I have been in the workforce now for near on 40 years and for over 90% of that time, I have been in roles/positions that have been responsible for providing support to and on behalf of the employees within the organisation. Over time I have been called upon to guide and assist employees through matters of Bullying and Harassment, that they have been subjected to be colleagues and in some cases supervisors and managers.
For the record, ‘Bullying in the Workplace is best described as repeated unreasonable behaviour directed toward a person or persons that creates a risk to the health, safety and wellbeing of employees. The risk to health, safety and wellbeing can be either physical or psychological. If the behaviour was repeated and unreasonable in the circumstances and was likely to victimise, humiliate, undermine, intimidate or threaten, then it is likely to be bullying.’
From a Workplace Relations perspective, this is a very serious matter, one that the Fair Work Commission (FWC), is actively working on, trying to reduce/remove from the workplace. However, as an HR practitioner, I, along with managers in the business, must ‘acknowledge our responsibility to take all reasonable steps to prevent bullying in the workplace. Managers and supervisors must lead by example ensuring that all employees, are aware of [respective] company policy and clearly understand their rights and responsibilities. Manager and supervisors should also be aware of their statutory and common law duty of care, as management representatives.’
Given the above, the profile Bullying has had in the media, the number of claims and cases against Senior Executives heard in Courts and the Public discussion… why is it that managers (in some organisations) continue to behave in a manner that would [easily] be considered Bullying? What goes on inside their heads that makes them treat employees (usually those lower down the corporate ladder), with such distain that standing at the end of the corridor, questioning an employee whose leaving after working a 9+ hours day (in front of other colleagues), is a reasonable and acceptable thing to do?
How can they justify repeated/unreasonable requests of individuals to complete complex and time-consuming tasks, then claim the results ‘not good enough’ only to demand the task be either re-done and/or improved upon, without adequate instruction? And of course, how can they believe that gathering in small groups to talk poorly of others, to ‘sully’ their reputation and demean their work [output] is making the employee feel good about themselves and their work?
As an HR practitioner and at times a recruiter, I have maintained that in addition to being competent in the technical aspects of the role, an individual must also fir the ‘Culture’ of the organisation… this means, does the individual fit into the culture of the company, does the individual fit in with not only her/his workmates, but with the beliefs of the business. It is important then that the individual looks to the ‘Culture’ of the business, he/she is perhaps wanting to feel welcome, be productive and even remain in the Company’s employ for a long time… and from the Company’s point of view, retaining good staff, in a tight market, seems like a very smart thing to do; however there are those who believe you get the best out of people when you berate and undermine them!
Any form of bullying in the workplace must be reported immediately to the [respective] Manager/Supervisor or the Human Resources representative. An employee who becomes aware of an incident (or series of incidents) must also report the situation to management representatives (with whom they feel comfortable).
Where bullying occurs, employees are advised to bring a formal complaint and should seek assistance, as above, in doing so…the complaint should be sent in confidence to Human Resources, or a management representative. It is imperative that the details supplied are of a specific nature and not general accusations against the alleged harasser. The employee can also make an application to the FWC to obtain help to stop the Bullying action.
Bullying by any person within an organisation, must not be tolerated and appropriate action must be taken should it occur. An employee who bullies any other employee must be subject to the company’s disciplinary procedures, and in serious cases, such behaviour should be deemed to constitute gross misconduct, which will result in summary dismissal (in the absence of any mitigating circumstances).
An employee who lodges a complaint of bullying in the workplace will not suffer victimisation for having brought the complaint, however if a claim of bullying in the workplace is untrue and has been lodged in bad faith (for example, spite), disciplinary action will be taken against that individual.
Comments