CFP JOURNAL MAY 2012
COMPASSION FASHION PROJECT
CFP CONSULTING
When bullying goes out of the classroom It was my second week in a new job. My new team was split across two locations, and I was meeting the other half of the team. A colleague from my office who had also just started her job was also there. I was learning about the roles each member of the team performed, so that I understood how my role interacted with them. ‘Just call me if you have any questions’ said the girl. I glanced at the landline ‘phone on her desk. ‘What’s your number?’ I asked? She didn’t seem to know her number, which I thought was a bit odd. ‘Do you have a mobile number?’ I asked. ‘No. I don’t have a mobile’ she said. She doesn’t know her landline number, and she doesn’t have a mobile ‘phone. Hmmm. I marked this in the back of my mind as a potential issue. Little did I know at the time, how prophetic that thought was going to be. About month later, I was speaking to the colleague who had started her job on the same day as me. ‘Kelly isn’t answering her ‘phone or her emails, and I need information from her’ she said. Kelly was the girl who didn’t know her landline number and
said she didn’t have a mobile ‘phone. I had visited Kelly’s office again during the past month, and had seen her use a mobile ‘phone on a regular basis. ‘She’s got a mobile, why don’t you ring that?’ I replied. ‘She’s not answering that either’ said my colleague. My colleague needed data from Kelly in order to produce financial data. She was one month into a new job, the same as I was, and so looking efficient was paramount. Seven months later, my colleague was asked to leave the company. Kelly was still employed. Two years passed. My role had now largely moved to the other location, and my boss was based there too, so I decided to work there in future. I was now in the same office as Kelly. My boss and I had discussed the Kelly situation, and he had told me that she had been given a verbal warning. I had been worried that she might start being difficult with me, and that I too might lose my job. A new girl started in the team. She was replacing Kelly. After a few weeks, Kelly started saying to people around the office ‘She arrives late, cancels meetings without telling me, and it is going to look like it is my fault, as I have a deadline to hand everything over to her’. It was clear that Kelly was not happy about being replaced, despite the fact that she was a contractor. ‘The new girl has got it all wrong’ she said to us before the meeting started. ‘I’ve been handing over to her but I can see this is not right’.