One of the points I tried to make in my book titled “How to stand up to workplace bullying and take on an unjust employer” is that employees are not totally helpless when it comes to fighting back against bullying and harassment in the workplace. I do understand that fighting back can be stressful and many employees may just find it easier to simply quit and find another appropriate employment. Also, in some cases it is possible that the employee does not have any other opportunities available to him or her and decides to put up with the maltreatment. But there are times when fighting back is appropriate because of a couple of reasons:
- The employers need to understand that it is their responsibility to maintain a positive workplace environment
- The employers need to understand that there can be serious consequences if they fail to maintain a bully-free environment for the employees
- And sometimes, it can be extremely helpful for one’s mental health to be able to fight back against unjust and oppressive behavior
However, in order to have any success in a fight of this nature, it is absolutely essential for the employees to maintain clear documentation which must include things like dates and times when bullying happened, if there were other witnesses, if the incidents were reported to the employer, if any actions were taken by the employer, if any response was received from the employer, etc. Without detailed notes of this nature, it will not be possible to fight against the employer since, in that case, it will just be one’s words against another’s.
In my situation, for example, the employer fired me thinking that every employer has the right to fire an employee. However, because of my detailed documentation I was able to demonstrate that there were good reasons to believe that it was wrongful termination. Without the documentation, it would have been very difficult to build a case against my employer.