When you mention the word bully, you immediatly think about kids in a school playground or locker room intimidating another for power and humiliation. Would you think that adults are also bullied? Yup! Especially at the workplace.
What’s crazy is that most people don’t know they’re being bullied. Here are some tips on how to cope:
Document each incident when it occurs. Write down the date of the incident, the time of the incident and what happened. Continue doing this until you see a pattern emerge. A single incident may not get attention, but a sustained pattern of behavior will have to be addressed.
Copy any letters, memos or emails that have a bullying or rude tone to them. Highlight the dates and times of the communications. Highlight the parts of the communication that are rude or threatening. Store these with your journal, away from the office.
Walk away whenever you can. If you can leave the situation without putting your job on the line, simply move physically away from the negative situation. Don’t try to speak and defend yourself unless you feel it is absolutely necessary. Doing so may encourage bullies to continue mistreating you.
Set up a meeting with someone who is higher up in the company than the bully, or a human resources representative. Only do this after you have established a pattern of behavior. Ask people who have witnessed the bullying to stand up for you. If they agree, give their names to your boss or HR contact, along with the evidence you’ve collected, at the meeting
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