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Bullies have graduated from the schoolyard to the workplace, and they’re haranguing employees the world over.
It’s an uncomfortable situation most of us hoped to leave behind in childhood, but no such luck—toxic peers can and do have a huge impact on office culture. About 30% of U.S. adults suffer from abusive misconduct at work, and 66% say they’re aware of bullying at their jobs, according to a 2021 survey from the Workplace Bullying Institute, a U.S. consulting company. But there are ways for employees to advocate for themselves.
Fortune spoke with workplace professionals, management professors, and career experts about how workers should handle bullying at the office. They zeroed in on four steps to confront toxic peers: Employees being harassed should be direct with the offender, lean on managers and coworkers as allies, document every instance of bullying, and go to HR if the issue is discriminatory, physical, or failing to get resolved.
“When facing a rude, aggressive, or mean coworker, it's important for employees to remain calm and professional, avoiding emotional reactions that might escalate the situation,” Daniel Grace, director of international HR consulting at IRIS Software Group, tells Fortune.
But a one-on-one with the culprit may not move the needle—and all experts agree it’s wise for workers to create a paper trail about the harassment they experience. Logging the dates, times, and toxic behaviors will be essential in proving their case to higher-ups if things don’t turn around.
“If you feel bullied or targeted, my first advice is to document it in detail. The faintest ink is more reliable than the sharpest memory,” Andrew McCaskill, a career expert at LinkedIn, tells Fortune. “If you resolve the issue, you don’t need your notes on what was said or copies of emails or quotes from messenger exchanges. But if a resolution becomes complicated, you’ll be thankful that you took notes.”
Employees facing toxic behavior can also lean on others as a support system. Bullying at the workplace is often public, and colleagues are bound to pick up on it. Managers and coworkers who may be bystanders in the situation should take a stand against the harassment. Brianna Caza, associate professor of management at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, tells Fortune having a culture of accountability is key in weeding out bad apples.
“Coworkers can definitely interrupt bullying in the moment,” she says. “If you are in a boardroom where somebody is being treated unfairly and they feel uncomfortable because of the treatment that they're receiving, being able to stand up for that person or correct it in the moment is really important.”
You can read more on workplace bullying and ways to stop the harassment here.
Emma Burleigh
emma.burleigh@fortune.com
