How to Support a Co-Worker Facing Workplace Bullying

You watch helplessly as your colleague shrinks under another verbal attack. Their confidence visibly drains with each hostile interaction, each exclusion, each public put-down. The vibrant, capable person you once knew is disappearing before your eyes.

You're torn between wanting to help and knowing how to do it effectively.

Have you recently witnessed workplace bullying in your workgroup?

This experience of watching a colleague face bullying isn't just distressing – it's workplace bullying affecting your entire team. When you witness others being targeted, it can affect both your workplace culture and your own sense of security.

Understanding Workplace Bullying

Witnessing bullying creates a responsibility to support those affected. While it can be challenging to know how to help, your support can make a crucial difference to someone facing workplace bullying.

When workplaces are respectful, colleagues stand together against bullying behaviour.

However, when you witness bullying, you need strategies to support others while maintaining professional boundaries.

Why It Matters

Here's why witnessed bullying needs attention:

• It can create a culture of fear where everyone feels vulnerable
• It often leads to bystander guilt when people don't know how to help
• It may escalate if witnesses remain silent and inactive

But you don't have to watch helplessly as others face bullying. There are ways to provide support effectively.

Taking Action

1. Validate Experiences

Listen to your colleague and confirm that what they're experiencing isn't acceptable: "What's happening to you isn't okay, and it isn't your fault."

2. Document Incidents

Keep records of bullying behaviours you witness, noting dates, times, and specific actions, which can support future reporting.

3. Offer Support

Stand with your colleague during difficult moments and help them connect with appropriate support services and resources.

Being an Active Ally

Watching a colleague face bullying can make you feel powerless and conflicted. Yet providing support isn't just about helping with today's incident – it's about creating a workplace where everyone stands united against bullying behaviour.

By using MOOD.ai to track how you feel about workplace interactions each day, you can identify patterns of bullying and their impact on the entire team.

Your role in supporting colleagues matters, and taking steps to help others helps create a workplace where bullying has no place to thrive.