How To Recognize Workplace Bullying And What To Do If You Are Being Tormented

Workplace bullying can be detrimental to your mental health and emotional wellbeing.

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Returning to the office five days a week or even on a hybrid schedule can feel like an abrupt shift from the days of working entirely remotely. Workers must contend with a one to two-hour, round-trip commute. They need to ditch the sweatpants, purchase new outfits and shell out about $40 a day on food and other expenses.

While these factors are irritating, the situation at the office can be worse if you have a bullying boss or toxic co-workers. A survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute found that around 30% of American workers have experienced bullying in the workplace.

More than 60% of workplace bullying cases result in the resignation of the bullied employee, according to ZipDo, while the aggressor remains at the company 70% of the time. Only 5% reported successful conflict resolution. More often than not, workplace bullies tend to be supervisors or managers, while colleagues are the tormentors a third of the time.

Why Is There Bullying In The Workplace?

It is no secret that both online and in real life, people have become angrier, more aggressive and rude. Political partisanship and geopolitical turmoil lead to verbal and physical altercations.

Going into a major city is a daunting event for many workers. New York City, San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia are deteriorating. Americans are coping with high inflation, rising costs, concerns about a possible recession and continual layoff announcements from major corporations. For many people, they are worried about their finances and making ends meet.

With this backdrop, schlepping into the office and sitting in a cubicle under fluorescent lights for eight hours daily can wear a person down. They may feel stressed, anxious and worried about the future and project their frustrations onto co-workers.

If someone’s life is lacking, they may take it out on the people around them. They may feel inadequate, suffer from low self-esteem and derive a perverse pleasure in bringing someone else down. Bullies strive to feel like they are in control. They target someone they perceive as weak or vulnerable to regain a sense of power.

The antagonist may be intimidated by a colleague, jealous of their success and wish to cut them down to size. They may recognize that this person will get the promotion, raise, larger office and bonus and see this as a threat to their career progression. Some people are just narcissistic and toxic. There are zero excuses for this type of treatment, and matters will only be exacerbated if management fails to intervene and nip it in the bud.

How To Identify If You’re Being Bullied

Sometimes, a boss or colleague may offer you constructive criticism, which can be hard to swallow. You might not want to hear it, but it’s essential to your growth and development. This type of feedback is delivered without any malintent. However, bullying is not that.

If you experience unrelenting acts of aggression, intimidation, humiliation or exclusion, it’s a waving red flag that you’re being mistreated. Listen to your instincts. If you feel you are being bullied, it’s time to act. Otherwise, your situation may worsen.

Red Flags To Watch Out For

Your tormentor constantly makes hostile comments, insults and digs at you, ridiculing the way you talk, look, act and behave. They call into question how you got this far in your career.
You are purposely ostracized, excluded from important meetings and email chains, belittled in public with intimidating and aggressive behavior and are not provided psychological safety.
They intentionally withhold critical information needed to do your job, sabotage your career and take credit for work that you did.
Your aggressor makes threats about your job safety, as well as your own personal safety.
This person launches a smear campaign and tries to turn everyone in the office against you.
You are the subject of rumors and gossip.
They write scathing content online about you, leave menacing voice messages or stalk you.

The Damage To Your Mental Health

Workplace bullying can be detrimental to your mental health and emotional wellbeing. It can cause stress, anxiety and depression. Forty-five percent of people who have been subjected to office bullying suffer health-related issues due to the stress, revealed the ZipDo data.

Be prepared, as you may be gaslit by your tormentor. Maintain detailed records of all bullying incidents to support your claims to human resources and higher-level executives. Save any inappropriate voicemails, emails, texts and threatening language.

You may feel that it will blow over. That could happen; however, you will be better off in the long run to put this matter to rest. If swift action does not take place, the bully may become more emboldened and intensify their mistreatment of you, making your life even worse.

While the effects of bullying can be significant and long-lasting, there are options to defend yourself, seek accountability and find a healthier environment. Enlist co-workers who have witnessed the abuse and have them also put it in writing. Ask for a transfer to another department. If HR fails to take action, seek out an employment lawyer. You may have to quit and find a new job if all else fails. You deserve to feel safe and respected in the workplace. “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows—not the flower.”