For months, cost accountant Steve Dilman (not his real name) endured the bullying of an older, bigger colleague at a Cleveland brokerage house.
The bully would stomp on Dilman’s foot in the elevator, staple his tie to the employee morale bulletin board, and steal his weekly Redundancies Report and turn it in as his own.
When Dilman finally reached the breaking point and reported the matter to Human Resources, he was fearful his bully would somehow find out and really come after him.
He needn’t have been worried. The company immediately enrolled him in its corporate protection program.
“They gave me a new name, a new personalized calendar, and moved me to a new job 17 floors away from him” says Dillman, who’s now able to go about his day without constantly looking over his shoulder.
According to the company’s HR vice president, the only position available for Dilman was logistics framer. “It’s totally unrelated to being an accountant,” she says, “but once you grasp the concept it’s pretty simple.”
Over 2000 US companies are now offering protection programs, according to SafePlace magazine. Some have even begun to provide plastic surgery – fully paid, minus standard deductibles – as an added precaution.
Meanwhile, Dilman is busy trying to learn his new job, free from worry and stress, as his tormentor likely wonders what became of him.
“I figured I’d always work in accounting,” he says, “but knowing how much my company cares about me is more important than any job.”
