6 Tips for the Victim of Office Bullying

There are many articles available that discuss the trials of working with a difficult colleague or a manager who intimidates workers.

Recently, while delivering a diversity and inclusion workshop, I reviewed an article with a different approach to workplace bullying and identified steps not to take when experiencing continual mistreatment in the workplace. The article, entitled “From Bullied to BullyProof!”, The WBI 3-Step Target Action Plan, from the Workplace Bullying Institute, stresses several key tips for the targeted employee, including:

You should not feel guilty for not confronting your bully
You should not expect things to get better without intervention
You should not expect that you must sacrifice your health, and sanity in order to get along or survive.
You should not expect the bullying to stop eventually
Your actions should not imitate the behavior of the bully
You should not share your documented proof – be very cautious

The detailed article identifies 3-step action for handling (or preparing your exit strategy) from this difficult environment, along with 4 expected goal outcomes as a result of taking suggestion actions. Additionally, it identifies why you should not expect assistance from the traditional resources within the company (and explains why).