Hi, I'm new and would appreciate some advice. I'll try and keep things as brief as I can as this could be potentially outing.
I'm a long term temporary employee in the public sector doing a slightly different job to what I'm used to. I was taken on not long after my father died and was still raw with grief but needed to get back to work as I'd been living on savings, etc. for months to ensure I was there at the end, plus my toxic previous role heaped more pressure on me so I resigned citing his end of life care as my reason for leaving.
Anyhow I was buddied up with a rather abrasive woman who made me feel uncomfortable from the word go. i put it down to my own sensitivities, being new and awkward, etc. and tried to get on with things anyway. But over time there have been various barbs, snide comments, etc. I was definitely made to feel I shouldn't ask anything more than once so some mistakes were made. I ended up pushing myself and asking other colleagues for help and over time felt a bit more confident. The buddy thing seemed to go by the wayside over time and I ended up working with different people on different projects which was better for my confidence. But I'd still have to work with her occasionally and always tried to be helpful and pleasant, but again there'd always be a snippy 'joke' - 'oh, are you sure you've taken that in - is there a brain up there? Ha ha' She's not known for pleasantries but is good at her job.
Lately she's been involved with more of my work and has just been out and out rude in her correspondence (I sometimes work in a different site). Nitpicking at how I word my emails (which many of my project contacts like) and telling me in a schoolmarm fashion to take more care in future even though there was nothing confidential in, etc.
I'm naturally a quiet person and was pretty much singled out by her as an easy target, it seems. I'm also not local and I'm plus sized - her and another colleague have often been heard discussing dieting and weight within my earshot. Plus her and my line manager are quite pally. I'm not mega popular as I'm seen to be in my shell (errr, grief does that) but overall there isn't a problem with my actual work.
In one of my regular meetings with my manager when I've been given praise for helping colleagues, etc. I jokingly remarked that are you sure this is the case because someone (I didn't name her) seems to think I'm not pulling my weight, etc. I never pursued anything as I thought it might make me look weak, etc. but I'm fed up as it's all starting again. I spoke to ACAS and HR and yes, I'm being bullied. It doesn't matter that I'm a temp, it's bullying.
I'm going to bring this up with my manager tomorrow and print off some correspondence but I'm not sure it's even worth it. I'd leave but the job situation at the moment seems dire - even other temp roles aren't forthcoming. I don't know what more to do as my mental health is suffering.
Sorry, that was an essay. WWYD?