It is relatively recently that I have realised I was the target of workplace bullying and workplace mobbing. This was confirmed when I realised I can confidently tick seven of the nine negative bullying behaviours, identified by the UK government's Health & Safety Executive website (www.hse.gov.uk) as having been used against me by the charity's Board of Trustees. The website states:
"There is no legal definition of workplace bullying. However, experts believe that bullying involves negative behaviour being targeted at an individual, or individuals, repeatedly and persistently over time. Negative behaviour includes: Ignoring or excluding you - Giving you unachievable tasks or ’setting you up to fail' - Spreading malicious rumours or gossip - Giving you meaningless tasks or unpleasant jobs - Making belittling remarks - Undermining your integrity - Withholding information deliberately - Making you look stupid in public - Undervaluing your contribution –not giving credit where it is due
Following a malicious unfounded complaint being made against me by a person with a very complex personality, the Board of Trustees failed to follow their own procedures and I was sent home, never to return to work again. No disciplinary hearing was held, a policy of silence was adopted and I was ostracised by all staff and trustees for a two month period on the instruction of the Chair of a trustees and the Treasurer. My numerous requests for meetings were ignored, as was my request to take out an informal grievance because of the treatment I was receiving. No information about the allegation was provided to me in writing and I was at a complete loss in making any sense of what was happening to me. I felt like I was being treated as though I had committed the most heinous of crimes, and yet I knew I had not done anything wrong. The stress was overwhelming and for the first time in my life I experienced panic attacks. After 4 weeks of complete ostracisation, no information, no means of having a voice and defending myself, I experienced a stress-related anoxic seizure, at which point my and my husband's world collapsed completely.
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