blackbike wrote:Bullying is what many people now call being asked to work hard and efficiently, and not to take lots of time off sick.
That isn't quite as crass as the OP's remark (for which I acknowledge, he/she has now apologised). However....
I've been luckier than some, I suppose - if you set aside a certain measure of internet bullying which I've put up with (and which this is not the place to go into). I had an 'episode' at work about 25 years ago - pre-internet. After having worked on design and development of a new product and having just demonstrated a prototype to my colleagues, I was called in by my then boss. He told me, my work was no good, he was going to have it re-developed from the bottom up, and intended to put someone else (one of his buddies from a previous employment) on the case. To say, I 'objected' to this turn of events, would be to put it mildly: I think the stream of F-words must have echoed throughout the entire building! Anyway I stormed out of this meeting, typed out a
'back me or sack me' letter to the MD, then next morning stalked into the said MD's office, plonked the letter on his desk, and awaited his reaction.
The upshot was that my 'boss' was shuffled sideways to a position where he didn't come into further contact with me, I was told to carry on with the project, and was appointed team leader. So it looks like I 'won' that one. A few months later the selfsame 'boss' resigned of his own accord, along with his buddy (or possibly they were 'pushed'). Another 'win'? And as a postscript, a few years later I suspected selfsame 'boss', now working for a competitor, of sabotaging some of our equipment on a customer's site - if true, a criminal act which could have put people's lives in jeopardy. I only had my suspicions, nothing to pin on this guy. Perhaps with hindsight, I ought to have alerted at least the directors, if not the Police, but I kept mum.
So who was the 'bully' in this sordid little anecdote? With hindsight, I have many regrets about what happened, despite the fact that I still think my antagonist was in the wrong. But it was a long time ago.
Perhaps it wasn't bullying in the strict sense of the word. But there was certainly bad blood all around. And I know others who have fared far worse at their workplaces. At least I escaped sexual harassment
.