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Workplace Bullying, Part Two

Workplace Bullying

Revenue Agent
IRS
Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:02 AM

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I too was a victum of being bullied in my office. I did not want to collaborate with other co-workers to get rid of an acting manager and other agents made it difficult to work in my office.

When I tried to address a situation, I was then accused of threathen another employee. What recourse do I have in this situation?

Re: Workplace Bullying

Analyst
IRS
Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:49 AM
Always keep in mind that TIGTA is NOT IRS management. I too was a victim of a very abusive supervisor. Document, document, and document...every e-mail, every nasty voice mail...all was saved and turned over to TIGTA since upper management wouldn't lift a finger. I also saved everything that was sent to upper management. Well, both my manager and her manager are manager's no more. While the TIGTA investigation took some time, they found my complaint valid and that both manager violated numerous rules and regulations. Never give up and don't be afraid of TIGTA.

One Step beyond yours

Project Manage
DoD
Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:08 AM

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Do unto other as you would have them do unto you

author

The Son of God

Re: One Step beyond yours

Fed Peasant
DOD
Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:45 AM
Project Manage DoD:
You are likely to become a speed bump & road kill.

It's Hard to Get Management to Act Against Bullies

Paralegal Specialist
United States Postal Service
Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:27 AM

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I was bullied, by a lower-level employee who was assigned to support me in a task that she had originally been led to believe would be hers alone. She delayed performing her duties, then submitted sub-standard work that I had to either redo myself or give back to her to correct, entailing additional delays. When I asked the status of a task, she would argue and/or tell me to do it myself. If I did the work myself, she would bawl me out, as if she were the primary and I the secondary; it was total role reversal, but I did not have hire/fire authority over her. She was trying to sabotage the entire assignment. When I complained to my boss, she was unresponsive; she thought it was a simple personality conflict. My health was suffering, and I dreaded going to work. Finally, the big boss saw me crying one morning and made the mistake of asking me how I was doing. Only then were the duties separated, so that she and I did not have to work together. The bully left soon afterward.

EAP is terrific

Program and Mangement Assistant
DON
Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:40 AM

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I have been bullied and harrassed on my job at two Navy Commands. My complaints at the first got me chewed out by upper civilian HR management and two visits from the next folks up at HR who basically supported my supervisor in that I not only had to grin and bear any and all abuse, but I had not rights (including civil rights) whatsoever. I was solely at fault.
I moved to another totally different Navy Command and pretty much had similar issues; until my boss told me I was crazy and to call EAP. The EAP counselor went through channels and my supervisor and his supervisor began treating me better for a while. My next call to EAP (because I didn't know who else to call) brought more change in management. I have joined the union and have made solid strides in learning to deal with bullies, creeps, and perverts. Not too many people hassle me now; but I know I won't ever get promoted here. But at least I feel better coming to work every day.

Bullying in the workplace by Steve Oppermann

I take it no longer
Department of the Army
Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:18 AM

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I too was bullied at the work place. When, one day, I had had enough of being called names, told I was worthless and hounded about my every action. I reported and showed documented facts to the EEO. I was determined, no matter what, to stand up for myself. The matter was settled as the chain of command saw I meant busness no matter what the cost. I did and will not look for another job as Mr. Oppermann suggested. It is one of the worst mistakes a person can make....you should never quit. Instead, get a lawyer and show them you mean business. Write both your congressperson and senator. GO BACK AFTER THE BULLY!! Never stop. Even when you leave your present work. Keep on...go after them. If you are honest, a person of character and integrity and you are truly being bullied, you will win.

Re: Bullying in the workplace by Steve Oppermann

Worker Bee
DOJ
Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:16 AM
I did all the things Oppermann suggested first. The abuse only got worse. Finally, I did what you did: hired an attorney and filed suit. It took seven years and thousands of dollars, and I endured much more abuse during the process, but in the end, I prevailed. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. To anyone who is considering this path, I would warn that management will circle the wagons and do all in their power to discredit anyone who takes this action. And politics being what it is, most likely those same people will remain in management positions. Still, there is something immensely gratifying to standing up against a bully.

Re: Bullying in the workplace by Steve Oppermann

Frustrated Fed
United States Marshals Service
Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:28 AM
Sorry that I cannot agree with you. I was bullied for 2 yrs in retaliation for addressing a fraudulent leave situation involving my supervisor and his boss. They determined I had to be removed. They wrote me up for unbelievable things that did not even involve me. One such instance, I was on annual leave but was accused of allowing a prisoner to be released. I was told nothing could be done until I was terminated. I received a poor performance rating and they hammered away at me until I could take no more. Went on medical leave at the advice of my doctor. After several months off, I was terminated due to "unavailability". I contacted my congressman and he made several inquiries, but to no avail. I was told by several attorneys that this would cost me $30,000-$40,000 to take to MSPB. Having not worked for several months, I did not have the money. The govt. doesn't provide any assistance for employees, just mgmt. By the way, I had 29 yrs fed service, 2 yrs from retirement.

Re: Bullying in the workplace by Steve Oppermann

N/A
DOJ
Thu Mar 19, 2009 2:35 PM
Government hiring practices (being forced to promote "unqualified" individuals) has totally screwed things up. These individuals (knowing that they are unqualified) have an "inferiority" complex...a "chip on their shoulder" and have to bully you (which knowingly they can get away with) in order to try and make everyone around them look bad. I had a supervisor that had a meeting when he/she took over and the first words out of his/her mouth was, "so, you are all wondering, how can I be the supervisor of this department"...we didn't hear, "hey, I am happy to be part of the department, looking forward to working with all of you, blah, blah, blah. We all looked at each other and had a puzzled look on our face like, "what the h*ll is this all about?". As you probably already know, he/she has proceeded to bully everyone because of his/her inferiority complex.

There is an easy way to stop "workplace bullying" and that is to just hire "QUALIFIED" people for each position.

WAKE UP!

Bullying

Progam Anlayst
HHS
Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:35 AM

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Most of these supervisor bullies are really cowards. They bring their home problems to work and take their frustrations out on their employees. They use the fear of your losing your job to continue with this behavior. Senior management ignores the complaints because they don’t want to deal with it and going to EEO and HR usually does NOTHING about the situation. Most people just deal with it and try to find a new job. A few years ago a friend of mines waited by his supervisor’s car after work and had a respectful face to face conversation. Surprisingly, he did not have anymore problems with that coward. Not saying this is the way to go, but always remember that most bullies “are” usually cowards and use their authority to hide it. It’s a shame that the Federal Government does not take this seriously like they should, but the people who can really make a difference is senior management too.

Bullying and confronting the bully manager

Labor Relations Manager
Retired DoD/USCUstoms/FAA/USAF
Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:02 PM

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Many employees are afraid to confront a manager who demonstrates bully tactics: name calling, verbal and physical assault (and sexual and other forms of harassment) are clearly violations of workplace violence and law and any effective HR staff will engage senior mgmt to discipline the manager. Same goes for similar behavior by a coworker. If you have put senior mgmt on notice of the details (in writing by email w/cc to chain of command) and if mgmt fails to take appropriate action (it's a process--an investigation and either discipline or no discipline based on fact), call the Inspector General of the agency, MSPB and EEOC for guidance and jurisdiction of your issue. The union grievance procedure is helpful but mgmt will do an investigation to get the facts anyway, so I am not recommending filing a grievance under the NGP. You may elect the union rep to represent you in EEOC proceedings.

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