Someone is secretly bullying me at work..

[Hungrycaterpillarsmummy]

And I don't know who it is.

Basically, someone constantly changes my chair settings on the days I leave at 3pm (and others are in the office until 4/5pm).
I have a really bad back so my chair is set at a position that helps it plus we all have to do ergonomic checks as part of an EHS thing for our desk and chair.
So it really annoys me when it has been played with and someone is doing it on purpose. Other things happen to like the cables of my monitor are unplugged and my mouse is switched off.
When I started there over a year ago there were a couple of guys who would do stuff like this and it happened so much I had to bluntly tell them to stop. And they did. But this seems to be a bit 'extra'. I obviously made the mistake of showing my annoyance when it has happened previously (and by that I mean by saying something like "who has changed my chair settings?"

But the issue is - I don't know who it is and won't be able to find out.
My manager won't be able to find out. There's no CCTV and no one would admit it if she brought it up..so what do I do?!

@Codlingmoths suggestion is the best one - formal, appropriate, can't be criticised, can't backfire on you as using chemicals or covert filming could do!!

I think you send your manager a weekly email, for 3 weeks, saying 1. Someone is bullying me by deliberately adjusting my chair and unplugging my equipment. My chair settings need to be right so my back doesn’t hurt (this is you logging physical injury) ... week 2. Someone is deliberately repeatedly bullying me still by adjusting all my settings. It’s very upsetting and making turning up to work stressful plus having to reset my chair all the time means it’s not optimal for my back which is sore. ... week 3. The bullying continues and this should be a formal warning for whoever is going it, it’s stressful and causing me back pain. Week 4 send the whole chain to hr and cc manager then you put in a grievance complaint and go for a payout. Go off sick while you do. They deserve it.

It also pushes the manager & HR to get off their arse and do their job. If people can get payouts for hurt feelings then a hurt back should make them think. Follow their own process, not some of the more fantastical suggestions on this thread.

It is 100% bullying and harassment - ensure you use those terms clearly and often, including in your email header. Personally I'd cc HR in from the start.

And ensure they investigate whether it's cleaners / out of hours IT people doing it because if it is it is also their job to ensure it STOPS for your welfare.

I'd unplug the cables and turn the mouse off when you leave if no one will be using your computer. I'd also photograph your chair settings when you leave, you'll know next day if they've been changed. Take any evidence to your manager and hr.

But the behaviour can be unreasonable without being bullying. Do you think every negative interaction at work is automatically bullying?

Yeah I understand what it is (but thanks for the cut and paste) and it would be great to get an employment solicitors opinions because in my opinion the actions against the OP while crappy and unreasonable don’t fit into the bullying definition for me. Not everything is bullying if it’s negative.

What pricks!!! The fake tan sounds like a good idea OP. Hope you find out who it is

She just wants help stopping it.

Frankly in this situation crying “victim blaming” is a bit lame.

I’m assuming she’s a grown up who just wants it to stop and move on. She’s said herself she sees no other solution in terms of Culprit blaming.” Practical solution to desired outcome.

This is what you do, OP. The grown-up, sensible way of dealing with your problem.

But you're clearly, from the way you've wanted to engage in a long game of yes-but ('You could do this' 'Yes, but...' 'You could do that' 'Yes, but...') not interested in sorting the situation out in an adult, professional way. You seem as immature as the person who's been fiddling with your stuff.

Or comment very loudly " Oh look, some sad person has decided to mess with my chair and computers again. How absolutely fucking hysterical they are! And what sad little lives they have if that's how they get their kicks!"

It is bullying. If this was happening to a child in school- where they were being targeted every day, and they were the only one's it was happening to, and it was upsetting them- then everyone would be saying they were being bullied.
OPs situation is no different.

All those things are certainly bullying.

Is it public sector?

