Does anyone have any experience of this and what did you do/not do to fight back?

Contact ACAS in Leeds you will find them in your local directory.Bullying in the workplace is a serious issue & being an ex employer I can tell you do not put up with it.If you need any help I will gladly help cheers

I worked in one place on assignment and I experienced a fair amount of 'passive-aggressive' behaviour from a manager. Not quite bullying, but enough to keep me off balance on occasion.

Fortunately I was only there for 6 months - it gave me great pleasure to tell her I was walking in to a better paid contract at the end of the spell there!

I guess the issue is that even if you win at ACAS you're probbaly going to end up leaving the job - I for one would find the atmosphere nasty.

Document everything that happens - date, time, location, roughly what was said / done. If you can get witnesses, all the better. Raise the issues with appropriate managers / HR people when it happens.

Hope this helps.

Joe

Thank you for both replies to this thread. I'm experiencing 'passive' bullying at the moment. I feel that I am being victimised for being caring and popular with some contemporaries. I am in a very difficult position with my line manager and if push came to shove it would be me that would have to leave as she has been there 30 years! She should retire really- she's ready for it! I'm not, by nature a pushover, so it's hard for me to take the critictism and sarcasm and not retaliate. One of my colleagues can see what is happening and has voiced his concerns over this. The others, unforntunately cow-tow to her. I really don't know why as they slag her off at every opportunity.

I am too good and too kind-hearted to be in the job I'm in and it will be their loss not mine when I decide to move on.

Thanks for your support.

Originally posted by mitziwillow
Thank you for both replies to this thread. I'm experiencing 'passive' bullying at the moment. I feel that I am being victimised for being caring and popular with some contemporaries. I am in a very difficult position with my line manager and if push came to shove it would be me that would have to leave as she has been there 30 years! She should retire really- she's ready for it! I'm not, by nature a pushover, so it's hard for me to take the critictism and sarcasm and not retaliate. One of my colleagues can see what is happening and has voiced his concerns over this. The others, unforntunately cow-tow to her. I really don't know why as they slag her off at every opportunity.

I am too good and too kind-hearted to be in the job I'm in and it will be their loss not mine when I decide to move on.

Thanks for your support.

Have you tried to point out to her that she makes you feel uncomfortable. Why not ask her one day if you have "done something wrong". It may be the case that she thinks you are taking no notice and she is getting away with it.

I had a similar problem a few years ago. I was having my appraisal and a very petty thing was brought up. She skirted around it by saying that the area manager was not happy about something. I knew it wasn't true as he was not that petty.

At this point I was sick of it and said "ok, well if he is unhappy about it I will go and see him after this meeting". She immediatly got flustered and admitted that he hadn't said anything.

it pretty much stopped after that as she became aware that I had noticed her attitude and would question it.

I have started to make my voice heard, albiet subtley. She doesn't like being confronted or questioned in any way. I am now using this to my advantage. What he/she reaps so shall he/she sow.

She will get her come-upponce, by hook or by crook. I will keep you all posted....

Mitziwillow,

Recent experiences have shown me that some people can't take any assertive response from their staff because they've never learnt to be assertive themselves - they only have sarcasm and agression in their repetoire and so they're a little bit stuck for what to do when confronted by someone dealing with them in an adult manner.

The main thing in these circumstances is to not let the other b*****d grind your self-confidence and assertive nature down. Hang on in there and always remember that nothing annoys a bullying manager more than a civilised and courteous response from their staff!

Good Luck!

Joe

I worked for a company based in Hellaby near Rotherham where I was bullied daily by the workshop manager.

It got so bad that we almost came to blows, and we were both lucky not to be fired.

After a while, I was promoted to the same level as him, and although the bullying continued, it was much easier to deal with, because I could just tell him where to go, and if he did,nt like the way I did things, then he could go speak to the gaffer.

I used to think to myself that the bullying was just a part of his personality, and in that way I could deal with it, almost by feeling sorry for him and fiery temper.

Also I often wished that I would meet him outside work, so that I could really tell him what I thought of him and his tactics at work.

The worst thing was, that he was a fantastic organiser, and could always get jobs out on time, so I respected him and hated him at the same time. I learned a lot from this guy, and now realise that bullying is often a form of compensation for inadequacy or sometimes even jealousy.

Hi put your grievences down in a letter & hand it to her & tell her that the whole sorry way she is treating you has to stop.By putting it down in writing you are covering yourself & ask for the firms employment handbook every firm has one & check your employment contract that should tell you how to deal with these problems or the handbook should.I have just looked on the ACAS webiste for you,take a look regarding Harrasment & Bullying in the workplace.www.acas.org.uk Bullying and Harassment at Work: Guidance for Employees I guess you like your job don't let this nasty person drive you out fight her.

I was bullied for years at work.
Document everything, no matter how trivial it may seem in comparison to the worst bits of bullying.

I have recently parted company (thank god) with a business that has harassment and bullying on scale that cannot be measured.

This is a well known business headed by some bloke from the FA or something,,,if you know what I mean.

If you want to see people manipulated, harassed and bullied to the point of breakdown, I strongley sugest a spell of employment with these people.
What makes this worse is, these people are a household name and have been allowed to get away with it.

I'd like to express my thanks to all of you who have offered me support and guidance relating to workplace bullying. I have now made the decision to confront this person next time they 'bully' . I am also going to start and speak my mind more often and they can either like it or lump it!

Originally posted by mitziwillow
I'd like to express my thanks to all of you who have offered me support and guidance relating to workplace bullying. I have now made the decision to confront this person next time they 'bully' . I am also going to start and speak my mind more often and they can either like it or lump it!

Make sure you look this person in the eye when you do, bullies fear it. Be assertive not rude therefore you keep the moral high ground.

Bullying Online (http://www.successunlimited.co.uk/map.htm)

Originally posted by mitziwillow
I'd like to express my thanks to all of you who have offered me support and guidance relating to workplace bullying. I have now made the decision to confront this person next time they 'bully' . I am also going to start and speak my mind more often and they can either like it or lump it! Well done M,you don't have to take crap from anyone,if this person carries on just mention ACAS.

Tango2,

I reckon you must have worked for the organisation that I worked for. I was over in Chesterfield at the Rat House and to be frank it was an incredibly infantilising, patronising and pedantic organisation.

Not at all nice!

I was so pleased to get out of there. It's the only place I'd NEVER go back to to work. It's one of two places in twenty years in contracting in IT where I've seen someone get a 'black bag job'.

(For anyone interested, a black bag job is where you return to your desk to find two guys from corporate security and all your belongings in a black bin bag).

Unfortunately it wasn't the bad manager who got the privelege, but a contractor who'd over-used the Internet priveleges. The other BBJ I saw involved a bloke who's thumped his manager....

Joe