Bullying in the Workplace by- Craig Kime

WHS Practitioner

It’s time we get on top of this epidemic

Work Place Health & Safety will not and cannot work if you don’t have the commitment of the highest level within your workplace, saying that it will not work if you do not have the commitment of every one below the CEO.

What is Workplace Bullying?

Intimidating remarks or glances

Belittling comments in front of other staff

Spreading gossip

Failing to include you on an important email or meeting

What is Workplace Bullying?

Failing to give accurate or important information to enable you to do your job properly

Asking you to do useless jobs that aren’t part of your job description

Being excluded from social events at work

Being treated with disrespect or rudeness

A victim of Bullying will feel

Distress, anxiety, panic attacks or sleep disturbance

Physical illness, for example muscular tension, headaches and digestive problems

Deteriorating relationships with colleagues, family and friends

Depression, thoughts of suicide, anger, lose of self esteem, lose of confidence, feeling unwelcomed or unwanted and emotionally charged.

Incident reporting

It is important to say if you don’t report such behaviour when you witness it happening then you are failing your duty of care under the Workplace Health and Safety act 2011 and that makes you no different to the criminal doing the bullying.

Bullying ‘costs employers millions’

The SWA report found depression cost Australian employers about $8bn a year because of sickness absence, of which $693m was due to job strain and bullying.

Academics predicted stress-related illnesses, such as depression and cardiovascular disease, would be the leading causes of the global disease burden by 2020.

What can I do if I’m being bullied? Put your health before anything else

What can I do if I’m being bullied? Continued

However strong your personality, no one is immune from mental health problems. Unexpressed anger and fear can lead to depression in normal people. Take evasive action before it gets that bad.

Be aware of and monitor your stress levels. Try not to allow your stress to get so serious that you become bogged down with it, mindful that it is difficult to recognise the extent of the problem yourself. Ask family, friends and doctor to help as appropriate. If you have an HR Department see you HR manager.

Avoid having one-to-one meetings with the bully if you have already complained about the bullying

Document everything

Maintain notes of what you said and did, and what others said and did

Keep memos, emails and other documents that are evidential of bullying

Especially if you get bullied in private, consider using a pocket voice recorder (Smartphone) to obtain a verbal transcript.

Think and operate strategically

Remember there are things in life you can control, things you can influence, and things you cannot do anything about. Ultimately, the only thing you can control is you. Attempting to persuade your employer to act responsibly can be pointless and thus painful, but it is in your interests to try not to fret about it if it does not work. Focus your attention on what you can do and are doing.

Think and operate strategically continued

There is a risk that any mistakes you make as a result of being bullied, any sickness absence, and any illness will be used by a bully to discredit you. Most of what a bully throws at you is designed to provoke a response that can be used against you like making you swear at them.

Think and operate strategically continued

Understand this and avoid responding directly to such provocations

Always act reasonably and in doing so, a contrast will emerge between your behaviour and the bully's

Accept that this probably is not enough to make it stop and in most cases it will not.

Think and operate strategically continued

Remember that there is more to you than your job, and try not to take it too seriously

Remember that once you decide to resist the bullying, you may be in for the long haul, for me it was a weight of my shoulders and worth the fight.

Seek but do not depend on support from other managers or trade union.

If they give tell-tale signs that they do not believe you or do not support you, do not keep hoping that they will support you. I was lucky my HR Department is second to no one and was supportive and understanding.

Seek independent support from neutral third parties if you can

but do not depend on support from other managers or trade union. continued

Get some help, but think about the interests and personal agendas of the people you hope to trust although this could be difficult if you have moved to a new area but it is very important to find a network of trust for me it was HR.

Consider who is or might be facilitating and condoning the bullying, and avoid confiding in them, try and know who they are close to and avoid them or just talk to them on issues not relating to your personal issues.

Equip yourself

Equip yourself with your employer's policies and procedures, and make sure that YOU follow them, and encourage others to do the same

Be 100% fair and reasonable, even when standing your ground

Always maintain your dignity and be polite, even in the face of rudeness.

Equip yourself continued

If you can, have a trusted companion with you as a witness in any meeting to discuss bullying. If you don't have a companion you can trust, make sure you have an audio recorder, sometimes this is easier said than done but it’s worth a try.

Remember that everything you write, say and do might one day be discussed in a court or tribunal, so make sure your actions are beyond reproach and justifiable. Don't do or say anything that you would not wish to repeat in public.

But remember to put your health and wellbeing before any other

consideration.