What is Work Abuse?
Work abuse is bullying and it is alive and well in the workplace, although it is usually more subtle it is infinitely more damaging.
What are the signs?
- Excluding or isolating a colleague
- Undermining someone's work or confidence
- Contrant criticism that goes beyond constructive feedback
- Gaslighting or manipulating situations to discredit someone
What is the impact?
A toxic culture, low morale and top talent walking out of the door.
As leaders, ignoring this isn't an option.
We need to:
- Create a culture where employees feel safe to speak up
- Have clear policies and enforce them consistently
- Train managers to recognise and address bullying behaviours
If your business isn't actively preventing workplace bullying, it's allowing it to thrive.
Why have I chosen to share this post from Heartbeat Human Resources?
Well it's because I have recently been on the receiving end of workplace bullying where the Operations Manager and The Boss bullied me consistently. I was mocked, sworn at, laughed at, threatened to be pushed down the stairs and excluded totally, to the point where I might as well have been invisible. They would follow me around to hear what I was discussing with other staff members, watch on the cameras when not at work and then come flying in to confront me on whatever they felt had been mishandled. I was refused medical attention after injuring myself at work and again mocked and taunted because I suffer from hearing loss which was made worse after the injury at work.
It got to the point where I would dread going into work and wonder what the day would bring. If I became friendly with anyone else at work, they would find reasons to dismiss them and when I eventually received the operation that had been delayed for months because it wasn't convenient for them to have me go into hospital and returned after two weeks I was handed a 2/3 reduction in my salary. "Please give us your resignation so we can draw up a new contract". I refused.
Also upon my return I discovered that 35K was missing from the money for which I was accountable and that my petty cash figures had been adjusted to make it look as though I was stealing money. I sent an immediate email to the auditors who oversee the books and to the two of them. What an uproar!! I had embarrassed them, why didn't I speak to them directly? The next day I found the money hidden in a secret drawer under the bosses desk.
I was then handed an invitation to a possible retrenchment on the Friday. That was the end of that. I walked out immediately and have taken them to the CCMA for abuse in the workplace. Know your rights people, no one should treat you with anything less than respect. At the end of the day we are all human and should be treated with love and kindness.