Good day,

I was hoping that you could give me some advice on whether the following can be seen as unfair treatment and/or bullying. There are a few things if, so I apologize for the lengthy post.

1. Our company has recently moved offices and everything was pretty much constructed from scratch. I am a composer, so I work in a sound studio (which was also constructed). However, construction was complete, I was put into the studio to start work. The studio is constructed from glass, with no ventilation whatsoever, thus no place for air to enter other that through the door. There is also no air-conditioner and no proper light, save for a small desk lamp. It really does get unbearable in there, and the CEO's solution is to keep the door open, seemingly forgetting that I work with sound and have great difficulty focusing on my work with noise from the outside. This is also not regular noise, a show for the launch of the product is being rehearsed daily, forcing me to close the door to be able to concentrate. I have mentioned the issue to my direct manager, as well as the HR officer, and it does not appear likely that the problem will be solved anytime soon. It has been one month since I was moved into the studio.

In the previous offices, I was also the only worker in the office without a properly functioning air-conditioner, of which the CEO and HR officer was aware. That was over a period of 18 months.

2. In November of last year, I was called to the boardroom where the CEO was waiting. I was then told that my previous two pieces of music was sub-standard (I have cleaned up the language used quite a bit), and that I am going to be put on one month probation (and told to work around the clock to prove myself), after which I will be retrenched if the standard does not approve. However, this assessment was based on two pieces of music outside of the genre that was advertised for this position. The advertisement specifically stated "orchestral music", which is the genre that I specialize in, hence, that is what prompted me to apply. I feel that it may have been unfair to threaten me with my livelihood based on work that I wasn't expecting to be doing when I applied for the job. I was also not given any chance to state my case, in essence, I was intimidated and threatened for 5 minutes.

3. I am frequently given deadlines which no one can meet, at least not to produce the quality music that is expected of me. This forces me (though I am not told to do so) to frequently work into the early hours of the morning (sometimes through the night), at least trying to meet the deadlines, without overtime pay (my contract does state that I am supposed to receive overtime pay), out of fear of dismissal. In the majority of instances, these deadlines come and go, with the CEO only listening to my work from between a couple of days to several months after the supposed "deadline" has passed. At the meeting mentioned in point number 2, I was told that I lack commitment and that I'm not dedicated enough.

4. Earlier this year I resigned, finding my working conditions to unbearable to stay on any longer. After telling my colleague of my resignation, he convinced me to stay, resulting in me retracting my resignation. Afterwards I was called to meet with the CEO and I was asked what gives me the right to retract my resignation. I believe that it was his right to ask that as I had no right to do so. However, upon explaining my fear for dismissal (based on the meeting in point 2) and the effect it had on my approach to my work, in that I have an almost constant fear with every note that I write that I will be dismissed, I was told that "If that is what you think, the there is more wrong with you than I thought". This was in full view of the HR officer. I'm not sure if an employer is allowed to say something like that to an employee, but I may be wrong.

These are only a few of the issues, I'm not going to continue so as to not make the post an longer. I cannot discuss these matters with the HR officer (at least the ones that I have not already discussed), as they will be told to the CEO and I will just be threatened and intimidated.

Taking the matter to the CCMA or any other form of action will be futile, as the CEO has infinitely more resources than me. Also, other that point 1, there is no evidence other that the presence of my manager (point 2) and the presence of the HR officer (point 4). Those persons will not tell the truth as they will protect the CEO, regardless of any wrongdoing.  As for point 3, there are signed time sheets to prove that overtime was worked, but the majority of the overtime was worked at home, for which there is no concrete proof other than my word.

I would be very grateful if you could at least inform me as to whether this type of behavior constitutes bullying so that I may no whether I am being too sensitive, or whether I should resign.

Thank you in advance