Present the bully with the evidence

  Presenting factual evidence is the best way of confronting the bully. Point out their behaviour and the impact that it is having on you. Inform them that you don’t intend to put up with it any more and what you expect to change about their behaviour. If their response is not a positive one, it may be necessary to spell out what the consequences will be if they do not change. Do not be afraid to mention your trade union, human resources or a senior manager, since this will let them know that you mean business.

Be prepared for the backlash

  The bully may initially respond by being aggressive and attempt to intimidate you into a more submissive position. However, if you are prepared for this and have a strategy for managing it, you can weather this without giving in. For example, the bully may react by trying to blame you for the situation. However, stay calm and simply repeat your request that you expect them to change their unreasonable behaviour. Give them a cooling off period and continue to monitor and record their behaviours.

Take things further if necessary

  If the bully does not change, you may not be left with any other option than to take things further. This may involve taking out a grievance, or getting your trade union involved. If the bully is your manager, you will need to bypass them and go directly to a higher authority. It is important that you are willing to take things further, otherwise you will lose your credibility with the perpetrator, who may interpret your unwillingness to take things further as a sign of weakness and believe they can go on persecuting you without any consequences. They could even increase the behaviour as a way of punishing you for standing up to them.

Interventions aimed at clarifying your role at work

  One of the main ways in which an employee’s roles and responsibilities are made clear at work is through their job description. If you do not have a formal job description, it is important that you obtain one. This will give you a clear idea of the functions of your job and what is expected of you. Going through the tasks and duties outlined in a job description provides both the employee and the line manager with an opportunity to sort out and reach agreement on any discrepancies in expectations before they become problems. The employee also needs to be made aware of the organization’s mission statement (i.e., the main purposes and aims of the organization) and have access to all of the policies and procedures of the organization. If you do not have this information, it is reasonable to ask for it to be made available to you.

Managers should also ensure that employees are given regular job appraisals, since these are an important way of communicating to an employee whether or not they are meeting the objectives of the organization. If the employee is not achieving the targets set for them, the appraisal process should provide a clear and unambiguous way of informing them of this and what they need to do in order to ensure that they are achieved in the future. If you are not having regular job appraisals (sometimes called individual performance or personal development reviews), it is important that you ask for them to be arranged, for example on a quarterly basis. These can be supplemented with monthly management supervision meetings which allow you to obtain more frequent feedback on your performance and the opportunity for any discrepancies or disagreements.