My boss is a bully

Call her out. Tell her she is a bully and that you will no longer tolerate her behavior towards you. If that doesn't work, go to a higher authority. This worked for me when I called my boss 'an outright workplace bully'. The bullying stopped (to an extent - I still have to keep my eye on him) and even though he is still my boss (and does not like me at all), the fact that I called him out makes me feel the bigger man about it. If it gets worse, then you'll have to take legal action.

No new laws are needed, the current ones are more than adequate however enforcing these is the real problem.

Gathering credible and relevant evidence and presenting a sound case will produce the desired outcome however I am afraid that is beyond most people. Membership of a union is probably the only way the average person can successfully win such a claim against an employer.

BEAT WORKPLACE BULLYING; SIGN A PETITION

There is plenty of publicity in the form of articles, books, websites, blogs which document the fact that workplace bullying is a serious problem. Various organisations and publications offer suggestions on how to lessen or mitigate the impact of bullying; however they do not offer a satisfactory solution, let alone a means of eradicating this problem.

What is really needed goes beyond the currently available options. New laws, new procedures and drastic changes in management attitude and accountability are needed. This requires the involvement and commitment of politicians and lawmakers. They in turn can be motivated to act by the people they represent.

Take action against workplace bullying. Canvas your political representatives. There are petition facilities available through the internet which makes it easy. Find live petitions against workplace bullying, sign them and spread the word. If no suitable petitions can be found start your own.

If you are a UK citizen or resident, there are presently (Feb 2010) 2 live petitions against workplace bullying. The addresses are shown below. Please sign them and SPREAD THE WORD.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/09Bullying/
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Justice-Bullying/

help please, getting conflicting advise.Have been at my job for over 5 years.Boss bullies, intimidates,overmanages people that stand up to him.Constantly lying and saying staff think im not doing my supervisory role properly.Demeans me,has rules for him and rules for me.
I finally couldn't take it anymore and have been on workers compensation for over 6mths.
My claim was approved, I am suffering major depression, can't even leave the house most days.
No real joy in my life.Prob is I love my job and this boss has been a bully for many years and HR and management have never done anything.I have kept records of his harrassment and have been to management ,HR and other staff also have complained and I have gathered witness statements.Don't feel confident anymore to be a supervisor and am suing my employer.
Employer are trying to get me back to work in another department or back at my old job and I just dont think I can go back.Should I leave "constructive termination" and take a basic job to build myself up and hope he gets fired finally or should I try and hork with my physchologist to go back to my role.I am suing for pain and suffering,etc... any knowledgable help would be appreciated.lost and confused.:(

My boss is insane and we're fairly certain she needs meds. Almost everything she says is an absurd, trivial criticism thinly disguised as wit. This is the fourth time she's hired me--I left every other time. I left because she irritated me although she has no idea. Yet, here I am again. Why would someone keep hiring you if they vascillated between constantly critiquing and ignoring you? One thing is certain: She loves my work. And once upon a time we got a long really well. I just feel like I sit in my cube all day, though, and wait for her verbal darts. It definitely detracts from my work.

Is it legal fora boss to suggest that you should leave your job and find work elsewhere just because they are a) incompetent, and b) trying to bully you out of the job and c) they don't like you.

Their suggestions amount to unfair dismissal.

Keep a diary of all those bullying events for 12 weeks, and then seek legal advice in regards to suing the boss of the firm as it is the boss who is responsible,after doing this watch the bully melt like a piece of rats ear wax

thank you mr hicks for your message I have stuck my job out now for six month and continue to do so until I find another one lifes to short to listen to boring insecure bulliies I will get another job ive done a lot with my life more than her ive done modelling thai boxing to ahigh standard brought three lovely sons up and been married for years I am a strong person and like I said I will win in the end by the way she is assitant manager not manager which shes trying for now not if I start talking

Forthmary, I advise your son to join the union immediately. It is most definitely not the case that there is nobody to stand up for your son. Firstly the union can but most importantly he can stand up for himself by becoming Knowledgeable as to his rights in the workplace. If you go to www. worksmart. org. uk you can order a book called "your rights at work, a Tuc guide" for ten pounds. In the meantime make sure your son is alway on time etc, and tell him to master his job to the extent that he can limit contact with this person. Please feel free to ask me for any advise.

dee, I advise you not to leave your job, but to stay and fight for your rights. The root of the problem is not so much "Bullying bosses", the problem is that the overwhelming majority of employees are unaware that they actually have rights in the workplace. contact your union immediately and make them aware of the situation. Also right a letter to your personell dept. and make them aware of the situation. The retail union is Usdaw, they have an excellent website, tap on the "usefull resources" section and you will find a section entitled "Bullying", you can download this on Pdf. Please feel free to ask me fo any further advise.

I know how you feel im being bullied in my new job at work ive worked in retail for years my assistant manager is just a kid infact shes the same age as one of my sons she bullies me every time I work with her I had so much confidence before but thats lacking now not for long though she wont beat me the twistedi insecure nothing im gonna make sure I get another job and tell her to stick her jobthen I will be reporting her to the union

You are so right. My son is bullied by the department manager - which means that there is no-one to stand up for him as they're all too scared. Human resources staff are friendly with this woman and have been active in assisting the bullying. He's treated differently from other young employees in this workplace and the manager always makes sure that there are no witnesses (or ones who won't speak) beforee she pulls him down. He feels ill and has been taking time off because of stress and I feel sick everytime he goes to work in case he loses it and gets sacked. What cana you do if there is no-one to stand up for the bullied person - and no-one prepared to be a wtiness? It's awful that people can get away with being so horrible.