How to Handle Being Left Out at Work

You watch as your colleagues head off to another meeting you weren't told about. Important decisions are being made without your input, conversations stop when you approach, and you're consistently the last to know about workplace developments. Each day brings new discoveries of things you've been left out of.

You feel like you're on the outside looking in at your own workplace.

Have you recently been subjected to exclusion or isolation from workplace activities in your workgroup?

This pattern of being deliberately left out isn't just hurtful – it's workplace bullying. When you're systematically excluded from work activities, it can affect both your ability to do your job and your sense of belonging.

Understanding Workplace Bullying

Social exclusion at work involves deliberately leaving someone out of work-related activities, communications, or decisions. This behaviour undermines your ability to participate fully in your workplace role.

When workplaces are inclusive, everyone has appropriate access to the information and interactions they need to succeed.

However, when exclusion occurs, you need strategies to address the isolation while maintaining your professionalism.

Why It Matters

Here's why workplace exclusion needs attention:

• It can prevent you from accessing information crucial to your role
• It often creates a cycle of increasing isolation that affects work performance
• It may damage your career progression by limiting your visibility and opportunities

But you don't have to accept being left out. There are ways to address exclusion professionally.

Taking Action

1. Document Patterns

Keep detailed records of incidents where you've been excluded, noting specific activities, meetings, or communications you should have been part of.

2. Assert Presence

Professionally make your right to be included known, requesting to be added to relevant communications and meeting lists.

3. Build Connections

Develop relationships with key colleagues who can help ensure you're included in important workplace activities.

Claiming Your Space

Being systematically excluded can make you question your place in the organisation. Yet addressing workplace isolation isn't just about getting invited to today's meeting – it's about ensuring your right to full participation in your workplace.

By using MOOD.ai to track how you feel about workplace inclusion each day, you can identify patterns of exclusion and their impact on your wellbeing.

Your right to be included in workplace activities matters, and taking steps to address exclusion helps create a more inclusive environment for everyone.