In an ideal world, there would not be bullying in the workplace, but there is. The workplace is hierarchical. Someone is always in charge, and unfortunately, some them feel that the only way to maintain their position is to keep their 'subordinates' ground down. Of course, the other type of workplace bully is the one who wants to stand out from the herd and does so by putting someone else down.

Regretfully, it is something I have encountered at work. A former manager picked holes in everything that I did, from my calls to my paperwork, regardless of my leading position in sales league tables. On another occasion, I was told by others that my manager did not come across as someone who could cope with women who were independent or confident. I can't help being that, and being told to promote my product in a manner which contravened both my industry Code of Practice and my personal code of ethics made things very difficult. However, he was clever enough to make it seem that I was challenging his authority and being disrespectful was turned into my challenging the company's directors' decision to appoint him in the first place. .

The easiest way for a workplace bully to do his or her stuff is to make you feel like a total incompetent. It didn't matter that I featured in the top performers league tables, I was made to feel that it was more luck than my own abilities.

So, my first piece of advice when facing what appears to be a bullying situation in the workplace, find another job. We spend far too much of our time at work these days to put up with this sort of shit, quite frankly. Also, you will find that the process of being invited for interviews will act as a boost to your confidence in your abilities to do your job as well as you know you can. Remember, you don't have to put your current manager down as a reference on a CV if he or she is the bully.

My other advice is to take note of some of the stuff in the Advice to Kids section. Keeping records is vital: memos, e-mails, transcripts of conversations. However, when resorting to replying to instructions from said boss or colleague, be careful how you word things, so it cannot be construed that you are being disrespectful or challenging authority. Bear in mind that e-mail printouts can be forged unfortunately, so make a note of dates of sending and receipt. In theory, your HR Department should be able to act as a mediator. However, they also have to act in the interests of the company. If your job has a trade union, join it, because, if nothing else, they will have counselling and support available to you.

Speak to your GP: My GP knew that I enjoyed my job and that I was good at it. He was also perceptive enough to know when something was wrong, even though I didn't say so. In the end, with the manager who belittled my every effort, he signed me off work, saying he would sign me back in so that I could work my notice.