How I survived mobbing - workplace bullying

We live in a technologically-advanced world where we can access millions of terabytes of data at the tip of our hands. Nearly 80% of the people all across the world now have access to electricity. The global literacy rate stands at an all-time high, i.e., 86.3%. The proportion of people subject to extreme poverty globally is almost half of what it was in 2000. I can go on and on about how far we’ve come.

In the midst of all of these positive changes, the one thing that we’ve miserably failed at and often overlooked is mental health. Believe it or not, the mental health crisis is real. According to WHO, “Every 40 seconds, someone commits suicide.” With that being said, mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, stress, etc. affect 1 in every 5 individuals. All of these stats just break my heart.

While addressing mental health issues is vital, what’s more important is diving deep into the topic and learning what events trigger mental health disorders among people.

That’s the reason I’d like to shine some light on workplace-related issues like workplace discrimination, mobbing, low level of employees-support, lack of appreciation, unclear tasks, underpay, etc., which I’d say are some of the leading causes of mental health disorders among individuals? 

Did you know that 1 in every 6.8 people experience workplace mental health problems?

Work is undoubtedly one of the most vital parts of our lives. Our workplace is where we spend most of our time, meet new people, bond with them, grow both personally and professionally, and carry out various work-related activities. And the harsh reality is, it’s home to a plethora of problems that may not only leave you emotionally drained but also cause mental health disorders.

In a Leadership IQ Study, nearly 5,778 employees plus leaders were asked how well management at their respective organizations listens to their concerns related to workplace discrimination without blame or defensiveness.

Here’s the result:

Only a handful 29% chose “Always,” whereas the rest weren’t completely satisfied. That’s something seriously concerning and needs to be addressed immediately.

Workplace discrimination isn't the only problem employees may expect to face in their workplaces. One may even be a victim to workplace bullying/mobbing.

According to a Monster.com survey conducted in 2019, about 94% of the respondents claimed that they were bullied in their workplace.

Truth be told, even I went through a shit-load of workplace bullying in my late-twenties. I can’t actually reveal the exact date here as I don’t mean harm to any organization and had signed an agreement with the employer. Instead, what I’d love to do is simply pour my heart out and tell you about what I really went through.

So, brace yourselves, here’s the story of Biljana Cenic:

Back in my late-twenties, I was a part of a project-based small company of 15 and excelled at my job. Initially, I had bonded well with everyone within the organization. But, as time went by, I kept improving and knocked my tasks out of the park.

As the organization was a project-based one, the biggest source of income of the employees was commissions. With me being the most hardworking employee in the organization, I started earning 25% more commission than my fellow colleagues plus seniors.

In addition to this, as a result of my super-strong work ethic and word of mouth reference, the number of projects awarded to me kept increasing. I don’t like bragging about myself. But honestly, I was the one who had the knack of getting things done.

And that’s when the hell was unleashed on me.

Every single person in the organization, out of jealousy, started ganging up on me. Honestly, I loved working with the director, and he was a super-cool guy with amazing professional skills. Most of the times, he was away travelling to places, attending international meetings and looking for ways to expand his business. As he was always away, every single person in the company started talking behind my back, which is why the director had no choice but to consider me as a "Troublemaker."

He had appointed one of us to take charge while he was away. It was one of my fellow lady colleagues, who was initially my great-friend-later-turned nemesis.

She was the one who was jealous of me the most. And that’s the reason I used the word “Nemesis.” She kept back-talking and fake-complained about me to the director. In simpler terms, she had made my life a living hell.

I was soon about to leave the company. But during my last year, before I finally decided to say goodbye to hell, I was on a 2-months sick leave to take care of my mental health. I still remember when I used to hop onto my car and cried all day to work. It was like I was driving to prison. Those work hours were the longest hours of my entire day.

I was not happy.

What's more frustrating is that everyone within the organization, especially the lady in-charge, started monitoring me and my activities. They started writing down everything I did, including when I went to the toilet, how many hours I spent in the washroom, how I spoke, the mistakes I made, etc. and sent those reports to the director.

It went on for a month straight.

And that's when I finally poured my heart out in front of my best friend. And in a moment's time, she dialled in her mother's number. Her mother, immediately, insisted me to hire a lawyer. In her terms, it was "intolerable."

I had to do something. And I decided to listen to her advice and did what she asked me to. Thank God, I listened to her.

Maybe, it was the best decision of my life. If I hadn’t taken this decision, I would still be rotting in that prison.

My lawyer went all out and helped me say goodbye to the company finally. I am not the kind of person who likes to get back to people, which I why I didn’t file any lawsuit. 

And with God’s grace and my lawyer’s outstandingly-amazing assistance, I left the company on my own terms, reached an agreement with the company and received a substantial amount of money as compensation for not filing the lawsuit.

Today, I am happily married and am a mother of 2 with 15+ years of professional experience, leading a fulfilling life. All thanks to the fact that I didn't end up tolerating that super-rude behaviour in my past workplace.

And that’s my story. I know it’s just one of many millions out there.

There are employees who have suffered and currently suffering a whole lot more than I can even imagine. At the same time, there are even some who don't suffer at all. 

It completely depends on the management and the employees.

Today’s world mental health day and we should work towards putting an end to workplace mental health issues that’s been affecting millions of people all across the world.

So, what are we waiting for?

Let's take the first step. After all, who will if we don't?