Bullying and Harassment

Many workers will these days experience workplace harassment – behaviours such as:

• verbal abuse
• assault
• spreading rumours about someone
• constant name calling
• practical jokes
• sexual harassment

Bullying and harassment can also be more subtle and include behaviours such as:

• constant unjustified criticism or complaints
• constant threats to sack or demote
• excluding someone from workplace activities
• inconsistent and arbitrary enforcement of rules
• setting unreasonable timelines
• deliberately changing work arrangements in order to inconvenience someone
• setting tasks that are unreasonable
• excessive scrutiny of work performance
• withholding information or tools required to perform work
• taking credit for another employees work and failing to acknowledge that employee.

 Bullying is generally defined as repeated unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety. It is irrelevant whether the person bullying and harassing you intended to do so.

Studies indicate that less than one in 10 victims of workplace harassment speak or confront the person inflicting the unwanted behaviour to simply say that they don’t like the behaviour and request that it stops.

Workplace bullying can be toxic to a business causing high staff turnover, absenteeism, low morale and re­duced productivity. It also exposes an employer to wider finan­cial burdens including the possibili­ty of workers’ compensation claims, legal action or substantial fines for breaches of workplace health and safety legislative obligations.

Workplace health and safety law states that an employer has an obligation to, as far as practicable, provide employees with a working environment that is safe and free from risks to the worker’s health.  Workplace bullying and harassment is not consistent with a safe working environment or a working environment that is free from risk.

 If you are aware of bullying in your workplace, or are a victim of bullying or harassment, there are several strategies recommended by experts to deal with the workplace harassment and bullying behaviour.

-Speak to the Bully and advise that the Behaviour is Unwelcome

In the first instance, it is always suggested that you should first try to address the behaviour with the bully directly, particularly if it's a more subtle form of bullying such snide, inappropriate or sarcastic comments; let them know that it is not professional, is unwelcome and not appreciated.  

However, if the bullying is more serious or the bully has ignored previous requests to cease, then it is time to discuss/report the matter with a line manager.

-Report the Misconduct

A victim of workplace bullying or harassment should report the misconduct to their supervisor and/or to the human resources department/representative, if available in your workplace. It is  better if the complaint is in writing as this will be easier to use as evidence should the need arise.  When writing a complaint stick to the key points and keep the complaint concise.  Ten well thought out points can often be more effective that ten pages of writing.

-Document the Behaviour

From the start of the unwelcome behaviour, or as soon as possible afterwards, the victim should document the behaviour, noting the date, time and place it occurred, and if anyone else was present as a witness, along with a transcript of the interaction. If matters continue to escalate, written documentation will be the most important thing the employee has to protect them self and their job.

-Be Informed

Become familiar with your Employer’s workplace policies and your own Employment Contract. Find out if your company has official HR and complaint policies, and familiarize yourself with these.

-Take Care of Your Health and Seek Medical Attention

Should the matter proceed as far as the Courts, you may need to demonstrate the effects of the alleged bullying, whether it be emotional damage or physical manifestations of stress.  The employee can obtain medical attention as evidence of this.

 If you are an employer, to prevent bullying and protect yourself and your staff, there are several recommended actions.  Where practicable, you should seek to implement measures which reduce or eliminate the possibility of workplace bullying and associated harm, and take proac­tive approaches to reduce the risk of bullying. Possible action you could take would include pre-emptive assessments of possible bullying risk factors in the work­place, development of a formal workplace bullying policy and for­mal procedures to address a work­place bullying complaint. 

Your response to bullying

In the event of a claim of bullying by a co-worker, an employer should in the first instance seek to act accord­ing to an established company bully­ing or Workplace Health and Safe­ty procedure. If no formal procedure is developed, state legislation may re­quire the employer follow a default procedure as identified in state occupational health and safety legisla­tion.

There are basic principles an employer should seek to adhere to, being, firstly that each complaint should be taken seriously and action should be prompt. Sec­ondly the employer should approach the situation with neutrality, provide support and ensure fairness of process for all parties involved. Doc­umentation and communication with parties is also essential, howev­er an employer should ensure confi­dentiality, especially where request­ed by the accuser.

To minimize your risk as an employer, you should consider developing proactive bullying and harassment policies that will ensure that your workforce is safe, engaged and productive. Contact Annette at End2End Business Solutions on (02) 8977 4002 for advice on establishing workplace policies for your business.