We spend much of our lives in the office, and we invest a great deal of our time, energy, and drive into ensuring that the company is able to thrive – even when it is pressed up against trying circumstances.
As such, it makes sense that we would want this environment to be warm and welcoming – somewhere we enjoy going. However, it’s not uncommon to find people who aren’t happy in their workplace, often due to issues such as countering workplace bullying. Most of the time, this comes down to employees feeling like they are being treated unfairly, whether by the managers or by their colleagues.
So, how do you go about resolving this problem for yourself? What if you’re conflict-averse and don’t want to lose your job? Don’t worry. We have the solutions right here.
Seek Advice from the Right People
If you feel you’re being untreated fairly in the workplace, then you need to seek help and advice from someone whom you can trust to listen and react fairly. It is never a good idea to turn to a colleague – they cannot address the root cause of the issue, and will only make you more vulnerable to office gossip.
Advice could come from a variety of sources, such as an employee representative, someone in human resources, or your manager. These people will usually be trained when it comes to resolving issues regarding bullying or harassment. It can help to know you have someone professional to support you during a difficult time.
Alternatively, Turn to an Employment Solicitor
We’ve mainly been discussing mistreatment in the workplace that has resulted from other employees – but what if your manager or the business owner is the one that’s causing the problem?
In these circumstances, we recommend seeking help from employment solicitors. They specialise in employment rules and regulations, so they are perfect for offering impartial and trustworthy guidance when the situation has grown beyond your scope for mitigation. This includes everything from unfair dismissal and claiming discrimination to bullying or harassment and defending your maternity rights. You may consult a discrimination lawyer if you have experienced discrimination at your workplace. You may even seek wrongful termination Illinois services if you have been fired from work due to workplace bias.
Practice Level-Headedness
In a professional setting, one of the most important things you can do is maintaining a level-headed approach toward harassment or bullying in the workplace. With the right help, the situation will be resolved fairly and conclusively but, until then, losing your temper or reacting unprofessionally will only cause damage to you and your reputation.
Maintain a Professional Relationship with the Perpetrator
It is difficult to continue working alongside someone who is mistreated you. We recommend minimising your contact – provided it does not infringe on your ability to work – and only communicating when it is relevant to the task at hand.
Sometimes, it’s worth having another person with you to ‘mediate’ and ensure things don’t escalate. If they aren’t willing to accept responsibility and become unreasonable, then you need to take the issue to someone above you.
Keeping Note
If you are being mistreated at the workplace, then you need to remember the incidents and write down when they happened. This is called keeping a contemporaneous record. It will help to provide evidence when it comes to addressing the mistreatment, whether legally or with the manager.
We hope you have found this guide helpful. Though it can be scary and stress-inducing to address conflict in the workplace, it’s always the better alternative to be mistreated.
