Workplace Bullies and ways to deal with them

Bullying can come from any direction in the organisation and it can take different forms. Here are four kinds of bullies you might encounter -?

1. The Screaming One

• This type of bully tends to make a public scene and instil fear not only in their target but also in all their co-workers, who might understandably be terrified of speaking up, because of the fear to become the next target.
• This can include not only yelling but sending angry emails and other verbal forms of hostility; also using aggressive body language.?

2. The Constant Critic

• They may not yell at you to your face or in front of other people but they’ll disparage you so regularly that you begin to doubt your abilities and wear you down so much that the quality of your work might objectively suffer.?
• The bully might humiliate you one-on-one or in public by pointing out your mistakes, taking credit for your work, leaving you out of things, socially isolating you or even playing jokes on you.

3. The Hodor

• Some bullies manipulate their targets and withhold resources—whether that’s instructions, information, time, or help from others—setting you up to fail.?
• They might only tell you about three steps of the process when there are actually five or pile so much work on you that there’s no reasonable way for you to complete it by the deadline.?
• They might give you a poor performance review when your work isn’t actually so poor or punish you for being one minute late to a meeting.

4. The Two-Faced Snake?

• The one who pretends to be your friend and champion while undermining you behind your back.?
• On the other hand, what they are actually doing is controlling your reputation with others.?

Ways to Deal With Your Workplace Bully

1. Keep a Record

• Keep a record to help you remember the specifics and to show that you’ve been treated badly more than once. Make a note of:

1. The date and time
2. Who is treating you badly
3. What they’re doing or saying exactly
4. Where it happens
5. Who else was there – it’s helpful if you have a co-worker who can back you up
6. How it makes you feel

2. Document the Abuse and Your Performance

• Keep a journal of the who, what, when, where, why of things that happen.
• If you're in a staff meeting and the bullying occurs, then go back to your desk and write down who else was in the staff meeting, what was said, why was it said and try to just put in as much detail as you can around the facts of the situation.
• If you decide to report the bully later, you’ll want to be able to give concrete examples of the behaviors you’re describing.

3. Take Care of Yourself Outside of Work

• Spend time with your friends and family and lean on them for support.
• Consider seeking professional help from a therapist or counsellor too.

4. Do Your Research

• Check your employee handbook or any other document that lays out the organisation’s values and expectations.?
• At the same time, consider seeking legal advice to confirm whether or not your situation might qualify as harassment.?

5. Talk to Your Manager (or someone else, if your Boss is the Bully)

• If you’ve made some attempts to deal with the situation and haven’t gotten anywhere, speak to your manager (assuming they aren’t the bully) or HR.
• If your boss is the problem, think about whether you trust one of their peer managers, or someone above them enough to seek their advice.?
• The key here is to assess your specific situation and try to gauge the relationships within your company.?

6. Look for a new job

• If your company doesn’t have a policy or culture you trust to remove bullying swiftly and forcefully, it is in your best interest to start job searching as soon as you can.