Being Proactive
Protect yourself. Understand that your safety comes before your job. Although you may feel hesitant about reporting the bullying, you should not wait to report a person or event that places your safety at risk. There are several options that are available to you: For physical violence, call the emergency services or the police. If the bully is putting you in a hazardous work setting, contact OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). If you are being discriminated against because of your ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, ability, etc. you may contact the Department of Labor. If you have a union, ask to speak with your representative. However, if they don't know how to help, move onto the union chain of command and your administrative chain of command.
Make reports as necessary. Be sure to tackle the bullying problem before it causes you to lose your job. Along with your report, include a possible solution that ensures your safety. If you notice a pervasive or persistent pattern of abuse towards you, that occurs over time, tell someone who is the perpetrator's superior. There's usually a boss of a boss. Even if they're in on it, as a manager or administrator, they're responsible for ensuring a safe work environment. This is where your documented notes will help you. Take note of the higher authority's response, as well as what they agree to do in order to stop the bullying. For example, you could write, "On April 2, 2014, I told JT that Vanessa C. was laughing at my work during the meeting. He said that he will talk to her about it this week by Thursday, and that the behavior should stop afterwards."
Documenting Workplace Bullying
Document the instances of bullying. In order to successfully defend yourself, it is best to gather evidence and record each event. Take note of the date, time, and place of the workplace harassment. Be sure to include the event and important details, such as the name of the bully, the words, actions, etc. Take note of the specific behavior that occurred. Despite how small the event may seem, understand that it all adds up as evidence against your bully. For example, you could write, "March 24, 2015: Around 10 A.M., I heard Vanessa Cornell training other staff on the new procedures. However, she refused to train me. When I asked for help, she told me to "figure it out."
Watch out for hostile behaviors. Hostile behavior could include physical or verbal abuse. Be sure to note the events, as well as the names of any witnesses that could testify for you. Defend yourself from the attack as necessary, but do so without building up evidence against yourself or giving the bully a reason to further persecute you. Be sure to immediately inform higher authorities of any instances where the bully was especially threatening (such as hitting you).
Take note of physical symptoms of stress. These include feeling on edge, increased irritability, inability to concentrate, inability to sleep, nausea, and vomiting. These could occur prior to having to be in the work setting where the bully works. Exhaustion, feeling tired or having low energy, depression, feelings or thoughts about wanting to harm yourself or the bully could also occur. If any of these symptoms exist, get medical attention immediately. You may need to request that your employer send you for a worker's compensation evaluation. All you need to tell him or her is, "I've been injured at work." On the forms, you can summarize the contents of your notes. For example, you could say "I've been harassed by Vanessa C for 20 workdays. I notified my supervisor on April 2, 2014, but the behavior did not stop. I notified the supervisors again; however, I was still being verbally abused, embarrassed in front of coworkers, unfairly blamed for things I had no responsibility for, and physically threatened. As a result of all this, I am suffering symptoms of stress and anxiety. My physician believes that it's work related."
Taking Further Action
Document the outcomes of your actions. Once you take action to make the bullying stop, take note of the results. These are major contributions to your physical evidence of the bullying. These contributions will show that you attempted to take action in defending yourself rather than allowing it to occur.
Obtain copies of your medical or mental health assessments. Keep these records to add to your physical evidence. Depending on your diagnosis and prognosis, you may be eligible for your state disability or worker's compensation insurance. The copies of your notes, your assessment, and any copies proving the reason of your quitting can also help you make your case as to why you qualify for unemployment for quitting. They can also explain why you were unfairly terminated or laid off. The burden of proof is on you; you will need to give as much evidence as you can in order to justify why you'd qualify. Therefore, keep your own records. No one will defend you as strongly as you will for yourself. Other items of proof are pictures and witness statements of what others saw happen to you.
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