Putting an end to workplace bullying

Workplace bullying is a form of harassment and can include both verbal and nonverbal behavior that is threatening, humiliating and intimidating. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Frequently criticizing your work, despite excellent performance
• Spreading hateful gossip about you, or purposely humiliating you in front of others
• Constantly changing guidelines, deadlines or scheduled meetings at the last minute
• Isolating you socially in the workplace, such as leaving you out of group events
• Disturbing or tampering with your personal items
• Intimidating or threatening behavior

And bullying doesn’t just happen face-to-face; cyber-bullying can also take place online via social media or email.

Any behavior that makes you feel consistently mistreated, harassed or embarrassed by a co-worker or supervisor is considered bullying and should not be tolerated.

First, check your workplace handbook for any policy on bullying. It may list a contact person and procedure to report incidents of bullying. If not, reach out to your manager, HR or union representative, or other appropriate person to discuss the best way to proceed.

If you feel comfortable doing so, calmly confront the person who is bullying you. Let them know their behavior is unacceptable and it must stop immediately. It may help to have a manager or representative from HR join you. Hopefully, the person will realize the impact of their actions and stop, but if not, there are other steps you can take.

If you’d prefer not to approach the person directly or need to explore alternative routes after confronting them, work with the appropriate contact within your organization to determine next steps. It is important to have written records of the bullying to support your complaint, including detailed accounts of each incident and correspondence you received from the perpetrator. This information, along with your written report, will help your employer properly investigate the situation and take appropriate action.

Once you’ve submitted a formal complaint, your employer should investigate your complaint and make changes to address the situation. However, if you do not feel your employer has adequately done this, you have a few choices. You can take the matter further up the chain, hire an attorney if needed or choose to look for a new position. If you have access to an Employee Assistance Program through your employer, a counselor can provide confidential help to walk you through your options and determine the best path forward for you.

Bystander intervention is critical to stopping the cycle of workplace bullying. Many victims are ashamed or hesitant to step forward, so if you see something that you believe is bullying, you have a responsibility to take action. Watching bullying continue to take place and doing nothing only enables the bully to keep harassing his target.

As stated above, check your employee handbook for a policy and procedure on reporting incidents of bullying. You may not feel prepared or comfortable confronting the bully directly, but your employer may have a process to submit complaints anonymously. If not, consider reaching out to your HR department anyway to let them know what you witnessed so they can move ahead as needed to protect you and your colleagues from bullying.