Work place bullying

I read this on another board...

****Ok, so i'm joining the current bandwagon and asking for advice.

Long story short - work in a ver small office (6 employees) and 1 of them can sometimes be difficult to get along with. Most of us manage just fine but 1 who has been here about 12 months has put in a bullying claim against said sometimes difficult colleague. Complainant has now been away 5 weeks and investigation is underway.

My problem is that, being in the role I am, I need to be nice to everyone and keep the peace. In doing so when the complainant was having a vent via email I would reply in the hope of calming her.

I've discovered that some of my emails have been submitted into the investigation and I'm unhappy to say the least. Complainant hasn't spoken to me about this but i'm just wondering if I can have said emails removed from the documentation? I can't say anything to her for fear of upsetting her.

She has turned this place into a kindergarten and we are all on edge. She has betrayed my confidence and trust.

Okay, so it wasn't a long story short after all!!

Any advice (genuine) would be most appreciated.**********

1) Being in the role you are in, you shouldn't have been bitching about other employees , therefore incriminating yourself.

2)If some of your emails have been submitted into the investigation, then this means there's a good chance management, or those investigating the affair deem them both relevant and central to the investigation, for if you were just discussing sport scores or other such non-work related matters, I'm sure they would have been omitted from the enquiry.

3) If it's a workplace email, then it becomes property of the individual who employs you, is not personal property, so normal disclosure rules don't apply.

Is it possible the individual /complainant was instructed to hand over all work related correspondence?

If so, then wouldn't this include the emails from her peers?

4) If it's a professional environment, then her handing over 'work related correspondence to her employer is understandable...she was not at liberty to cover for you, this or withhold your emails, especially if her employer requested them from her to begin with.

5) Next time you feel like playing off colleagues, how about you say what you think needs to be said out in the open, this way, those who come to you for advice, wont feel obliged to cover your ass, the moment you stuff up and show yourself to be the cynical work place bully that you are.

.....


What you should have done was handed your superior (the boss) the distressing emails prior to the situation disintegrating to what it has, ... is it in your job description to solve work place dilemmas like this?


So, she has been on deck just 12 months, in a rather small office?


Was she the odd wheel, someone you weren't overly keen on coming up through the ranks perhaps?

Were you threatened by her?

If you did the right thing, this and conducted yourself professionally in your workplace, then why would you be so concerned over a few emails to begin with, unless they yield proof of your having had something to do with the individual concerned lodging a complaint.

Workplace bullies usually bully the wrong person one day, this and fall on their ass eventually.


Every top dog has it's day.