Better to Leave Than Stay

Underlying any discussion about workplace bullying is the basic question about whether to stay in the toxic work environment or leave. There are pros and cons of each. After much thought and reflection on the matter, I believe the best response is to leave. Some argue that the target of the bullying should stay as a showing that they will not be intimidated and bullied out of their job. Others argue that the target should leave and put it behind them as quickly as possible, before anymore emotional damage is done to the target (including increased stress, undermining of self-esteem, medical problems, etc.).

Ben Glass, author of Great Legal Marketing, Inc., wrote recently "all winners are accomplished quitters in that they have perfected the art of quitting everything that is holding them back from whatever it is they’ve set out to do." I thought this was a perfect quote for the readers of this blog. Indeed it illustrates my point well. Just because a bully's target "quits" his or her job, they are not really "quitters," rather the person is acting in his or her best interest. The person is actually acting in favor of furthering his or her personal and professional goals. A bully is a setback in everyone's life. As working professionals, we sought our jobs for many reasons, such as to pursue our passion, as a stepping stone toward a great professional goal, and so on. One of those goals was not to become the target of a bully.

So rest assured that if you chose to leave your toxic work environment behind you, rather than tough it out, you have one more reason to add to your list of mental reassurances that you did the right thing. You are a winner. You quit something that was holding you back from blossoming into your full personal and professional self. The longer you stay, the longer that you delay the recovery period and possibly regret or self-blame for not having responded as you believe you should have or as you believe would have been able to stop the behavior. A bully usually just must have his or her way. Let the bully sit in his or her self-responsibility, no matter what the outcome of that will be. In the meantime, you have moved on to brighter and better things!