I'm being bullied at work

LegacyUser

I work long hours in a small establishment in a job i love however one of the part timers who is a proper old witch is a bully. she is the cleaner of the establishment. so crafty in what she does. she wont cause me any hassle when others around but once she gets me on my own - thats its. she has hated me from day one.

to cut a long story short she expects me to ignore my work to help her do hers. she expects me to spend any breaks i have helping her do her work. i work long hours, im lucky if i was to get a break most days with my own work to do. i do not need the stresses other people or their work upon me.

here i am presented with an opportunity for a break this morning, unable to leave the premises, i go to the kitchen for breakfast and
she starts. if she is not ordering me to clean, she is going around in a silent huff banging things down on tops, causing bad tension in the atmosphere. she has called me lazy many times. lazy for taking a break once in a blue moon. come on! here i was, with

Busi_Girl08

Go to HR and/or your boss and tell them everytihng that's been going on.

There is no way that this should be tolerated, and they are legally obliged to deal with this.

Bullying and negligent, disruptive behaviour (she's distracting you from your own work, while not doing her own work properly) is dealt with severly in work places.

vonnie10

I've been in a similar situation when i worked in a hotel. I had just started and it was by a woman who had worked there for 25 years. I think it was because i got on well with the manager and the customers always complimented how friendly i was and she didn't like that. She was nice to me in front of everyone else so i felt i couldn't really say anything cos i was only the only one that noticed cos she never did anything outright it was always passive aggressive behaviour. She stole from me but i had no proof so i could never say it outright. It bothered me to start off with but in the end i just ignored her and told myself how pathetic she was that after 25 years at the one establishment i came in as an 18 year old with no experience and was better at the job than she was. She did back off a bit then when she saw i didn't care what she thought. I never reported her cos there was no point really cos she was there longer than the manager and will be there for the rest of her days no matter what she does. I'd just return the favour really and treat her with the same disdain she does to you. If she gets aggro over it just say you only take orders from the manager, unless it is the manager and in that case tell him that he's breaking the law by expecting you to work through your break

gandalf

If she is not your supervisor just ignore her.

Cheap Thrills!

Eh?

She's the cleaner, just tell her no.

You're not obliged to help her. Let her cause a bad atmosphere, what do you care if she sulks, let her, she's only chancing her arm.

So what if she called you lazy, she is only manipulating her so you do her work for her.

Tell her where to get off. Record her on your mobile phone next time she tries this crap, let her see you doing it and tell her clearly you are done with her sly bullying and if she doesn't back off you'll rat her up.

Beruthiel

deadtiger wrote: »

If she is not your supervisor just ignore her.

This.
Also, no harm going to your boss and asking if you are required to do her job as well as your own.

degrassinoel

have ye spoken to this woman about her asking you to help her and calling you lazy?
is it possible she was just looking for company or ribbing you with the 'lazy' thing?

Either way, if you dont want the stress of being in that situation overwhelming you, i think you should talk to her first if you havent already, let her know who's boss, and when you take your breaks is none of her feckin' business. If she still keeps up the shenanigans after that, talk to the boss or HR

stackerman

Next time she "tells" you to do something, look her straight in the eye and tell her to p**s off. Then just ignore any comments, strops etc.

She'll soon drop it, if it still continues go to your boss.

She can't 'tell' you to do anything. She's not your boss. You have a voice. You can say no. Unfortunately many people are just pathetic and go out of their way to annoy people because they have nothing else to do. Ignore her and she'll soon stop.

Denimgirl

bulliedatwork wrote: »

I work long hours in a small establishment in a job i love however one of the part timers who is a proper old witch is a bully. she is the cleaner of the establishment. so crafty in what she does. she wont cause me any hassle when others around but once she gets me on my own - thats its. she has hated me from day one.

to cut a long story short she expects me to ignore my work to help her do hers. she expects me to spend any breaks i have helping her do her work. i work long hours, im lucky if i was to get a break most days with my own work to do. i do not need the stresses other people or their work upon me.

here i am presented with an opportunity for a break this morning, unable to leave the premises, i go to the kitchen for breakfast and
she starts. if she is not ordering me to clean, she is going around in a silent huff banging things down on tops, causing bad tension in the atmosphere. she has called me lazy many times. lazy for taking a break once in a blue moon. come on! here i was, with

Your going to have to start being assertive and stop this woman walking all over you! Honestly she is doing this to you coz she knows you don't have the balls to say anything to her.I have worked in an office environment for over 10 years and you do meet some nasty people.next time she starts with her orders you you tell her straight, sorry that is your job and i have my job i am not the cleaner you are, you must do your own work i will not be helping you.You will be walked on all your life if you let bullys get the better of you.

jimmycrackcorm

Pop your mobile phone out and start recording every time she starts having a go at you. When she asks what you are doing tell her that you are getting ready evidence for a bullying claim. She won't be able to do a thing and will soon get the message.

10green bottles

yeah im with DENIMGIRL on this!
I worked for many years in a manafacturing/factory setting and the bullying there was.....crazy!
you must remember that your boss is a professional and will understand these matters.if not revert to plan b. and record the perpetrator.contact a local shop steward of any trade union and ask them to help you.just because you do not belong to a union does not prevent you from getting protection or advice from a union.
good luck and i hope there is a happy ending on this

yogy

What kind of job is it that a cleaner expects you to help them? Sounds bizarre.

Stick up for yourself and tell her to **** off. Simple as..

zxcvbnm1

ya - this a.l sounds very bizarre.
The cleaner bullies you intoi helping her clean up?

What kind of work are you involved in out of curiosity?

Ladybird99

Sounds like there's something your're not telling us. Do you know this person from outside work?

ninjasurfer1

10green bottles wrote: »

contact a local shop steward of any trade union and ask them to help you.just because you do not belong to a union does not prevent you from getting protection or advice from a union.

Firstly,slightly off topic:
if you're not in a union, don't bother going to a union for advice as they will (rightly so) ignore you and concentrate on issues that affect their paying members.

back on topic:
confront her about her attitude, ask for clarification on her comments, and let her know that from now on you will be recording future interactions.
At the very least, you should have got her side of the story and hopefully cowed her into keeping her opinions,etc, to herself.

if that doesn't work, take any future recordings to HR...

Hope it turns out well.

LegacyUser

Why are you doing someone else's work? Is she a Harry Potter character with special powers that cloud your mind and force you to do tasks against your will? Have you ever once said to her 'I'm not doing that because it's not my job' or 'I'm on my well earned break'. If you haven't, you can't go crying to a union or your boss that you're being bullied. It's not the employer's responsibility to be the parent in every small spat that goes on in their business. You're working, which means you're an adult, which means you should have the ability to say No if someone asks you to do something unreasonable.

If you tell this woman that you're not going to do her work for her and she gets nasty, THEN take it to your boss/HR/union. Write down all she does and says, and date it.