When I make presentations about workplace bullying, I typically make the following comments as my final thoughts:
- The purpose of my presentation is not to tell anyone what to do or what not to do
- Employees have options:
- Tolerate mistreatment and move on
- Quit the job and find another
- Take some action
- I cannot tolerate bullying and harassment and I truly liked my job – so I took action
- When I post on my Facebook page on this topic, I typically receive a lot of comments, which do indicate that this is quite a relevant topic
- Most comments are supportive – it is clear to me that many individuals around the country have suffered and are suffering from this issue
- But there also some negative comments
- The negative comments typically fall into these categories:
- An employee is weak if he/she complains
- If you can’t handle it, quit your job
- Take illegal measures such as physical violence
- Of course, I do not support any of these views
- They don’t understand that at times it takes a lot of courage to stand up for your rights