Education & Career
3 mo

What is the next best step for a workplace bully?

I work in a complex learning disability home in the UK and have done for almost a year.

Since starting my job I had one main bully (side bully being main bully's best friend) throughout and most of the time I let it go over my head and used the 'treat them with kindness' strategy. From my perspective, it took 7 months for her to even start treating me like a human. Then after Christmas period (2023!) she went back to her old ways.

I only recently in the last 2 weeks got fed up and changed my bullying strategy to 'reflect it back to them'.

Within a week, I've had a meeting with the manager. My bully told the manager I am rude, obstructive, raised my voice at her and I ignore her.

I told the manager she also is rude to me, intimidates me, and raised her voice at me because I am reflecting it back to her. But work related I don't ignore her intentionally or from my perspective ever raised my voice at her either other than "I can't hear you".

My manager got me and my bully together in the same room to 'talk it out', even though the bully kept overtalking over me and the manager. The manager took the bullies side and told me, JUST ME, I need to "be more self-aware of how [I] treat people". My manager added on we need to talk to each other as we both have issues in our lives... but I hardly see how its an excuse to take it out on me.

When my manager asked when from my perspective did the bullying start, I said from the first shift I worked with her. The manager laughed and said "kept that in a whole year!" with the bully saying "I don't even remember a year ago". I was talked to like I was crazy but I was speaking the truth and laughed at for it.

After the meeting ended, the bully kept on their usual behaviour.

How do I go forward in reporting this if it gets worse? I feel like the manager has only given them a free pass to get worse because they know they are protected.

What is the next best step for a workplace bully?
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