Ask HN: I’m being bullied at work. What do I do?
This is a throwaway account.
I’ve been in a new company for 2 months now. I’m a developer and I’m being bullied by my Product Owner. I’m a direct to an Agile Coach and on top of us is the CTO. This is a tech company with around 70 employees and we are in Europe. The PO is a female and I’m a male.
On my first week, me and the PO had a disagreement during a Scrum Grooming. It wasn’t a big deal for me but it must have been a big deal for her. Since then I’ve been constantly questioned, bullied and I’m sure she bad mouthes me to the upper management and other senior people. I also know that she accuses me of being sexist (I’m a feminist and a LGBT rights activist). This week she screamed at me.
I know this person is perceived as aggressive by the rest of the company but she seems well integrated and she has a lot of pull with upper management. My team members are aware of the situation but they obviously don’t want to get involved.
I don’t discuss the situation with anyone with fear of being accused of trying to win them to my side. I only want the situation to go away. I’m afraid of complaining to my Agile Coach and/or HR because I don’t want the person in question to be confronted otherwise I think it will only make things worse for me.
I’m on a 6 months contract and I’m afraid this person will make sure I don’t get a full employment offer. I’ve been doing very well with my programming tasks so I know that’s not an issue.
I like the company and the paycheck is great. I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I live in constant fear of upsetting her. What do I do?
This is a throwaway account.
I’ve been in a new company for 2 months now. I’m a developer and I’m being bullied by my Product Owner. I’m a direct to an Agile Coach and on top of us is the CTO. This is a tech company with around 70 employees and we are in Europe. The PO is a female and I’m a male.
On my first week, me and the PO had a disagreement during a Scrum Grooming. It wasn’t a big deal for me but it must have been a big deal for her. Since then I’ve been constantly questioned, bullied and I’m sure she bad mouthes me to the upper management and other senior people. I also know that she accuses me of being sexist (I’m a feminist and a LGBT rights activist). This week she screamed at me.
I know this person is perceived as aggressive by the rest of the company but she seems well integrated and she has a lot of pull with upper management. My team members are aware of the situation but they obviously don’t want to get involved.
I don’t discuss the situation with anyone with fear of being accused of trying to win them to my side. I only want the situation to go away. I’m afraid of complaining to my Agile Coach and/or HR because I don’t want the person in question to be confronted otherwise I think it will only make things worse for me.
I’m on a 6 months contract and I’m afraid this person will make sure I don’t get a full employment offer. I’ve been doing very well with my programming tasks so I know that’s not an issue.
I like the company and the paycheck is great. I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I live in constant fear of upsetting her. What do I do?