I'd do three things -

Practically you can get cable locks for monitors etc, which would prevent them from being able to unplug anything

Depending on the chair you can also get locks to prevent them being adjusted or see if you can cable tie the mechanisms under the chair or lock it to the desk somehow. If not just cover the mechanisms in a shit load of sellotape so that it can't be adjusted - all of these are temporary and won't cause damage.

But before all of that, just to get some revenge, leave a box of chocolates or sweets on the desk and see whether your harasser helps themselves to a snack while they are messing with your stuff. If they do go down the chilli / laxatives route before putting the cable and chair locks on - just to re-enforce the message!

Your opinion doesn't matter. It has been clearly outlined that this behavior is not appropriate in the workplace and can (and absolutely should) be called out as bullying.

Wtf? This has been going on for over a year?!?!?!

Whoever is doing this is batshit.

If someone was doing this to me I would be loudly and bluntly asking everyone who was messing with my chair and telling them to stop, why is that extra? It’s even weirder to just fix it and pretend nothing has happened.

I would be informing my manager every single time it happened as well as emailing them and copying in HR so I had evidence of communication. They would be getting daily emails from me until it stopped.

A combination of Flowergirlie and BloominNora's posts are good moves. The camera - yeah, just don't. For most 'vigilante' approaches, you are likely to get caught and it probably won't improve the situation for you.

The last stage after gaffer taping: add a thick layer of vaseline to the top surface of the tape or whatever you cover the chair altering controls with. There's grease on the chair parts anyway, this just adds some.

There is the chance that this is bullying or done maliciously, but look at what is actually done. The mouse is turned off, the cables are removed, and the chair is altered. It's always when you are not there.

Leaving aside the chair issue for a second, the first 2 very much suggest that someone is, instead, connecting another personal laptop to use. This could quite probably be, say, a cleaner or someone legitimately there at odd hours. I remember when working in a place where every office had desks with either PC or laptop so there should have been no reason for anyone not to be on the network - but the cleaning team were externally contracted, so they were not, and the cable borrowing etc was the cleaners. They do often need to use their tech, for quick stuff or for video calls. Whether you think this is out of order or not, is a different matter.

It is definitely bullying. Your back condition means that you have a disability, so this is covered by harassment too. Your manager needs to actually manage - I’d be emailing every time this happens, and insisting that something is done about it.

I'd stop worrying about cameras and stains and put my energy into job hunting. Why would you want to stay at this place?

This is pranking or practical jokes. Its not "bullying" in a million fucking years.

You’re right it doesn’t but neither does yours. An employment solicitor is the best bet here. It isn’t okay nor is it acceptable so I think we agree on that. Where I don’t agree is that it is classed as bullying - again a legal expert would be best to comment here and not either of us giving our opinion.

Can you apply some gorilla tape to the areas that adjust the chair to stop them being accessed? Same with the plug area?

A prank might take place one and everyone finds it funny.

When the subject of the prank doesn't find it funny, and when it is repeated endlessly, then it's bullying.

I agree it is bullying. Just because it’s more an annoyance rather than verbal or physical abuse doesn’t mean it’s not bullying - it’s unnecessary repetitive actions done to her (or in this case “her things”) that they know upsets her.

But as to what you can do about it - sorry OP, if you’ve mentioned it to your direct senior already and they won’t help then I don’t see what else you can do. Other than try not to show it affects you (or even that you’ve really noticed?) just plug in and adjust each time as quick as possible. They will either get bored and stop bothering you- or escalate and do something worse in which case you’ll have more grounds to take it further.

Why would you get in trouble for this?

How were your supposed to sit and work whole day?

Actually, you might have a case if you go from the point of view of reporting that you find your desk in a state that suggests someone is repeatedly - each day - connecting an external laptop or device to use out of hours...if they are worth their salt, your IT department ought to be all over that.
That, too, has been done at the workplace I was thinking of, though by an employee using it for viewing things most definitely not in the IT at Work policy...

Yes this!! What a nobber!
I believe you op and I'm sorry this is happening to you.