“People who love themselves don’t hurt other people.” – Dan Pearce

It takes way more effort to be cruel than kind, and we’ve all been told a million times that bullying is harmful. But for some reason, certain people still need a reminder that being a jerk isn’t in fashion. Whether it’s at school, work, or in your personal life, bullying doesn’t look good on anyone. It’s cool to be kind!

Below, you’ll find a story that one employee shared on Reddit detailing a recent experience with bullying at work and asking for advice for what to do next. We would love to hear your thoughts on the situation, and if you’ve ever had to confront a workplace bully, feel free to share those personal stories with your fellow pandas as well.

Then if you’re interested in checking out a Bored Panda article featuring someone who perfectly executed petty revenge against their former office bully, you can find that right here!     

After one supervisor forgot to stop sharing their screen during a virtual meeting, they were caught sending cruel messages about an employee

Image credits: Gabriel Benois (not the actual photo)

Now, the hurt employee is seeking advice online about what to do next

Image credits: Sora Shimazaki (not the actual photo)

Image credits: DeletinMySocialMedia

Ever since virtual meetings became the norm in 2020, it’s been quite common for something to go wrong during them. Accidentally using a dog filter that you can’t seem to take off, leaving your mic or camera on while you have a snack or go to the bathroom, or having ridiculous amounts of technical difficulties. Any of these can result in some painfully embarrassing moments, but they’re typically harmless. Having mean messages broadcasted to the entire office is unacceptable.

We’ve all been taught not to say anything behind people’s backs that you wouldn’t say to their faces, but clearly this supervisor forgot that rule. It’s especially disappointing to have someone in a management position engaging in this type of behavior because they, of all people, should be professional in the office and in meetings. Personal feelings aside, it’s not constructive or productive to send cruel messages about a presentation. If they have critiques, they could inform the employee about them after the fact, but unfortunately, workplace bullying rears in ugly head in many places and many forms.

According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, 19% of adults in the US are bullied at work, and 60.3 million workers are affected by workplace bullying. In fact, a survey conducted by TopResume found that only 4% of respondents said they have never felt bullied at work. Clearly, this is a problem that needs to be addressed, particularly how bullying has changed in our modern, virtual world. TopResume explains that it’s easier for bullies to get away with hateful behavior when they don’t have to see colleagues face-to-face. It can be harder to get a fresh perspective on bullying as well, when many employees work from home and don’t have the experience of being “in the office” and “leaving the office”. It all takes place at home.

The employee later responded to several readers who provided advice, noting that they plan to speak with HR

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Career expert Amanda Augustine told TopResume, “The more casual home office often leads professionals to be less buttoned-up than they would be in their organization’s physical office, and more likely to drop their guard about what they say and do via email, messaging, and video-conference platforms.”

Some common examples of workplace bullying that can happen remotely or in an office setting are sending messages that contain sexist or discriminatory remarks, embarrassing social media posts, threatening messages or emails, demeaning, belittling, or talking over someone during calls or meetings, micromanaging every detail of an employee’s work, taking credit for someone else’s work, spreading rumors or gossip about colleagues, withholding necessary information for someone to do their job, yelling at an employee, and gaslighting an employee.   

If you have experienced bullying in your workplace, do not be afraid to stand up and say something. Research your company’s anti-bullying policy and learn your rights. Speak with HR or a supervisor that you trust. The most important thing is your mental health, so if someone is having a negative impact on your wellbeing, steps must be taken to stop them. 

“Stay calm and rise above,” Augustine tells TopResume. “Take the higher ground and try to respond in a rational and professional manner. There’s no point in trying to beat a bully at their own game, as it will only add fuel to the fire. Instead, address the conflict head-on by letting them know — in a non-accusatory tone — how their actions are making you feel.”  

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When it comes to this story from Reddit, I hope that the employee received an apology after the meeting and that their supervisors learned their lessons. There is no excuse for speaking unkindly about a colleague, especially during business hours/on a business platform. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all! We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments, pandas, and if you’ve ever had to deal with a workplace bully, let us know how you stood up for yourself.  

Many readers shared support for the employee and recommended courses of action they can take

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