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3rd rock
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3rd rock would rather be camping
 
Member Since: May 2019
Location: Canada
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Default Aug 20, 2019 at 09:50 PM
 
Some possible triggers below...

At my place of employment there is a strong culture of bullying. This culture comes from some of my co-workers, but also from certain members of management. It's the kind of bullying that whenever you complain about what it is, then it'll immediately be excused or minimised. It can take the form of public criticism rather than private, intimidating behaviour, favouritism in discipline, favouritism in work assignments, and other things like that. It's not a majority of people who are responsible for that, in fact it's probably only a small minority. This is one of the factors that led me to seek stress leave. I haven't been back at work since the beginning of May, as I've been seeking psychiatric care, with little progress having been made since then. I have been working at this company for over 5 years and it's only recently that the bullying has really escalated, or maybe it's that my general mental health has deteriorated so I can no longer put up with it. I have been suffering from depression to one extent or another for over 15 years, so workplace bullying doesn't cause it but definitely is a major factor in exacerbating it currently. It causes feelings of intense hopelessness and helplessness.

Now, I'm on medical leave for mental health problems, which are worsened by workplace bullying. If I return to work without having made significant progress on my psychiatric problems, then I'll feel trapped, like I have no way out. Then I'll have no choice but to do one of three things: 1) switch shifts to try and minimise exposure to bullies and bullying, which means taking the night shift, 2) trying to find another job that pays comparably, or 3) ending my own life. None of those are particularly appealing. I know that fighting the bullying is not going to work, because of the immense bureaucracy built up in the company which ensures any complaints take literally months to deal with, and inevitably don't resolve the problem. I can leave or endure, and I can't endure. The situation at work has definitely contributed to thoughts of suicide, because I have no job prospects for anything better in terms of pay. In general, those who perpetuate the culture of bullying at my workplace know that most other companies don't pay as well and they take advantage of that in bullying people.

I am not the only person at my company to have experienced workplace bullying. I have witnessed others being bullied as well as myself. I have 1 or 2 'allies' in the company who would at least give my concerns a fair hearing, but even they wouldn't be able to stop it.

How can you deal with workplace bullying? How do you fight an institutional culture of bullying?
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