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Have You Ever Been Bullied at Work?

I have and here's what happened...

By Rosy GeePublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 5 min read
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Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

It was the end of my career as I once knew it.

Is it really worth all the effort?

I have always been a conscientious employee and will go the extra mile. It’s just the way that I am.

From the beginning, when I started my career as a young, fresh-faced office worker, happy to help and tackle situations head-on, I have always been a grafter.

I knuckled down and worked hard, giving it 100%. Some may argue that this type of behaviour isn’t necessarily the best. It has never garnered me anything more than always being in gainful employment and good references when I have moved on, although my employers were often genuinely sad to see me leave. I always had a good reason to leave and was never hankering after a pay increase, which some of them offered, to keep me on board.

It’s not easy to avoid office politics

Office politics among staff can be intense. I pride myself on having a warm personality with a willingness to help out, in a true team spirit kind of way. That never seemed to pay off, either. My peers sometimes viewed me suspiciously, like I was always trying to score points or ‘get one over on them’ which is not true.

I worked in a small law firm where the kitchen where we made tea and coffee was directly opposite the lawyer’s office that I worked for. She also happened to be the Senior Partner. Whenever I made myself a tea or coffee and she was in her office (she kept the door open unless she was in a meeting), I would pop across and ask if she wanted one too. One day a colleague overheard and the whispering began.

It was tangible at first but the sideways glances and barbed comments about ‘sucking up to the boss’ started to get under my skin.

“I was just being polite”, I would say loudly when I heard them whispering.

“I’m not paid to make tea!” came a terse reply, as if making tea was the most undignified thing anybody could ever do. I continued to make tea for myself and whoever else I deemed friendly enough to accept my kind offer.

Things can build up over time

This is all very petty, I know. But over time, it can build up. It certainly affected the way that I felt about going to work. On another occasion, I encountered a young coworker asleep under the desk. It was mid-morning. She and I were paid the same salary and there was I working my butt off while she slept.

I know. That’s not bullying but unfair in the sense that some of us work hard and others are downright lazy. This brings me to the point of this story and even I could not have envisaged what happened to me because it was unthinkable.

I was bullied and things were made very difficult for me in the office

I worked with a coworker who thought the world owed her a living. You know the type. Young, arrogant and inexperienced but somehow managed to convince those who mattered that she was good at her job. To this day, I will never be able to work out how she did it other than through lies and deceit.

She and a like-minded colleague of hers disliked the fact that I had worked out their strategy of looking busy whenever the boss was around, but as soon as he went through his office door, out the mobile phones came and the chit-chat began. Every single time. I could hardly concentrate because their noisy chatter was so loud and distracting. It was an office and we were busy, beside which, it was extremely unprofessional.

I hated going into work and my health was beginning to suffer. I was persecuted and anything that they could do to make my life miserable or difficult, they did. My situation became untenable as I was unable to work alongside my coworkers any more. I was told that I would have to attend a disciplinary hearing and risk being dismissed. I was mortified. How could things have got so bad? I tried giving my side of the story but I wasn’t being heard.

I chose to jump before I was pushed

As you can imagine, nearing the end of my career I had no choice but to try and find another job. The country was in the middle of lockdown so the uncertainly of the situation relating to the pandemic compounded my situation. It was a nightmare. No opportunities existed and things looked bleak for the foreseeable future. That was when I decided to go freelance. No paid holidays or sick pay and all the other benefits of paid employment but I had no choice.

I turned a negative into a positive

That was almost a year-and-a-half ago and I have gone from strength to strength, finding other freelance work and building my writing career. It hasn’t been easy but I stuck with it and am so glad that I did.

I enjoy working as a Freelancer and Solopreneur — it keeps me on my toes and I love the flexibility. I am earning so much more too, because I have several income streams, not just the one.

It is also very satisfying to be in control of your own destiny. The harder I work, the more I earn. Now that never happened in any of my other ‘employed’ jobs. Another huge benefit is not getting drawn into office politics. It’s just me and my keyboard — we’re a great team!

When the going gets tough, the tough get going

So, that day when everything hit the fan, it felt like the end of the world, but it turned out to be one of the most positive things that could have happened to me.

* * *

This article was first published on Medium where you can find more of my work, including some poetry and short stories. I also write a weekly blog: Rosy's Ramblings.

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About the Creator

Rosy Gee

I write short stories and poetry. FeedMyReads gave my book a sparkling review here. I have a weekly blog: Rosy's Ramblings where I serialized my first novel, The Mysterious Disappearance of Marsha Boden. Come join me!

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