Workplace Bullying
Key words: harassment, stress, Equal Employment Opportunity, power, culture
The recent two-hour stand down of military forces in Australia to address the issue of bullying in the workforce is an example of top management attempting to alter behaviour. Despite Admiral Chris Barrie’s attempts to focus upon and stamp out bullying behaviour, many incidents of bullying continue to be reported. The military’s relatively closed and hierarchical environment provides a perfect situation for bullying to develop. The chain of command is such that no private would dare to by-pass his or her immediate superior to complain of harassment. By speaking directly to all of the forces at all levels, Admiral Barrie hopes to cut through the chain of command and alter the behaviour of people in the forces by directly raising the issue of bullying and emphasising the negative outcomes of bullying behaviour.
Robert Garran—writing in The Australian (6 February 2001, p 3)—argues that it is not always easy to define what sort of behaviour is not acceptable. The boundaries between acceptable and not acceptable can be grey. Lieutenant Commander Raquel Randall, who has 10 years’ service with the navy, believes that:
‘Talking like this does open the issue, so that individuals can have a voice. They know they can bring a problem to the attention of their seniors and it will be taken seriously.’(The Australian, 6 February 2001, p 3).
In the civilian workforce bullying is a form of harassment that is now recognised as a management problem for employers. Employees who suffer bullying experience stress and suffering in a manner very similar to schoolyard bullying. Male bullying tends to be overbearing and based upon the inappropriate use of power through coercion. Examples include verbal abuse, close supervision and public ridicule. Female bullying is more typically experienced as exclusion of individuals from the work group. Obviously this has an enormous impact on an individual’s motivation and productivity. Victims of bullying experience trouble sleeping, require time off work, feel depressed and expend a considerable amount of time talking about or seeking redress for their experience.
Think back to your school experiences. Did you observe or experience bullying behaviour? Can you see how such behaviour could be transplanted to the boardroom or the office?
Work culture and workplace bullying
Workplace cultures can define what workplace bullying is and what types of behaviours develop. When organisations embark upon restructuring programs the opportunities for workplace bullying expand. Employees experience greater insecurity at a time when managers are able to wield much greater power in terms of who will go and who will stay. Bullying may become a tactic of choice to force unwanted staff to leave. In these instances employees may be offered undesirable shifts or undesirable work—the boss has the power to harass people to do things they should not have to do.
Of the five sources of power—reward, coercive, legitimate, expert and referent—it is coercive power that bullies use. Authors of a UK report The Bullying Culture say most bullying takes the form of persistent, low-level psychological harassment that eats away at staff over time, leading to stress and absenteeism. Physical bullying is rare, as a bruise would be evidence. Much of what happens goes on in private, where it’s just one person’s word against another’s. Bullying is about veiled threats, intimidation and withholding information to make someone look stupid and incompetent.
At times of corporate downsizing managers have more opportunities to become bullies. The downsizing environment of itself creates added workloads resulting in a more stressful workplace where bullying is more likely to develop.
Why do people become bullies? What do you think?
Some people appear to become bullies out of jealousy or inadequacy—they may feel threatened by other staff—while for others, bullying has developed in the home or the school environment and the bullying behaviour has never been checked. I’m sure that every one of us can think of a time when they have acted in a bullying manner to a brother, sister, schoolmate or colleague. For a great number of us reflecting on such behaviour is a source of shame and we decide not to behave in that way again. Others come to enjoy the power they derive from bullying. Most of us have witnessed bullying behaviour. To see the discomfort of a person being bullied can be a distressing experience, yet intervening can be difficult. An individual wishing to speak up and expose bullies must have significant personal or position power if they are to be successful.
One of the appealing aspects of groups and teams in the workplace is that they represent power. Often what is impossible to achieve individually becomes possible through group action. Employees can work together to identify and oppose bullying behaviour by managers. They can also work together to expose and correct bullying behaviour of peers and co-workers.
The Costs of Bullying
Bullying results in higher staff turnover, absenteeism, claims for worker’s compensation, early retirement, psychological counselling costs, poor morale and low productivity. In 1999 the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered a School Principal and the Department of Education to jointly pay $35,000 in general damages as compensation to a teacher the principal was alleged to have sexually harassed, sexually discriminated against and victimised. The principal’s employer, the Department of Education, was found to be vicariously liable for the principal’s actions and was ordered to pay $20,000 to the teacher for aggravated damages for stress. Gray v State of Victoria & Anor (Equal Opportunity Bulletin, Vol 4 No 2, July 1999)
The impacts of bullying on the victim’s family life and relationships can be extensive. These include depression, insomnia, fatigue, ill health, feelings of isolation and helplessness, fear of job loss, poor job performance, low self-esteem and increased reliance on drinking and medication.
Obviously the costs of bullying can be very high. Employers need to provide appropriate policies and mechanisms to ensure that workplace bullying is not tolerated. Australian legislation does not adequately recognise workplace bullying. Under current state workplace health and safety legislation employers have a duty of care to provide a safe work environment for employees, visitors and contractors. Industrial relations legislation covers issues of unfair dismissal and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 covers issues of racism, sexism and sexual harassment. Harassment covers unwelcome or offensive remarks, requests or other behaviour that makes a person feel intimidated, offended, belittled, humiliated or apprehensive, and interferes with a person’s job or threatens their ability to fully participate in and benefit from the work environment.
If you were a manager how would you minimise workplace bullying?
Employers can adopt a range of strategies to control workplace bullying. Obviously getting the culture of the organisation right is a good place to start. Open, participative workplaces tend to be more relaxed and freer of the hierarchical roles which help to foster bullying behaviours. The use of group work and team structures also provides employees with some solidarity to work against a bullying superior in the organisation. Managers and employees need to be educated about what constitutes bullying behaviour and techniques to address bullying. Grievance procedures need to be put in place so that victims are able to report harassment to a reference group within the organisation for further investigation. Absences from the workplace, workers compensation claims and claims based on stress should be monitored to ensure that workplace bullying is not the underlying cause. Finally, just as Admiral Barrie has done, senior management must actively demonstrate support for the introduction of policies to alleviate workplace bullying. They must also behave in a manner which encourages decent behaviour between all members of the organisation. A culture of mutual respect, where each individual is automatically treated with dignity and good manners, provides the basis for a working environment which is free of bullies.
Web Sites to visit:
Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency
Bullying, a project by Andy Ellis, Ruskin College, Oxford, UK
Text Reference
‘Mechanisms for Ethical Management’, Bartol , K, Martin, D, Tein, M and Matthews, 2001, Management A Pacific Rim Focus, 3rd Edn, McGraw-Hill, Sydney, pp 114-115.
Dr Stephanie Miller
Senior Lecturer, School of Management, Victoria University, Australia.