July 11th, 2008
Office Bullies….
Last week, one of our columnists, A.B. Monk, wrote about Office Drama and the impacts of dealing with the dreaded office bully. I was hoping our sage readers would come up with some advice for her for two reasons: one - it’s common and rampant and hard to get a handle on and two, I own my own business and am a guest in any office I work in, so my recent experience is lacking.
In a search of the web, I found advice for how to handle things legally to protect yourself. Document the happenings and go to a supervisor. But what can be done emotionally to deal with a bully?
I am long a believer that since we often spend more time with those we work with than we do our families, so work should be a place we are comfortable, feel safe, and happy. Office bullies sap the joy from an office and their intended victim can have not only career impacts, but health impacts as well. I agree that you have to document the actions to protect yourself, and never under estimate how HR or your supervisor can be an advocate for you.
Recently, in an office I was consulting at, another consultant came across as an office bully. He spent some time telling folks how to better do their jobs, attempting to change, by force of will, procedures. Going to the supervisors in the office, in this case a project manager and the office manager, did the trick.
So, ladies? Gentleman Callers? Anyone have some sound advice for those dealing with office bullies?
July 14th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Well, I have been taking the weekend to get to a more positive place, and I have decided to approach the situation with a more positive attitude. I think that will help me to overcome the negativity that she sometimes displays and it will definitely keep me in a better place mentally. I think the only thing we can really do about office bullies is to take a stand and not let them walk on us, but keep our positive attitudes. That’s what I’m going to try to do anyway. I’ll let you know if it doesn’t work.