Overcoming bullies at work place

You impressed in the interview room and you have just signed the contract to begin your career. You think it was the hardest step?

When Monday comes, you want to put the best foot forward. Ambitions are chocking you and all you want is to be that dependable player –the one to score the winning goal for the team. But it is not going to be that easy.

Within your first week, you have met people and made a thousand and one introductions. But they still don’t know you. Already, there are those who think you have a wrong name. At least a few don’t like your face and still there are those who get irritated by your walking style.

Wait until the second week and someone will have described your work as ”bullshit” and another one cemented it by reminding you that your skills are too wanting. Do you still have the energy to play on?

This is the picture in almost all work environments. They are full of people who have perfected the art of crushing the dreams of starters. They can cause more atrocities than those from form one bullies. They have been in the organization for long and you are not going to remove them- are you? Your dreams are too nagging to let you postpone them- will you? In your CV, you said you had attributes like resilience, teamwork and result-oriented.

You are now standing at a make or break point. You are burnt out. But turning back can never be the option. It can get worse if you lack a career mentor but still, bowing out is not a choice. Tomorrow you must take a step. After all, your CV says you are creative.

Putting the whole matter into correct perspective can help salvage one’s strength. Accepting that you are in the hands of bullies can be liberating. Acknowledging that there are a few people who genuinely want you to succeed can help you stop looking at everyone suspiciously. And believing that you are talented and can add value to the organization will help you keep your eyes on the goal.

Bullies are people who look at new employees’ strength as a threat. They want new workers to do it their way and not for the good of the organization. It is a group of workers who believe that the only way to keep their stars shining is to put off other people’s stars. After all, bullies’ stars aren’t that bright!

New workers will have to dust their feet and rise again. At this moment, talent management structures in the organization can be handy. New workers have to be clear on who they are reporting to and what their roles are. Without that, they will be like ships without radars and will just wobble towards some unknown destinations. There is nothing as disturbing as waking up not having a rough picture of how your day will be.

New workers must look for a mentor- someone who knows their dreams, means well and derives joy in seeing new workers succeed, one who can take some bullets for new employees to protect their dreams.

The world has a deficit of such men and women with a big heart but it is no excuse starting a career without one. Unless someone doesn’t mind having their dreams bruised. Mentors have walked through the journey that you want to start now and will tell you when to engage gears.

You need someone to provide a shoulder to lean on. If you have been used to being busy and taking instructions from yourself, the going is always tough- sometimes you are not going to be given anything to do or sometimes you will be given the least valuable task to do. At the end of the day, the new worker is tired yet has not really done much for the day.

This is the time to let bullies know that you have a potential. The little work you are assigned, do it in a big way. The results of any work in an organization are not for the bullies but for the good of the entire organization. Even substitute players have on many occasions come from the bench to turn around the result of the team.

Dreams may be hard to follow but one must guard against anyone taking them away from them.