Mum has workplace bullies fired for harassment during her pregnancy

A new mum decided to lodge a complaint after she was called “fat” during her pregnancy and bullied by her colleagues at work.

I was bullied when I returned to work from my first maternity leave, and this was all because I changed to work on a part-time basis.

I had no choice as my little one was only seven months old, so I had to take care of him some days. However, my colleagues were not happy about that.

My team leader said to me straight away, “Girls like you are the reason why women don’t get promotions. What’s the point of coming back? Why not stay at home and be a housewife!”

One of my colleagues also made fun when I took carer’s leave for my sick baby.

“You don’t work much, but you can take as many days off as you want. I should get a dog so that I can have carer’s leave too,” she said.

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A woman said she was targeted by colleagues after returning from maternity leave.

‘I HAD ZERO MOTIVATION’

Four months after I returned to work, I surprisingly found out about my second pregnancy. When I shared the news with the team, it was like I had set them on fire, they all seemed to be hearing a piece of sad news.

I had zero motivation to work, I felt my colleagues didn’t like me at all, and I was excluded from the rest of the team. According to the latest report by Safe Work Australia, one in three women, and one in five men, who claim for a mental disorder stated it involved harassment or bullying at work.

They were always making fun of my big tummy, calling me fat behind my back, and giving me attitude when I took leave for pregnancy check-ups. One senior colleague even said to me, “If you don’t like us, you are free to leave.”

I was completely shocked by that, I asked myself, “Why I should leave? I didn’t do anything wrong!”

A woman says she was called ‘fat’ by her colleagues during her pregnancy.

‘MAYBE SHE LIVES IN THE TOILET’

Melbourne-based workplace resilience expert, Michelle Bihary, says, “Bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour that negatively impacts the health and wellbeing of victims. It includes behaviours like aggression, rudeness, intimidation, and so on”.

Once they were gossiping about me while I was away. I was later told that my team leader was complaining about me, saying, “Don’t you think that (my name) went to the toilet like every two seconds?”

“Yeah, maybe she lives in the toilet,” one workmate responded.

Frankly, my goal was focusing on work then going home without worrying about anything. However, I didn’t realise that it was tough to cope with these conversations at work.

I was experiencing the same ‘treatment’ every day, and I didn’t return to work because of this.

‘THEY WERE VERY AGGRESSIVE AT WORK’

I then visited my psychologist for a mental health check. Apart from suffering through sleepless nights, I was also stressed about what they were going to say about me the next day. Sometimes I was scared by the way they treated me as they were very aggressive at work.

Just six weeks before I gave birth, I decided to lodge a formal anti-bullying complaint and contacted the company’s employee assistance program. I then went on early maternity leave.

She launched a formal anti-bullying complaint before going on maternity leave'.

Leesa Morris, workplace bullying prevention speaker and psychologist at Forensic Psychology Canberra and author of Bully Wound: A Guide to Recovery from Workplace Bullying and Harassment, said mothers often experienced bullying.

“The consequences for the bully are none unless a complaint is raised. If a complaint is raised and it is investigated properly and found to be substantiated, the penalties for the bully can range from demotion, reassignment, counselling and a written warning,” Ms Morris said.

“I worked in Employee Assistance Programs for a number of years, and around one-third of my clients were attending due to workplace bullying and harassment.

“A lot of women I have spoken to have their commitment challenged because they are working part-time and have to prioritise their sick children.”

‘I RECEIVED A CALL FROM HUMAN RESOURCES’

When my second child was two weeks old, I finally received a call from the human resources department to participate in the settlement with work.

In the end, all bullies received official warnings, and some were dismissed due to inappropriate comments and behaviour. Moreover, I was offered a different job in a new department when I returned to work for the second time.

I don’t for a second think that I was the first person to be bullied at that workplace, and I’m sure I won’t be the last one. If we don’t speak up, there is never a ‘solution’ for us to be freed from the bullies.

Through my experience, I put together some tips for dealing with bullies:

•Stop playing the victim and learn to deal with the situation.

•Avoid getting emotional.

•Document the behaviour, start writing things down, when, where, who, and how often.

•Contact the Fair Work Commission or employee assistance for help.

•Lodge a formal complaint or raise a request to protect yourself if needed.

•If your colleagues don’t facilitate sick leave, carer’s leave, and matters relating to women’s pregnancy, it is worth speaking to your manager.

Remember that there is no excuse to bully an innocent person, please always say something because enough is enough.

Originally published as Mum has workplace bullies fired for harassment during her pregnancy