[orionblastar]

First you have my condolences and sympathy. Many times I have been in that same position, coworker is a jerk, bully, harassing me, being abusive and violating company policy.

I really don't know what the right solution to that is, because every case I had they kept the abusive employee but fired me.

I was nice, professional, and asked the abusive employee to please stop that behavior as it had made me feel bad, and asked management to look into it when he or many others refused to treat me like a human being.

In 2001 the stress from that hostile environment was so much, I got stressed out and developed a mental illness and then went on short-term disability and as soon as I returned I was fired.

Ever since I could not hold a job, because if an employee noticed I was mentally ill, they would abuse me, and if I complained about it I would be fired.

Sadly most managers feel that the employee who is picked on should be fired just because they are complaining about other employees. In fact in some cases the abusive behavior is rewarded by promoting the abusive employee or giving them a pay raise and telling them in front of the other employees what a great job they are doing.

Sometimes this abusive behavior is done on purpose to get rid of a coworker they don't like, so they 'skirt' the rules and policies and do whatever it takes to make you quit or be fired. It is called office politics for a reason.

[dfraser992]

I second the idea that this is all deliberate in order to get rid of you; that was the first thing I thought of. It sounds like you've tried to handle the situation the right way and your boundaries keep getting stepped on. I myself have gotten snippy due to stress, but I certainly felt guilty and made an effort to double check my behavior. Either Jerry is immature or this is all deliberate. If the chain of command has been informed, yet do nothing, and you're easier to replace... then it sounds like they want you gone.

In any case, staying there out of some sense of loyalty is noble, but the world doesn't care about such things. Life is too short to work with people who treat you badly, no matter what the situation. Your stress is only going to keep increasing. Finding another job is a PITA, but as long as you go about it consciously, it shouldn't be too bad. I myself got forced out / forced to quit - my stress levels were deliberately ratcheted up, my emotions took over and I made bad decisions. That is how people get manipulated - keep putting them under stress till they make short sighted emotionally based decisions.