A huge mess at work, could a supervisor be reported for not keeping confidentiality a

Summer519

I know it's long but I could really use some advice! I figured out after the fact that I was in the wrong, even when I had good intentions! In this situation, am I protected in any way? And could the supervisor I spoke to be in trouble for not keeping confidentiality?

Here's the situation:
At work, an employee is very rude all the time has been saying a lot of things about another employee (a minor). There are 3-4 comments I could site specifically, but I think there've been more. They've also been rude to me so I stay out of their way but a couple other workers told me that if I felt uncomfortable, talk to a manager. So when this younger employee was getting picked on I said the same thing, that she can always talk to a manager if she was uncomfortable.
A supervisor came over at one point and thought I was gossiping but I told him exactly what I had said and then he asked how the other employee was acting and that their behavior might be an HR issue, since it is inappropriate and making others uncomfortable (almost everyone who works there has seen this person's attitude) so he said I had to tell him each comment that I've heard, which I was afraid to do because I figured it would be even more uncomfortable working there if anyone figured out I'm the one who told him what was said), but he assured me that it was all confidential and nobody but me and him would know what I said.
Later he said it wasn't enough for an HR case and he told my manager everything that I had said. My manager confronted me and said I was acting unprofessional and I could be fired for slandering. Since it should've been confidential; could the supervisor be in trouble too for telling my manager everything I said, especially when I didn't want to report it or say anything specifically in the first place? When I brought it up to the younger employee, I just figured that since other workers had talked to me about the same problem then I could let this other employee know that the way things are run she can talk to a manager if she has a problem. I didn't tell her what I had heard being said or done.
I didn't think to go straight to a manager, because nobody had done that even when I was getting picked on (or you could even say bullied) and instead they came to me to let me know there's always a manger to talk to. I just figured that's how it worked, but looking back obviously I should not have went to the employee first. I just didn't realize that at the time.
Now it just seems like a huge mess and the manager and supervisor are blaming me for a hostile work environment, but I don't think it was like that until they talked to the minor and said all the reasons they were going to report the rude worker to HR and then went to my supervisor. It really was very calm and simple in the first place...
I don't know if I have any rights to some kind of protection from being fired or just from the now very uncomfortable work environment with my manager, which was already uncomfortable because I'm always trying to avoid the rude employee.

Diziet

I don't see you did anything wrong, but your manager and supervisor do not seem very clued up about how to manage people.

Miaireland

When you started where you given any documents/hr guidelines etc about how you raise any concerns regarding work/bullying etc.

It might be worth consulting them. From what I read you did nothing wrong.

ferrigan101

I have to agree with Diziet here, it doesn't sound like you've done anything wrong and the management are handling it badly.

It sounds like a sizeable company so bear in mind that you can always approach your HR manager yourself and in confidence if you feel that the issues aren't being properly addressed by your line managers.

Dark Phoenix

It sounds like you just tried to help a colleague who was on the end of rudeness from someone known to be rude. I find it very odd that the supervisor involved you instead of going to the employee who was being picke don and asking them what happened and did they want to make a complaint etc.

Does the company have a dignity at work policy / anti bullying policy / code of conduct etc?

Mrs OBumble

No, the supervisor could not be fired for breaching confidentiality.

You should assume that anything you say to a supervisor or maanger may be shared with their manager, their manager's manager, etc and also with HR. There is no such think as confidentiality in the worker-manager relationship.