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We put out a challenge on Saturday, September 12, 2026, for members of the public to submit pieces on the topic: “What does bullying look like in the workplace”. We received 10 entries. The following is the second-place entry. Writers were offered the option to remain anonymous and nine of the 10 writers requested anonymity.
Here is the second-place entry:
Every morning, Daniel arrived at work ten minutes early. He used to enjoy those quiet moments before the office became busy. He would make his coffee, greet his colleagues and feel proud of the work he had done.
But things had changed.
At first, the bullying was so subtle that Daniel questioned whether it was even happening.
During meetings, his manager, Mr. Harris, constantly interrupted him.
“Are you sure you know what you’re talking about?” he would say, sometimes followed by laughter from the room.
Daniel would force a smile, even though inside he felt embarrassed and small.
He told himself not to take it personally. Maybe his manager was having a difficult day. Maybe he was simply being too sensitive.
But it happened again.
And again.
Soon, Daniel was being left out of important meetings and emails. Decisions were made about his projects without him. When deadlines changed, nobody told him. Yet when he failed to meet those deadlines, Mr. Harris would publicly blame him.
One afternoon, Daniel discovered that a colleague had received praise for an idea he had spent days developing.
He quietly approached his manager.
“I just wanted to clarify something about the project,” he said.
Mr. Harris looked at him coldly.
“Daniel, you’re always looking for someone else to blame. Perhaps you should spend less time complaining and more time proving you’re actually useful.”
Daniel returned to his desk with tears in his eyes.
He kept his head down so nobody would notice.
That evening, he sat in his car outside the office for almost twenty minutes before driving home. He didn’t want to go inside. He didn’t want to tell his family that he was struggling. He was ashamed that a place where he had once felt confident had slowly become somewhere he was afraid to be.
The bullying wasn’t always shouting or insults.
Sometimes it was being ignored.
Sometimes it was being deliberately excluded.
Sometimes it was the laughter he heard behind him as he walked down the corridor.
And sometimes it was simply the feeling that, no matter how hard he worked, he would never be good enough.
Daniel began losing confidence in himself. He stopped sharing ideas in meetings. He avoided asking questions because he was afraid of being embarrassed. Sunday evenings became difficult because he knew Monday morning was coming.
Then one day, a colleague named Sarah noticed him sitting alone during lunch.
“You don’t seem like yourself anymore,” she said gently.
Daniel tried to smile, but he couldn’t.
For the first time, he told someone everything.
Sarah listened. She didn’t tell him to ignore it. She didn’t tell him he was being too sensitive.
She simply said, “Daniel, you don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
Those words broke through something inside him.
Daniel finally realised that the problem wasn’t that he wasn’t good enough. The problem was the way he was being treated.
He began recording the incidents and reported the bullying to HR. It was frightening, but for the first time in months, he felt he was standing up for himself.
The experience changed Daniel. He understood that workplace bullying does not always leave visible bruises. Sometimes, it leaves wounds that people carry silently—into their homes, their relationships and their everyday lives.
Months later, Daniel walked into the same office again. It was still the same building, the same desks and the same walls.
But Daniel was different.
He no longer walked through the doors wondering if he was good enough.
He walked through them knowing that he was.
And perhaps that is the most important lesson about workplace bullying: the person being bullied should never have to become smaller just to make someone else feel bigger.
Silence may hide bullying, but speaking up can begin to break it.
Because behind every quiet employee, there may be a story no one has taken the time to hear.
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Why did this submission make the Top 3?
This submission succeeds because it tells a story rather than simply explaining what workplace bullying is.
Through Daniel’s experience, readers are able to see how bullying can develop gradually,
from small moments of embarrassment and exclusion to the deeper emotional impact it can have on a person’s confidence and well-being. The journey from confidence, to uncertainty, to isolation, and eventually to reclaiming his voice is powerful and thoughtfully presented.
The writing is accessible and engaging, making it likely to connect with readers who may not usually seek out opinion pieces. It has the feel of a short story while still delivering an important message about workplace culture, dignity and the importance of speaking up.
Most importantly, the piece demonstrates strong empathy. It does not only show what bullying looks like from the outside; it helps readers understand what it feels like to experience it.
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