#SpeakUpAtWork

Workplace bullying is no small matter. It affects the victims’ mental health, morale and ability to perform their jobs. It also directly impacts the financial performance of the organization. What can you do if you are being bullied at work?

- Dr Gurdeep Grewal

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving and tuned into a local radio station. I suddenly found myself totally engaged in an interview with a lawyer named Animah Kosai who spoke about sexual harassment or victimization at the workplace (go check out the podcast). This really struck a chord, both on a personal and professional level, though on a somewhat different tangent.

While sexual harassment has had lots of attention in the media the past few months (#MeToo) and rightly so, we don’t talk about bullying and intimidation at the workplace. When kids are bullied, we react quickly; after all, it is our parental duty to keep our kids safe. But how about looking out for ourselves? Who is to protect us from being victimized at our workplace?

In my practice, I frequently encounter clients who suffer significant mental health problems as a result of occupational stress. While there is a range of stressors one can be exposed to in the context of employment such as deadlines, workload, financial remuneration and such, bullying is one that has been long ignored.

One of the biggest challenges is that victims feel they have no recourse and are unable to speak out. If someone is being bullied by a colleague who holds a superior position in the organization, it seems futile to even make a complaint. This is because the normal outcome (at least from what my clients tell me) seems to be: the human resource (HR) department or the “bosses” will favour the perpetrator. In fact, reporting the problem seems to make things worse. Hence people either continue to suffer at the workplace or are forced to leave on their own accord.

ARE YOU BEING BULLIED AT YOUR WORKPLACE?