Catch the office bully by the horns!

KOLKATA: For 24-year-old Brinda Sen, it all started at an office party when her boss half-jokingly trashed her contribution to a particular project in front of all her co-workers. It turned out to be just the beginning of a series of put-downs, personal digs, criticism and outright harassment that soon made her life at workplace miserable. Finally, faced with this situation day in, day out, and with no idea how to deal with it, Brinda was left with no other option but to put in her papers.

What Brinda went through was a classic case of workplace bullying, a problem faced by a lot of people. It could be a boss, a superior or a co-worker who’s doing it. But either way, these people use words and actions to intimidate and harass their victims, so much so, that those at the receiving end, often have not only their mental, but physical health affected as well.

What’s more, it’s an issue that has larger ramifications for the organisation as the whole. The disruption caused by bullies to work can often cost a company good money to recruit, hire and train a new employee to replace a harassed worker. And while bullying incidents might seem trivial on their own, their cumulative effect can often end up wrecking careers, and personal lives as well.

So what do you do if you’re a victim of bullying in your workplace? Here are some suggestions:

Stay calm

The path of least resistance never works when confronted with an office bully. But neither does out-and-out aggression. So, at any stage, stay calm and don’t lose your cool. Don’t shout/cry /threaten or show any kind of weakness. That’s often what bullies are trying to provoke you into. Your aggressive retaliation could be used to run the tide against you by the bully.

Don’t give in to bullying tactics

Don’t let the bully intimidate you or make you feel bad about yourself. Carry on with your work as usual and perform to the very best of your ability. Your performance will speak for itself. Remember the bully is looking to undermine you and your work, and when you do well, his/her entire purpose is defeated.

Reach out to someone

Take the advice of a trusted mentor or try talking to someone in the HR department for help. The best approach would be the ‘safety in numbers’ strategy, where you can gather several other victims of the workplace bullies and approach the HR or management together and confront them with the problem.

Make a formal complaint

When lodging a formal complaint, let it cite various incidents of bullying, when and where they happened, who was responsible etc. See if you could rope in a trusted co-worker, as a witness to that unsavoury incident. Make sure to keep a copy of the complaint with you.