Workplace Bullying

When we talk about bullying in the workplace people can quite often state those obvious inflagrations such as being shouted at in front of others or having credit for their work stolen by a colleague or boss. Actually I think workplace bullying starts in much more subtle ways.

Top of my list comes the implication that if you have time off work for sick you are 'giving in to it'. A phrase that I have heard more than once from manangers and colleagues alike directed at both myself and others. The idea that the common cold is a piffling little matter and that one should adopt an attitude of stoicism, coming in to work ignoring the cough and the red eyes despite the inevitability that you will pass it on to others is ridiculous. The common cold is a high invasive virus that affects many of the organs in the body, along with th mucous membrane, connective tissue, muscle and bone. You'd be amazed at the number of people who have a heart attack while fighting or whilst recovering from a cold. Just because it is common, doesn't mean it's not dangerous. Yet this attitude is sanctioned by law where a person can be sacked for having more days of sick than is stipulated in their contract of employment. We are no talking big numbers here. People have been sacked for taking more than 8 days of sick in any one year. Ridiculous!

The next on my list is discounting of feelings. You know what I mean. When you tell someone you feel you have been treated unjustly and they say "oh, it's only work, don't let it get to you" or telling you that life is too short to talk about it. Nine times out of ten when people preach to you in this way you can be sure that the reason why they are so keen to discount it, is that it is not happening to them, and possibly never has.

Belittleing. This is done in a very subtle way and is similar to the one above. You are given to understand that you are a bit over emotional. Not handling it in a professional way. This happened to me in my place of work. You have to have it in context to really see the full picture. After a period of intense bullying in my work place culminating in my having a disasterious interview with the most senior member of staff in which I was shouted at and told I had no credibility. (A bullying incident in it's own right) I along with some others was informed by email that if I wanted to continue to carry out the duties of my enhanced post that I needed to reapply. I'd had a rough year so I decided not to bother. One morning I arrived at work and there were just two people in the office. One of which had had quite a meteoric rise up the ranks. She asked me how I was and I replied OK. She asked again because she thought I didn't sound ok. I again replied I'm ok. She asked again was I sure I was ok. This time I said, well what do you expect****. I've been told to reapply for my management job, I have been told I have no credibility, I've let the job go because I am not being supported by management. How do you think I should feel? For this I was summonsed back to the office from 20 miles away later that day to be told by my manager that this form of communication was unacceptable. I was being belittled by the first colleague , and when I stuck up for myself I was bullied by my boss
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Leaving out. A little trick going on in the workplace these days are buddy groups. Little cliches of people who 'get on really well together' These people will agree to meet up at certain times, slap each other on the back with their hail fellow well met and then go off together to enjoy a chat and a drink. (Networking) naturally what this tends to do is leave behind a smaller number of people who are not in the cliche.

Witholding knowledge. Little things like not telling you a meeting has been cancelled. Or not letting you know that they date for expenses claims has been changed. Not notifying people that resources have come into stock creating a free for all in which case some people get all the resources and some never get any.

These are just some of the experiences that I had and that I saw happening in the workplace that as far as I'm concerned constitute that low level of bullying. Make no mistake though. Companies that use this kind of bullying have always got higher level stuff going on that is even worse.

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