Defend Yourself Against Workplace Bullying

By Asa Aarons, NY1.com

Filmmaker Beverly Peterson says her experience with a bullying boss led her to document and define the situation.

She says there’s a big difference between a tough boss and a bully.

“It’s that rogue boss. You know, it’s a lot more egregious than just someone who is a bad manager,” Peterson says. “It’s someone who is really, they enjoy tearing someone apart. I mean, that’s what they want to do. For some reason, they feel that that makes them a better person or that makes them stronger. But that’s what they’re doing and that’s how I define it.”

Peterson’s film “No Job is Worth Losing the Precious Gift of Life” documents the story of 30-year-old Jodie Zebell, a Wisconsin health workers who committed suicide on the heels of constant bullying by a supervisor.

Zebell’s story and others have prompted state legislatures to explore ways to end or at least address the problem.

“New York State passed a workplace violence bill a couple of years ago and they’re doing a huge study with Maryland on bullying,” says the filmmaker.

With jobs rarer and often hard to hold on to, how do you deal with a potential bullying situation? First, experts say you should know what to look for:

- A supervisor who ridicules rather than directs

- A supervisor more concerned with catching you doing something wrong than having things go right

- Any sort of physical threats

- Ongoing emotional battering

- Orders to stay late or frequent calls to your home to maintain control over all your actions

Once you know what to look for, you should know how to deal with the situation. Experts say unlike dealing with schoolyard bullies, standing up to workplace bullies can exacerbate the problem.

Instead, experts recommend documenting everything, including the places, times and dates of all bullying incidents. Next, they say to contact your human resources manager. If you’ve documented effectively, they’ll see your complaint is beyond normal workplace friction.

You might be surprised to find others have shared similar concerns. If you want to find out more about, go to the New York Committee for Occupational Health and Safety’s website or NoJobIsWorthThis.com.