Wednesday, May 13, 2009

WORKPLACE BULLYING: WHY SHOULD YOU HAVE TO LEAVE !

In my Equal Opportunity Tribunal Determination of 25 June 2004, Judge Rice stated:

'.......There is no reason why Mr McKibbin should have to find another position or even be put in the position where he felt he should be looking for another position.......'

Simple question; "What have you done wrong?"

You stood up to (or are standing up to) workplace bullying. And that takes guts. Been there & done that, and it is not easy, particularly if the allegations are levelled up the chain of command. My challenge was finding someone to listen who was higher than the highest, if you get my drift.

At the end of the day, only you know how much punishment your health can take should you embark on this arduous trek.

I found a sackful of daily difficulties. Standing in the kitchen making a cuppa and in walks the bully, or one of his mates. Attending meetings managed by the bully and being ignored. Having leave requests ignored. More intense scrutiny of my work. The bully telling lies about me, in front of others. And so on.

I can only offer this piece of advice. And it is advice you will find difficult to swallow.

Somewhere along the track, maybe many years later, you might be lucky enough to find yourself in a room, as I was on several occasions, with the bully and with a person of greater authority passing judgment.

ENSURE YOU HAVE CLEAN HANDS.

Until that day comes, smile at the bully, say good morning to the bully, and always be pleasant to the bully. Don't play the game. Don't stoop to that gutter level. Do you really think the bully is losing sleep, like you? The bully is not dry-retching on the way to work. The bully is not feeling embarrassed at meetings.

Look, you don't have to go out of your way to engage these animals. But, I always remember leaving that kitchen with a smile on my face after seeing him squirm as I stood there smiling & saying good morning.

I guarantee, on a daily basis you are NOT going to score points. This is why you must THINK STRATEGIC. Focus on the end result. Judgment Day!

And focus on the ladder you will have to climb. For example, when I went to the Equal Opportunity Commission the first question was '......have you spoken to HR in the Attorney-General's Department....'. Don't try to reach for the top rung first. You do need to follow whatever processes are in place, whether you think they work or not.

In doing this, set time frames for each step. You don't want this to drag on for years as in my case. I wish I knew then what I know now. In every piece of correspondence request a reply by a particular date, and state quite clearly your intention to escalate should a response not be forthcoming. And don't expect quick fixes!

Make sure you have a documented medical history assuming, of course, the bullying is affecting your health.

KEEP A DAILY JOURNAL.

This is gold in a Court of Law.

If your brain and your body are suffering to the point where depression sets in, get the hell out. Better to be a living witness than a dead combatant!

Cheers.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you Rob. Fantastic to speak with you yesterday about my problems in my department. The trouble with my counsellor is she has never been bullied though she means well. Will just look him in the eye and smile. IM NOT GOING ANYWHERE.Time we all stood up to these terrible people.

Daniel Hill said...

It is not only workmates that are being threatened and bullied by agents within the Public Trustee. I have evidence of the Public Trustee colluding with the Guardianship Board in order to secure properties for a fat government profit. How do you think the Trustee got hold of over $1,000,000,000 of other people’s estates in the first place? Few people willingly utilise the Trustee anymore; everyone knows they are corrupt, treating families as an inconvenience. Poor and vulnerable people are being sent before the Guardianship Board where they are physically threatened and verbally assaulted in order to ensure the government's arbitrary stamp of approval for their complete legal and financial dispossession. Essentially, the government is aggressively stealing properties from those most vulnerable, the elderly and mentally infirmed, so they may liquidate the asset (sell to their developer mates) and derive an income from investing the funds. Whatever is left over will eventually be received by the (homeless) family.

Anonymous said...

It is wicked that the bully can stay and the person bullied is eased out. Disgusting. And that cannot happen unless a CEO turns a blind eye to the injustice of it all. The CEO and those below her or him have nothing but the lowest standards possible of managing peoplem,in that case.
Life is not just, And I cannot believe tnat justice will prevail. All I see are wicked wicked people turning their face against the problem. Maybe there needs to be a register of Toxic workplaces so good people can avoid them. Management would hate it. But if people were prepared to put their votes in, then it is their opinion and maybe such a register would be good for school leavers to see where to Not apply to work there