Stories
Sarah, aged 50 yrs
My husband is working out his notice after several years of insidious workplace bullying and degradation.
He works for a prestigious organisation and would be horrified if he knew I was sending this. It is very hard when you see someone you know very well being subjected to this treatment. He has lost an enormous amount of weight and his confidence is shot. He was appointed without the approval of the person who became general manager and without the approval of two people directing the office he was assigned to. Within 2 weeks of arriving he was told that he was not capable of doing the job, he was accused by the general manager of questioning the other managers about their rates of pay and not showing commitment to the job. He was working at least 10 hours per day. Information that should have been given to enable him to perform was withheld. He has a good reputation within his profession and is an honourable person.
The human resource person then took a hand, it was this person who had been instrumental in appointing him. He was transferred to another area for 3 months, obviously they were hoping he would then leave. He was then transferred back to where the general manager who had instigated the initial action against him reigned. He completed and ran a large number of jobs but against a background of intimidation and standards to meet that were applied only to him. He received recommendations from clients verbally and in writing. He was spoken about by superiors in front of staff members in a sneering contemptuous way, he was told he was "fucking useless" in a roomful of people.
On paper the firm had written that the intention was that he should succeed. Another employee took him aside and told him that the general manager and his directors were going to go hard at him on his review and that this person thought it shocking that a human being should be talked about in this way. I think you are getting the picture here. I just want to get this off my chest to someone and my poor husband just wants to end his career with some dignity left. He has an excellent work record but it is as if upon joining this organisation his reputation and his skills became as nothing. I think there is a general bullying atmosphere in the place and that this general manager sets the tone and his directors follow and operate as a team of bullies.