STOP WORKPLACE ABUSE TODAY
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Finding this information has empowered me! I have been in a bullying situation at work for over 7 years. The bully is a female. When I began at this workplace I attempted many methods to solve the problem, conflict resolution, meetings, one on one confrontations. Nothing has worked. I knew this was an unsolvable situation when I watched the same woman manipulate, lie to, and bully our administrator. I found a way to manage getting through the day about 2 years ago using boundaries, relaxation, and support from positive co-workers. Then I was injured in a car wreck. I have permanent disabilities from both a head injury and the physical impact. This has increased the problem and has added 2 more people to her "cause". While I can perform my job duties with assistance from co-workers she now says sink or swim on your own. I don't have much hope the situation will improve, I will most likely have to quit, but thanks for listening Name withheld, Great Falls, Montana
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I worked for a very socially powerful and influential man. He was so
verbally abusive, that it seemed his goal was to make the women who worked
for him, cry. For the tiniest mistake, he would go ballistic verbally,
with terrible insults. He always made sure there was an audience for his
tirades, which made it more humiliating. Some days the very task I was praised
for the day before, he would find fault with and humiliate me in front of
everyone else in the department. Many of the women complained about him,
but because of his social standing, no one did anything. What he did to me
at work effected my personal life. I was depressed and had very little
energy to do the things I had once enjoyed. I loved the work I did, so on
days when the boss didn't come by my desk, it was a pleasure to be there.
I had been out of the work pool for a few years to have a baby, and as a
single mom, it had been difficult to find a job. I had only worked on this
job for a few months so I was afraid to quit and be unemployed again,
trying to take care of me and my son. Finally one day his verbal attacks escalade
to a physical attack when he threw a stapler at me because I tried to
defend my work. When I went to the urgent Care for 3 stitches they called
the police, who reluctantly filed a report. The doctors suggested I
contact an attorney. It seemed like an extreme thing to do, but now I was
scared of this man. I agreed to talk to an attorney that one of the
doctors recommended, and I learned that scary statistics on employer
abuse. We filed a lawsuit against this man, for verbal and physical abuse,
and once it hit the newspapers, he really got ugly. The worse he got, the
more it showed me what a terrible person I had been working for. He
settled the lawsuit to try to stop the public scrutiny. The amount of the
settlement wasn't newsworthy, but it helped me to get through the rough
time and find another job. Plus after my lawsuit hit the news, a bunch of
other employees, men and women, came forward to defend themselves also. I
hear he is much better to his employees now after being exposed. It wasn't
easy, I wish I didn't have to go through that, but I feel better about
myself because I stood up for myself.
Melissa T., Plano, Texas
Retaliation
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