Workplace bullying by team lead

[Yarniac]

(Posted in AIBU for traffic; name changed for this one.)

I work for a university and am being bullied by my team lead (who is not my line manager). I’ve been following procedure by repeatedly raising this in writing to my line manager and also my line manager’s manager. I’m aware that a colleague made a formal complaint about similar behaviour by the same person, and that this complaint found the team lead had indeed breached the behaviour policy. I’m also aware I’m not even the second person to experience this behaviour from this person - it’s happened to multiple others across various departments. I spoke to HR about my experiences earlier in the summer, and they suggested I could either put in my own formal complaint, wait to see what came of the other formal complaint, or add my own narrative to be considered by whoever is in charge of deciding what actions will be taken as a result of this finding of bullying. I went for option 3 and submitted something a couple of months back.

Things escalated over the last few weeks, the stress started to make me ill, and I have been off sick for the last few days. Before that, I was being told to hang on in there if possible, because wheels were turning etc etc. However, after yet another stinker of an email from team lead, and one from the person who oversees the project we both work on that basically said, “I’m not your line manager, the project needs you to work together nicely, and you need to follow procedure in reporting behaviour you’re finding unacceptable”, I just reached the end of my tether. I have a support request in with my union, but they are overstretched at the moment and haven’t got back to me nearly a month later.

I see my GP tomorrow. I checked my work email this evening, to see whether there was anything in there from line manager / HR etc, and there was a request to meet from the same HR person I spoke to before - and an email from my team lead, which was pleasant enough in tone but made some claims that were untrue (and that I can prove are not true).

I… don’t know what to do. Working with this man is making me ill (I was super anxious checking my email tonight, even though I knew I ought to ahead of my GP visit tomorrow so I knew what was lurking there) and impairing my ability to make good decisions at work because of the horror of what he’ll come back with if he doesn’t like what I’m doing. I love my role apart from the bits that involve him. What are my options here? A fit note that says: “Fit for work but not with team lead”? What happens if they try to move me sideways (as they did with the colleague who put in a complaint)? To complicate matters somewhat, he’s not delivering on the project he’s meant to be leading (and part of his issue with me is that I ask questions that make this clear - that’s my job, just to be clear), so it would actually be better for the project if he was moved sideways.

Help!

Can you forward any shitty emails to your line manager and stop responding to him? Or ask your line manager to step in and speak to him?

if you are struggling take some time away to build your strength and yes you absolutely could ask for a fit note that has reasonable adjustments on it. (Not sure they will name a specific person though)

Your manager has said it themselves:
you need to follow procedure in reporting behaviour you’re finding unacceptable”,
It sounds like you're not happy with what they said in the email, but you need to start your own complaint and report the behavior. Every instance from now on.

Is there a whistleblowing line or what is your escalation process? It sounds like you e repeatedly tried to bring an issue to their attention, and they aren't handling it (presumably to protect this individual). I'd be looking at next steps if HR are unwilling to resolve.

Sounds like a tosser.

Are you PS or academic? You should have an anonymous reporting system for bullying so I'd start by logging a complaint to that.

You need to put in a formal complaint/grievance.

It sounds like other people are trying to direct you to that without outright saying it because clearly they want as much evidence and information as possible to deal with him.

this is why often bullies get away with it and grievances aren’t upheld, because not enough people are willing to come forward.

I'd look for another job. If your complaint is upheld, proper processes will have to be adhered to - firstly your manager will have to attempt to resolve the situation unofficially, then I guess there'll be a verbal warning, then several written warnings before this team lead can be fired. Bullying is an awkward situation, where one particular instance alone, when reported, would not be seen by someone other than the victim as a big deal, but it's the repeated behaviour that is damaging.
Proper processes will take months, and the chances are that management will do everything to sweep it under the carpet and nothing will ever change - speaking from my own experience (although in a very, very small company with no HR department).

Thanks everyone. I am very much looking for a new job!

@Greggsit it wasn’t my manager who said that - it’s a bit complicated, but it was a person who doesn’t have line management responsibility for me or the bully, but does have responsibility for delivery of the project bully and I both work on, as well as others that come under the same umbrella.

@Quintsharkfishing I’m PS, he’s academic. (Shocking, right?!)

I think it is going to have to be a formal complaint. I was trying to avoid that as people were making the right noises about handling it informally, but clearly that’s gone nowhere. Luckily I have reams of evidence as have been logging for months. Up until a couple of weeks ago I was handling it all ok - it was tiresome and stressful, but I was keeping it in proportion - but it went too far and now I just can’t.

OP I’ve been here and the only thing I did that actually helped was to leave. Nothing else worked and constant complaining makes it easy for them to turn it on you and make you look like the problem. I know that shouldn’t be how it works but more often than not it is.

That's what happened to me. All four of my predecessors left because of bullying from this particular person. I was looking for another job but hadn't found one. I was then fired because that was the easier option for my employer - I'd been there under two years, so they didn't have to give a reason, but clearly that was preferable to actually dealing with the bullying.
I was made to feel like I was the problem for reporting it.

I'm so sorry. That's awful.

No advice but I feel for you.

Academia can be so damn toxic and political. I reckon an academic needs to do a research paper on why bullying is endemic in so many academic institutions…