Bullying in the workplace. What else can we do?

[SadieSunshine]

I have reached the point where I can't really take what's happening anymore.

My boss is being unreasonable, unpredictable and giving out conflicting messages.

For instance, my colleague had a test which had to be completed last week, she came in early to do it but was still told off for using the computer. When she said that it had to be done he wheeled her chair (with her still sitting on it) to our reception hall and told her to get on with her job.

He told me to get off the computer (I was preparing for my appraisal which I was about to go into) and get downstairs to sell. I said that I had to prepare for this and he told me I didn't then proceeded to tell me "you just don't get it, do you Sadie? You just don't get it"

I can't really see how I can deal with him. I ended up crying- something I really don't want to do. He stands behind us while we're on the tills commenting on what sales we could get. When he finished "observing" me he said "Do you know what your problem is? You're trying too hard."

I have already said to him that he needn't speak to me the way he does. I will do my job no matter how he treats me.

He's not my direct manager and really I don't know if my line manager will fight my corner as all our jobs are on the line. No redundancies, just dismissals.

I've been in touch with my union today and they've told me to document everything.

What else can I do?

Anyway, thanks for reading this. I'm off to take my girls out and will be back later.

sounds awful

what sort of company do you work for? How big are they? What's the set up?

Bring a grevience, preferably in a group with the others who are being bullied. If they try to sack you with a grievance outstanding then you have a stronger case should it go to a tribunal.

How long have you been there Sadie? I agree that you should consider bringing a grievance if you can, ideally getting others to do the same, but I know you are concerned about your job. If you've been there less than a year, you have very few rights so if they decide once you've brought a grievance that they will just dismiss you, there is likely to be little you can do about it.

If you've been there longer than a year, you have some protection, and dismissing you for bringing a grievance wouldn't be reasonable.

The other alternative would be to ask for a discussion with your line manager about it. He/she should certainly fight your corner and address the situation, but another option if neither of you want to rock the boat too much for whatever reason, would be to see if you can come up with a strategy between you to make things a bit easier. That's not an ideal scenario obviously, and in principle, a grievance and suitable action taken to stop this person should be the way to go. But if you really feel you don't want to or can't do that, then maybe something a little more passive might help a bit.

Thanks for the replies

Silkcushion - it's a very big service company, one that's a high street name and one that I've been proud to work for until fairly recently.

Can we bring a grievance as a group? He uses similar words and phrases with a few of us.

My colleague has also been in touch with the union today. I think it's had a greater impact on her than me as she feel physically ill about going to work tomorrow. She said she felt intimidated and quite scared the last time she spoke to him.

Flowery, I've worked there for 13 years. I am beginning to let go of the idea of a "job for life" and have started looking for jobs elsewhere. Transferring to a different location will not have a bearing on the way I feel as there seems to have been a whole shift in the culture of my business.

I will speak to my line manager and try to come up with a strategy to make it more manageable in the meantime.

Sadie, my entire department, including the manager, took out a grevience against one of our colleagues. He was truly hideous, aggressive, argumentative, a nightmare to work with. He also had a long history of bringing out greviences against anyone who stood up to him or exposed his (many) shortcomings. There was not a lot my company could do when presented with the united front of an entire department basically refusing to work with him. If it is just you, he may be able to wriggle out of it. If there are a group of you, all with the same story, the case becomes much stronger.