Not everybody gets to work in an office or workplace that is peaceful and calm. Some offices are actually toxic and hostile. Bullies aren’t only found in the schoolyards. They are also found at work and when you encounter one, it can make your life miserable. Some of them will sexually harass you and others will push you to your breaking point.
Bullies at work are sometimes given free rein to do their worst. It takes somebody or multiple people to stand up and make sure something is done to fix the problem. There are steps to take to deal with a workplace bully. In this article, we will go over several of the things you must do when you have a bully at the office.
1 – Keep detailed records
At some point, you will likely be taking a case to the HR department to file a complaint or hire an employment lawyer from HKM.com. In either case, you will need to have a lot of evidence to present to show that there is a problem with bullying from a particular person or people at work.
This should include things like SMS messages, emails, and logs of conversations that you’ve had. If there were other people present during an incident then make sure to get them to write some testimony to back up your version of events.
When you feel as though you have enough to make a compelling case then you can take the next step and file a complaint or go to a lawyer.
2 – Don’t expect things to change
People will often make excuses for bullies and hope that the situation will change. They might think that the bully is having personal problems at home that are making them lash out at you and others and when things get resolved they will calm down. Usually, this isn’t the case.
Many people have problems and they don’t take it out on others so letting things go is not the answer. A bully is going to continue to bully to the point that things will likely get worse. If you let things go then you are sending a clear signal that this behavior is acceptable and it won’t get better.
Make sure to tell the person that what they are doing is not professional and they need to stop. If they don’t then start taking other measures to fix the problem.
3 – Get organized
There is strength in numbers so it is better to take control of a situation when you have a group behind you. Try to organize your colleagues that are also experiencing the same problems with bullying behavior so you can create a united front.
Take some time to talk about the issue that is happening and document the incidents. Then you can go to your HR department and file a formal complaint that is clear and concise as well as any solutions you think may be helpful.
