Problems with other employees at work

Barny1979

AskAsk said:

.  i often find the hardest bit about work is having to fight with other people all the time

Hahaha! It's not compulsory to fall out with colleagues you know?!

Dakta

This must be awful tbh, it's one thing people perhaps not taking a liking to you but the inconsistency and way in which people are nice to your face can make it so much worse.

IMO, and it's just that - whats been said is quite serious and it isn't just gossip or a bit of a ribbing it is absolutely malicious - how big is the company you work for? You've already said the manager might not take it too seriously, but where I work we do have a contact line we can use for things like this, do you have something similar? worth looking into as it tends to get taken seriously...

It cannot be a nice situation to be in, and it does want dealing with.

 "i often find the hardest bit about work is having to fight with other people all the time"

I'll concur, i've not had the best few weeks for that myself! grrr... (none of you are alone with this)

Barny1979

Dakta said:

This must be awful tbh, it's one thing people perhaps not taking a liking to you but the inconsistency and way in which people are nice to your face can make it so much worse.

IMO, and it's just that - whats been said is quite serious and it isn't just gossip or a bit of a ribbing it is absolutely malicious - how big is the company you work for? You've already said the manager might not take it too seriously, but where I work we do have a contact line we can use for things like this, do you have something similar? worth looking into as it tends to get taken seriously...

It cannot be a nice situation to be in, and it does want dealing with.

 "i often find the hardest bit about work is having to fight with other people all the time"

I'll concur, i've not had the best few weeks for that myself! grrr... (none of you are alone with this)

Bullying like this can escalate and result in a poisonous atmosphere,that it becomes acceptable by the company and in extreme cases suicide, this needs raising to Management and HR.

AskAsk

Barny1979 said:

AskAsk said:

.  i often find the hardest bit about work is having to fight with other people all the time

Hahaha! It's not compulsory to fall out with colleagues you know?!

i am very strong willed and i don't like take orders or being told what to do so i often struggle with people more senior trying to keep me in line and asserting their authority.  i find that i spend a lot of time dodging them and trying to stop myself having a row with them and telling them where to go. 

i work in a team but i would be much more efficient if people just left me alone to get on with it and don't interfere.

Dakta

Totally agree, though depending on the organisation they might have people you can raise it to if you dont feel your line manager will give it its due or if you can't tell them for some reason. It does want raising to someone with capacity to deal with and I hate to say but i think you're right.

It doesn't take much to do a lot of harm and this does seem vastly excessive already.

MalMonroe

How very childish of your colleagues. Bullying behaviour one would expect of adolescents at school, really. Not grown adults.

Yes, do report it to your manager and make sure that you play that recording too. If your manager dismisses it, you need to take it higher to more senior staff as well as HR. Not one or the other, this is very serious. 

The fact that someone has recorded the conversation leads me to think that, although it does sound as if it's distressing to hear, someone is on your side and wanting you to know what people are saying about you. Pity they remain anonymous but an IT person (there must be some at your place of work) would easily be able to trace the sender of that email, anyway. 

This really is unacceptable behaviour in the workplace. You would be well within your rights to sue those gossipy colleagues for slander, as well as your employer for allowing it to happen.  Those people should be careful not only about what they say but to ensure that their conversation is not being recorded. A recording is proof positive and not just hearsay. I think and hope that they will come to regret that conversation. 

You could also contact Acas and see if they can suggest what step to take next. Hang on to that recording, it's going to come in very handy!   https://www.acas.org.uk/contact

TBagpuss

OP, s you mentioned that this is a large organization, it's probably worth your while to raise it with HR. Flag up your concerns that false an malicious rumours / allegations are being spread about you and that you are worried that this is affecting your working relationships and may escalate to more direct bullying and harassment.

Manxman_in_exile

And of course has the potential to damage the employer's reputation in all manner of ways...

Hiberth

Undervalued said:

Hiberth said:

Barny1979 said:

Out of interest, how old are these people and are they not very smart? As it seems like something you'd hear in a playground. Raise this with management.

What can management do?  Can they take the recording into consideration because it was obviously done without the consent of the people who's conversation it was recording?

Yes they can. However that doesn't mean they necessarily will. To take action against an employee for misconduct an employer only needs a "reasonable belief" that the misconduct took place. It is not like the criminal standard of proof (beyond a reasonable doubt).

It is not illegal to secretly record a conversation you are party to (or at least obviously present). It can however be an offence to "bug" a conversation when you are not there. Assuming whoever made this recording was present then he has committed no crime. However the employer might regard his behaviour as misconduct too. By publishing it (i.e giving you a copy) he may have left himself open to civil action by the people he recorded although that is frankly unlikely and there are a number of defences he could use.

What are those defences as a matter of interest?

Hiberth

I telephoned a solicitor today.  I spoke to the secretary who said she was going to get him to telephone me back.