Career Advice

Usually when we hear the word bully we think of children at school and how other kids might be picking on them and teasing them. However, it doesn’t matter age you are because there will always be bullies to deal with in your life. When it comes to the bullies that we face at work it can be a little more complicated to deal with.

Both men and women can be the bully and can be bullied -but you will find that 80% of the victims are women. Unfortunately bullies in the work place is more common then most people realize and they can be your co-worker to your boss.

This can have a toll on your health and it can cause depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress syndromes. Workplace bullying is two times more prevalent than sexual harassment,” says Gary Namie, Ph.D., research director and president of the Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute in Washington State.

In order to put a stop to things you first need to confront the bully. This is going to be hard and you might need to muster up a lot of courage for this - but you need to tell them (in a nice tone) that they need to back off and let you do your job. It may not work - but it is always a good effort to try.

If that doesn’t work, you may have to go to Human Resources or Management and expose the problem. Let them know that it is affecting both yours and the Bully’s work. Research your options; maybe take a few days off. Review other ways of dealing with it, such as internal company policies or legal actions that can be taken.