Feeling bullied by another employee?

Jlawson118

I've been in my part time warehouse job for almost five months now and I do feel mostly settled in there, but there's one colleague of mine who is getting verbally abusive pretty much.

He's always seemed a bit ignorant even from the start, I'd say good morning to him and he'd usually just ignore me. I thought he was just perhaps a person who kept himself to himself. But then there was an incident on Facebook where I shouldn't have got involved but I learnt that the hard way, where he basically started slating the company and everybody in there, and later told me to tie a rope around my neck. The post where he was slating the company would land him in a lot of trouble, but me and another employee had wrongfully been talking about things publicly (I realised afterwards I was wrong to do so) and therefore to report him for saying that would have been hypocritical of me, and also even without my own posts, I didn't really want the reputation of being a snitch or just generally being a tell tale. So I let it drop.

A few people were involved with that discussion but have since been absolutely fine with me, but this one colleague is getting a bit much. There's been occasions where I've heard him being racist behind other colleague's backs, so it isn't just me he's abusive towards, there's times if something accidentally comes down his section that isn't for him, I've seen him throw it to the floor in anger and tell it to F off. He's often talking about drink and has a reputation for being a heavy drinker, some people think it could be drugs too.

But when I hear him muttering things about me under his breath, or I hear things from other colleagues about his comments, I just feel like standing up for myself and kicking off at him, but no doubt it'll happen at the wrong time and I'll be the abusive one and land myself in trouble.

But he's also worked there a lot longer than I have, and the management get on with him quite well. I feel like if I was to report him, they wouldn't do anything, and that he'd find out it was me. I spoke to another colleague yesterday just saying I don't understand what the guy's problem is, and that I like to think I get on with everybody I work with, but just this one person. And he just told me I can't let just one person bring me down. But in all honesty it is bringing me down a lot at the moment. Usually I would let it fly over my head but it's been going on for too long now, I'm up to eyes in stress at the moment with a lot of things going on outside of work, I don't need to go to work and have to deal with him.

I just don't know what to do

Comms69

Jlawson118 wrote: »

I've been in my part time warehouse job for almost five months now and I do feel mostly settled in there, but there's one colleague of mine who is getting verbally abusive pretty much.

He's always seemed a bit ignorant even from the start, I'd say good morning to him and he'd usually just ignore me. I thought he was just perhaps a person who kept himself to himself. But then there was an incident on Facebook where I shouldn't have got involved but I learnt that the hard way, where he basically started slating the company and everybody in there, and later told me to tie a rope around my neck. The post where he was slating the company would land him in a lot of trouble, but me and another employee had wrongfully been talking about things publicly (I realised afterwards I was wrong to do so) and therefore to report him for saying that would have been hypocritical of me, and also even without my own posts, I didn't really want the reputation of being a snitch or just generally being a tell tale. So I let it drop.

A few people were involved with that discussion but have since been absolutely fine with me, but this one colleague is getting a bit much. There's been occasions where I've heard him being racist behind other colleague's backs, so it isn't just me he's abusive towards, there's times if something accidentally comes down his section that isn't for him, I've seen him throw it to the floor in anger and tell it to F off. He's often talking about drink and has a reputation for being a heavy drinker, some people think it could be drugs too.

But when I hear him muttering things about me under his breath, or I hear things from other colleagues about his comments, I just feel like standing up for myself and kicking off at him, but no doubt it'll happen at the wrong time and I'll be the abusive one and land myself in trouble.

But he's also worked there a lot longer than I have, and the management get on with him quite well. I feel like if I was to report him, they wouldn't do anything, and that he'd find out it was me. I spoke to another colleague yesterday just saying I don't understand what the guy's problem is, and that I like to think I get on with everybody I work with, but just this one person. And he just told me I can't let just one person bring me down. But in all honesty it is bringing me down a lot at the moment. Usually I would let it fly over my head but it's been going on for too long now, I'm up to eyes in stress at the moment with a lot of things going on outside of work, I don't need to go to work and have to deal with him.

I just don't know what to do

1: get over it, you are there to work, not like or be liked. If management wont act, then you have no real recourse. You've only been there 5 months
2: find a new job
3: don't mix work and home (facebook!)

BorisThomson

I didn't really want the reputation of being a snitch or just generally being a tell tale.

This is exactly how you come across.

elsien

Jlawson118 wrote: »

He's often talking about drink and has a reputation for being a heavy drinker, some people think it could be drugs...

.....I just feel like standing up for myself and kicking off at him, but no doubt it'll happen at the wrong time and I'll be the abusive one and land myself in trouble.

... Usually I would let it fly over my head but it's been going on for too long now, I'm up to eyes in stress at the moment with a lot of things going on outside of work......

1. Unfriend any one at work on FB and double check all your privacy settings.

2. It is possible to stand up for yourself without kicking off. It's the difference between assertive and aggressive. If you want the hassle.

3. Stop gossiping with colleagues about his behaviour/speculative dring and drugs issues. If they start to tell you things he's meant to have said about you, shut the conversation down saying you're not interested.

4. If he's muttering under his breath, ignore him. The opinion of a random colleague really doesn't matter.

5. If other stresses are impacting on your life, get some help. Because that may be leading you to exaggerate what's happening in your own mind. And a few coping strategies are never a bad thing.