Workplace Bullying.....

During her final interview with her ‘would be overseas functional Manager’, when Medha was asked what did she expect from the company in case she was selected for the role? Well, Medha just quoted “a communicative, Manager/boss” and a learning environment. Learning in the organization was in abundance which kept her going for few months, but in the place of a ‘communicative manager’ there was “bullying Manager”. 

Medha, had to restart her career, due to several relocations due to the profession of her husband, which required her to make many sacrifices in her career and personal front. Stead of crying over missed opportunities she chose to restart her career and was passionate about it. The reason she expected for a ‘communicative manager’ with whom she wanted to work peacefully, was because hers was a creative work which needed lot of positivity and learning. 

Now what does a work place bullying mean? Bullying is a systematic crusade of interpersonal destruction that destroys your job of which you are passionate of, your career and further the health too. What’s pathetic about this is that ‘you’ the bullied one is not at all the cause for this to happen, it might be due to the bosses’ lack of intra and interpersonal skills, or just his desire to control the team or individuals who report to him.  One of the main reasons it occurs so frequently in workplaces is that bullies and their bullying is not considered as illegal in countries like India. Workplace bullying could be through, 

• Not approving leave during personal emergencies
• Criticizing the work and not sharing any details that is necessary to work diligently
• Not allowing to network with the management or with colleagues from other departments
• Holding back of information, playing mind games or speaking lowly of the bullied with others, intimidating and lying and insulting during staff meetings and etc

 In Medha’s case it was frequent threatening, humiliating, continuous interference that stops from work getting done, verbal insults which does not have any proof and lowering her confidence by calling her work as ‘useless’. On taking up the job she realized that the she was yet another scape goat to the wild bull, who had earlier eaten up many other team mates career by bulling them to the point of resignation. Medha’s escalation to local management sadly was considered as a ‘blame game’ and was futile. There shattered her dream of launching a career in this new place for which she had worked hard from the day one to make a ‘win win situation’. Eventually Medha started becoming less confident, scared and stressed which reflected on her health and many times detested to go to work on Monday mornings like a pre-schooler due to fear of getting ‘bullied’. Though her family advised her to quit, due to some of her good colleagues’ counselling, and with the hope that her boss too shall change one day, she continued but yet the brave lady had to give up and Medha had to resign from her job due to bullying boss’s new design.

Finally, she was yet another scape goat in the row, for the system.  Medha thankfully had great testimonials from previous employers and an understanding family to whom she could announce of her forced resignation. She was saddened by the fact that the organization refrained to accept her boss’s harassment as bullying. Was not the organization by trying to protect the bullying boss, harming the bullied Medha’s job and health due to the workplace violence? Why are people and the system so insensitive to the victim’s state? How sensitive is the organization/management or even the boss of people like Medha to their bullied employee’s financial commitment and status? Because women, especially Indian women generally chip into work force to make some contribution to her family funds, to meet both ends meet. In most working women’s case, had they been married to spouses who were in leadership roles of profitable companies, I doubt they would sweat or work under another egoistic man the whole day.

Such incompetent and insensitive Managers are the reason for the statement, “People leave bosses and not the Companies”. Now the question is who will bell the cat? :)