Do you regularly feel intimidated, dread to work near a particular coworker, or you’re yelled at, insulted, and put down? Does a coworker talk over you at meetings, criticize you, or steal credit for your work? If you answer yes to these questions, chances are good that you’re dealing with a bully at your workplace
You know you’re working with a bully when the bully picks out your mistakes and constantly brings them up. Or worse, the bully gossips about you, tells lies to your coworkers, and even sabotages your work. If you dread going to work, you may have a bully coworker or boss.
One thing you should note is that the bully will not go away; if you make yourself an easy target, you will only encourage the bully. It’s therefore important to do something, and not continue to cope with it, as this will affect your mental health.
Here are tips on how to deal with bully in the workplace:
Do not let them see you are affected
Bullies take pleasure in emotionally manipulating people. They will passively-aggressively try to exclude you from an important project or ignore you during team parties/lunches. The strategy you should follow is not to let your feelings be known. Keep all those emotions to yourself and let it out on someone whom you trust. The bullies might see that you are not affected by it and they are simply wasting their time instead.
Do your best work
The bully’s behavior will seem more justified if you aren’t doing your best work, or if you do things like come to work late or turn in work late. Focus on your job and ignore the bully. Earn the praise of your boss, and being known to be an employee that stands out. This way, the bully would begin to feel inferior and gradually drop all bullying actions.
Stand up for yourself
Stand up for yourself in an assertive manner but not aggressively as you do not want to end up being like them. In a professional manner, bring to the bully’s notice that his/her behaviour is not acceptable. They may not realise the effect their behaviour is having on you or others, and your feedback may give them the opportunity to change their actions. But if he bullying continues, you will understand it is time to take the matter to a higher authority.
Report
If you realise the bully is someone you can deal with alone, then it’s time to get help. You should takes steps to report their actions. Go to HR or your manager with your evidence, especially the evidence that demonstrates the impact of the bully on the business, and file a formal complaint.
