Stand up to the bully in workplace

This post came out from My Paper (23 February 2016)
Title - Stand up to the bully in workplace

Some pointers that I've got are:
1. What to do
2. Three key steps employees can take
2. Types of unwarranted behaviour

On What to do

• The workplace bullying institute defines bullying as "repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators".
• It is important to recognise that you are a victim of workplace bullying and address concerns with the HR manager before the situation gets out of control and impacts your work. 
• Managers can also do their part to look out for employees with low morale and decreased efficiency or productivity. These could be signs of someone who has been subjected to workplace bullying. Sometimes, such employees take sick leave frequently, suffer from psychological illness and are less committed towards their job. Some may eventually quit the organisation. 
• To assess if you are a victim of bullying, ask yourself if the behaviour in a particular situation is reasonable, if that behaviour is repetitive and if it impacts your emotional well being.
• Do note, however, that bullying is not the same as rudeness or a lack of tact that some people display at work. This could be linked to their personality rather than ill intentions. 
• If you think you are being bullied, document the incident right away by recording the date and time of the incident, verbatim if possible. Include details like the location and how you felt and responded, as well as the responses of other people who were present. Discuss this immediately with your HR manager to initiate prompt action. 

On three key steps that employees can take

• Talk to people you trust at work about your concerns. Have a one to one discussion with the person whom you believe has bulled you. Provide examples of his actions that affect your performance, productivity and morale. Highlight actions that negatively impact the team.
• Document behaviours that are not appreciated at work. Maintain a record of instances of workplace bullying, detailing the act and quoting in verbatim who said that.
• Maintain your cool at all times and seek support from the HR management. If you feel that the management did not respond adequately, seek help from the authorities.

On Types of unwarranted behaviour

• Direct bullying and Indirect bullying
• Direct bullying 
• Belittling remarks that undermine your integrity, or lies that put your sense of judgement into question.
• Deliberately ignoring you or failing to respond or reply to your questions or inquiries.
• Attacking your personal beliefs, lifestyle and preferences, creating rumours that sully your character.
• Shouting and yelling at you, making threats to sack you, insulting your lifestyle and publicly humiliating you.
• Use of offensive or abusive language, spying or stalking you, and harassing you when you are off duty.
• Making inappropriate sexual advances, suggestive glances and offensive gestures at you during work.
• Indirect bullying
• Giving you unrealistic deadlines or unachievable tasks and assigning you too much work which would set you up for failure.
• Asking you to do meaningless tasks, undermining your credibility on the job and ridiculing you in front of clients and colleagues.
• Withholding and concealing important work-related information, and failing to reply to messages or return calls. 
• Undervaluing your contribution and failure to give you credit where it is due, or taking credit for your work.
• Giving you work that is below your level of competence, or demoting you unreasonably.
• Denying leave, ignoring your views, changing work targets at the last minute without prior notice.
• Failure to provide enough training or resources and denying you an opportunity for growth within the company in an unfair way.

Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big