

One thing she does a lot is accuse me of something (today it was putting a call through to her private line, which I didn't do, have never done and wouldn't have reason to do) and when I say I didn't do it or try to defend myself she calls me argumentative which I am not! Apparently I don't have the right to answer back, I just have to take her verbal abuse. I've never had this type of problem at work before, I'm generally very easygoing, people pleaser kind of person. I thought everything was going great at work and I was happy. A girl at work reckons the woman is jealous of me and trying to get a rise out of me and I should try to ignore her but its really difficult! Its so unprofessional! I'm going to print off the nasty e-mails, is there anything else I could do should this become an even worse situation? It just really sucks for me, everything was going so well and she has to come along and ruin it

Little-Devil

[quote=[Deleted User];56138267]Don't want to give away too much here, but I feel I am being bullied/victimised at work by someone on a power trip. Myself and the other girl who do the same job both feel this way. We have never, ever been treated with such a lack of respect and I can hardly believe that anyone could talk to a coworker/employee in this way. This person treats us like dogs - barking orders at us, being overly sharp with us for absolutely NO reason, accusing us of things we just didn't do, b*tching about us to other employees. I could understand if I was taking the p*ss or rubbish at the job but people seem to think I'm doing very well and I really do my best every day, and there is absolutely no reason to act like this. It honestly reminds me of the girl who bullied me in secondary school. I am shocked and appalled that someone in a position of authority, a grown adult, has the audacity to act this way. I feel she knows she's getting away with it because I need the money, and generally like where I work and am happy there.

One thing she does a lot is accuse me of something (today it was putting a call through to her private line, which I didn't do, have never done and wouldn't have reason to do) and when I say I didn't do it or try to defend myself she calls me argumentative which I am not! Apparently I don't have the right to answer back, I just have to take her verbal abuse. I've never had this type of problem at work before, I'm generally very easygoing, people pleaser kind of person. I thought everything was going great at work and I was happy. A girl at work reckons the woman is jealous of me and trying to get a rise out of me and I should try to ignore her but its really difficult! Its so unprofessional! I'm going to print off the nasty e-mails, is there anything else I could do should this become an even worse situation? It just really sucks for me, everything was going so well and she has to come along and ruin it [/QUOTE]

If you feel she is bullying you then printing of nasty e-mails is the right step, make a note of arguements or any other issues like today with the phonecall to her private line. Once you feel you have enough evidence then you can make a formal complaint to your HR department.

Jo King

Record the conversations where she make accusations (use your phone).Write out a transcript immediately afterwards. If there is an allegation that you have done something wrong, natural justice requires that the allegation be put to you and that you be given an opportunity to refute it. Refuting an allegation of wrongdoing is not being argumentative. It is your right.
Keep a diary and write in the dates and times of all incidents. After you have build up a reasonable dossier go to the boss. It might take two or three weeks. Say you want something done about her. Say that you are prepared to give evidence against her in any forum whatsoever.
It is difficult to be assertive when you are faced with this type of behaviour. People are brittle and will start to think they have done something wrong when in fact they have not done so. You must remind yourself that if you do not take action you will end up broken. When you go to the boss, do not be timid or apologetic. Be indignant that you have had to put up with the nonsense that is being inflicted on you.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not a weak person but I was nearly in tears when I left today. My sister is ill, I've had loads of problems recently and I thought things were finally going my way. I really don't need this right now but I'm not going to be bullied into quitting or whatever it is she wants. I think she maybe wants to see how I react. I'm just so so down at the moment, sort of losing my faith in humanity......why are people so nasty for no reason? And I don't know if this happens to everyone or I'm just being sensitive? But as I said, I've never been bullied like this before. I've been shouted at but always had the chance to defend myself or talk back. I was so happy there and now I'm gona be walking on eggshells and feeling like everyones talking about me and getting negative vibes. It sucks

snellers

Is there an immediate boss to the person harrassing you?

if in your situation I would probably do two things - firstly get some evidence of genuine victimisation / bullying in the form of e-mails / transcripts / diary if necessary........

I would then approach your boss' boss and ask them for a chat... I would then say to the boss that you don;t want to take it further but you are deeply unhappy and something has to change or you will be forced to do so - this could solve your problems without it becoming a H.R. nightmare (even though you haven;t done anything wrong it is a pain to resolve these cases and fairly unpleasant for all concerned).

the advantage of giving the bigger boss a chance to sort it is that you will be looked on in a very positive light by them as they have a chance to stop the problem in the bud before it becomes a company issue (and reflects badly on them)

whatever you decide to do don;t let this person get away with it - I suggest trying to sort it informally before you take the full frontal approach though (all you want is a quiet life and a short sharp shock might scare your boss into submission)

granturismo

Jo King wrote: »

Keep a diary and write in the dates and times of all incidents.

OP this is normally the advice given by union reps in my place of work, to staff alleging bullying/harassment. It's the minimum you should be doing.

It will give you a chance to reflect on cumulative incidents and can only strengthen your case. Print off those emails and keep them somewhere safe outside work.

Usual options would be to approach your supervisor's line manager / HR / union rep / designated trained staff if your company has them. Does your company have an anti-bullying policy? If you're in the public sector or a unionised workforce then its more likely - thats not saying there aren't non-unionised private sector employers who havent implemented policies.

This is a Code of Practice from the Health & Safety Authority, free to download; http://publications.hsa.ie/index.asp?docID=222
Non-compliance with a CoP from the HSA is interpreted as criminal negligence.