Q: I was hired at a large corporation as an administrative assistant for four managers, and I thought I was doing a great job. At the end of my review period, one of my managers copied me on an email that asked about the release of a bill. I thought my receiving a copy was strictly informational. She later told me I was to release the bill, and she gave me a written warning on it. When I asked why the email wasn't sent directly to me, my manager talked to her manager, gave me a bad review for the entire probationary period, and extended it. No one had told me I wasn't doing a good job before that time. This manager has been increasingly rude, calling me girly and demeaning names. When I expressed concern about referred to that way, I was told not to be "sassy."

My next project was a questionnaire with more than 100 questions to ask of each department. She said I couldn't seek help from the other administrative assistant, and that she had a hidden camera on her desk so she would know if I had. I ran around to the departments the following day asking the questions so I could type up the information for the questionnaire. My asking them to answer the questionnaires irritated each department.

I couldn't finish the project by the noon deadline, so I turned it in at the day's end unfinished. She told me not to worry about because she would finish and edit it. I later was told the information I was assigned to collect was on a computer tool I was unfamiliar with, and that the manager had already completed the questionnaire. Everyone has worked there for years, so they knew about the questionnaire, but said nothing to me. In short, this manager watched me run around for five hours trying to get the information when I could have been doing real work for my other managers.

The next day this woman called me into her boss' office and reported me for not completing the project, but she submitted my questionnaire results, not hers, and complained of my typos. I am at a loss for what to do. I don't want to be fired.

A: You know this manager's behavior is wrong, so you should stop playing the helpless victim and stand up for yourself. There are right ways and wrong ways to be a whistleblower. By going through the proper channels with accurate documentation, you can stop this bully and save your job at the same time. Hopefully, this manager's stronghold goes no further than the departments she works with, but if it does, go up the chain of command if HR is unresponsive.

Your first step is to present to the vice president of the human resource department an accurate report of this manager's behavior towards you, since her sick antics not only sabotage your possible success in the job, but waste company time and money. It also opens the corporation to a lawsuit, though according to Eugene K. Hollander, who concentrates on labor and employment law, addressing you with colloquial female titles may not, in itself, be grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit. Assigning you false projects that take all day and forbidding others to inform you or help you may be enough to place her on probation or dismissal.

She has certainly bullied the other AAs into compliance by ordering them not to train you, not to inform you on anything and not to spoil her sadistic games. Be assured you are not the first new hire she has humiliated. HR is to ensure policies and procedures are upheld and applied fairly throughout a company. The vice president of HR should take this woman's abuse of her managerial position seriously, as your responsibility is to present a factual chronological report of her actions, conversations, false assignments and threats towards you, including in detail the instructions given to all in the department to not train you. Be careful to include only the facts without your explanation or reasons for what may have motivated her to behave in such a way. Once you turn it in to HR, follow HR's instructions for how to proceed.

Email all questions to [email protected]. For more about her, visit www.lindseyparkernovak.com or follow her on Twitter @TheLindseyNovak and Facebook at Lindsey.Novak.12. For past columns, visit Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.