SINGAPORE: A man took to social media to share his troubling experience with workplace bullying, revealing that one of his co-workers had been verbally insulting him by calling him “retarded” for being slow and new at work.
Posting anonymously on Reddit’s “Ask Singapore” forum, the man explained that, as a newcomer still learning the ropes, he was struggling to keep up with the pace of the job. However, instead of offering support or guidance, one co-worker has been belittling him with hurtful comments.
“I’m afraid to report this because I don’t have evidence, as it was verbally mentioned to me,” he said. “I know I’m not the fastest at learning things, but to verbally abuse your co-worker over work-related things is just distasteful.”
The man also said that he’s afraid to tell his manager about this since this co-worker is “well-favoured” in their team because of her work performance.
Feeling trapped, he turned to the Reddit community, asking, “Singaporean workers, how do you deal with workplace harassment/bullying?”
“Be assertive and professional”
In the discussion thread, several Singaporean Redditors shared that they, too, have encountered similar behaviour in their workplaces. They advised the man to stand up for himself, confront his co-worker directly, and make it clear that such behaviour is unacceptable.
One Redditor explained, “You are new and it’s natural to be slow; there should be proper onboarding to get you up to speed. Don’t back off from bullies. Either go in hard or go in with sarcasm. At the end of the day, you need to know what’s your leverage.”
Another commented, “Be assertive and professional. ‘I’d like to ask you not to use that word on me. It is unprofessional and it makes me feel disrespected as a colleague who is trying to learn.’ Your future self will thank you for giving yourself this experience of empowerment.”
Others recommended that the worker gather evidence of the verbal abuse and report it to his manager or HR.
One Redditor added, “If the workplace bullying/harassment gets too bad, you can consider speaking to HR, if you are uncomfortable speaking to your manager. HR should be professional enough to keep it confidential.”
In other news, an employee took to social media earlier this year to share that a co-worker had been bullying him. He recounted an incident where, after he took medical leave, the colleague responded with ‘vulgarities.’
“He actually was super unhappy; I was really sick, and he literally reacted with vulgarities back to me when I apologised for causing him to work on my behalf. (He does not have extra work for covering me),” he wrote on r/askSingapore.
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