Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’m back today after an incredibly busy week of writing, school conferences, and a birthday party that my boys were invited to. It seemed like we had something to do every night last week.
I was glad to go to the boys’ conferences though, because I received glowing reports from their teachers. That always does my heart good to hear that my parenting is having a positive effect.
But, I digress. 🙂 Sorry. I tend to do that when I think about my kids. Anyway, as I was thinking about a post for this week, I remembered that I did a post about bullying a couple of weeks ago. It got me thinking, what do you do when you’re bullied in the workplace?
I’m sure everyone has encountered the bully who tries to intimidate by raising his/her voice and using a condescending attitude. They’re hard to deal with and if you can, I would recommend that you avoid them at all costs. But what happens when you can’t? What happens when the bully is someone you have to work with every day?
Then you have to take control of the situation. The first thing you need to do is confront the bully and tell them his/her behavior is unacceptable. You can do this in a diplomatic way or not. It’s up to you. 😉
You also need to start documenting the abusive behavior. You need dates and details about the incidents. Keep a log; because if the problem reaches the level where you have to take legal action, your lawyer will want the information.
If the behavior doesn’t stop, then you have to take it to the next level and discuss it with your supervisor. It’s imperative that you take this step. He/she will appreciate the opportunity to nip the problem in the bud.
If that doesn’t work, you need to file a complaint with senior management. If human resources doesn’t solve the problem, the next step is legal action. You’ll need to consult an attorney. Your best bet is to find someone who specializes in employment law.
I hope this post helps anyone who’s dealing with a bully at work.
***I want to say a special thank you to this site for some of the information in this post. http://www.rd.com/advice/work-career/5-ways-to-deal-with-an-office-bully/
