Workplace Bullying and Reclaiming Your Voice

Subtle workplace bullying can gradually make you withdraw. When people around you repeatedly belittle you, dismiss your perspective or question your experience, it is easy to start doubting yourself.

No one can tell you how you feel. You have the right to your own voice.

No one can feel what you feel

How you experience a situation is shaped by your perspective, including:

• your earlier experiences;
• your interactions with others;
• what you know; and
• your current emotional state.

No one else can fully know your inner experience. Dismissing what has happened or telling you how you feel can undermine your ability to speak for yourself. Such behaviour should be taken seriously and addressed.

Take back your voice

You can reclaim your voice—the voice you may not have felt able to use for some time. This can be an important step in recovering from subtle workplace bullying, including being ignored or excluded from a group.

I am listening. And you can listen to yourself.

How can you hear yourself?

"Listen to yourself" may sound simple, but it can feel difficult amid a busy schedule and recurring thoughts.

A first step may be to pause and spend some time without interruptions or other demands on your attention. In that space, you can let your thoughts and feelings surface without someone else interrupting or reshaping them.

Three questions to ask yourself

1. What am I feeling right now?

2. What does it feel like in my body?

3. Where is this feeling leading me—towards something or away from something?

Finally

You do not need anyone else's approval. It is enough to recognise and accept what you are experiencing now. Your voice belongs to you.

Where can you turn if you experience workplace bullying?

What can you do if the person responsible is your manager, the business owner or another entrepreneur:

1. Document everything. Record each incident as precisely as possible: the date, time, place, what was said or done, and any witnesses. Save messages, emails, chat conversations and other evidence.

2. Contact the occupational safety and health authority. You can contact the Finnish Supervisory Agency's Occupational Safety and Health Department for advice about workplace bullying. Telephone: 0295 256 808. Forms and further information: tyosuojelu.fi.

3. Seek advice from your trade union. If you are a member, your union can advise you and may provide legal assistance and representation. Unions may also have experience with situations where the person accused of bullying owns the company.

4. Contact occupational health services. If you are an employee, you can seek support from occupational health services even if the person responsible for the bullying owns the company. Occupational health professionals can also document how the situation affects your health.

5. If you are self-employed or the other person is a fellow entrepreneur, and the bullying is taking place within a collaboration, network or partnership, you could contact the Federation of Finnish Enterprises for advice if you are a member, or consult a lawyer. If the situation continues, you may also decide to end the collaboration and document your reasons.

6. In serious cases, contact the police. Threats, defamation or stalking may constitute criminal offences. You can report such conduct to the police.

Where can you turn as an employee? 

1. Your manager or immediate supervisor. If it feels safe to raise the matter, tell your manager directly. Ask for written confirmation that your report has been received.

2. A shop steward or occupational safety and health representative. An employee-elected representative can help raise concerns, look into the situation and support you.

3. Occupational health services. Occupational health professionals can assess the effects of bullying on your health and take part in investigating the situation.

4. The occupational safety and health authority. If the matter cannot be resolved at work, contact the Finnish Supervisory Agency's Occupational Safety and Health Department. Telephone: 0295 256 808. More information and a contact form: tyosuojelu.fi.

5. Your trade union. If you are a member, its legal services and specialists can advise you on how to take the matter forward.

6. Occupational safety and health legislation and the police. Threats or persistent harassment may constitute criminal offences. You can report such conduct to the police.

You matter, and you are strong, even when it does not feel that way.

Used sources:

• TEME. 2024. Harassment and bullying at work. Accessed 13 August 2025. teme.fi
• MIELI Mental Health Finland. n.d. Workplace bullying is psychological violence. Accessed 13 August 2025. mieli.fi
• Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. n.d. Workplace bullying. Accessed 13 August 2025. ttl.fi