Q: I've been in my current job for 15 years; our current office manager has been with us for 4 or 5. This office manager is truly vindictive and runs to our medical director (who is her friend) whenever she wants backup. The office manager and I recently had a disagreement. When it came time for my annual evaluation, everything was "outstanding" except for her comments. She accused me of having a negative attitude and demeanor. This is far from the truth. I felt she had attacked my character, so I told her how I felt about it. Her response was completely unprofessional. She proceeded to threaten and mock me.

A few days ago, I requested a copy of my evaluation and asked that it be emailed to me or placed in my employee mailbox. She emailed me telling me to come to her office so she could hand it to me in person, adding that she had questions for me. I called our corporate compliance line to report her. After her recent behavior, I am not comfortable going into her office without a reliable witness. How should I respond to her email demand?

There have been many incidents with this woman and none seem to have had any consequences for her. She continues to bully anyone who disagrees with her.

A: First, you have a long-term record of excellence on your side. Second, you have made a wise choice to not enter her office without a reasonable witness. It sounds like the corporate compliance hotline takes information without giving instructions on how to proceed.

Get the head (director or vice president) of the human resource department involved. Report this woman's actions — her threats and verbal mocking — since your performance review, and that she wants you to come to her office to obtain a copy of your review. Ask HR how the company wants you to proceed, stating you do not want to enter the office manager's office without a witness in good standing. If an HR staff member accompanies you, she will realize her behavior has been reported. An alternative would be to ask another long-time employee to accompany you to her office, but make sure this employee is not on her bad side, as well.

Apparently, nothing has been done about any of the incidents committed by the office manager because the medical director has been protecting her. The real problem is that both parties having been behaving unprofessionally, and the company will have to deal with both employees, not just the office manager. If HR follows through on your report, you will need to provide exact quotes made by the office manager. Using adjectives such as "threatening" and "mocking" to describe her behavior are not enough. Everyone has different interpretations of wording and once a complaint is made formal, adjectives become meaningless.

In fact, the office manager describing you as negative and demeaning is also worthless if she cannot offer concrete examples of how your behavior applies to her definitions. Descriptive wording and name-calling may be upsetting, but the words themselves must fall under a legally discriminating category to have meaning in the workplace. Prepare yourself with the facts before taking the situation further. You probably have a legitimate complaint, but if you can't furnish what HR needs, you have just placed yourself and your job in jeopardy.

Email your questions to workplace expert Lindsey Novak at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @TheLindseyNovak. To find out more about Lindsey Novak and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Website at www.creators.com.