Bullying can be directed from a multitude of people. The perpetrator could be a boss, a manager, a colleague, or even a client. It can also occur in a number of forms, from excluding colleagues from social groups to playing pranks at someone else’s expense. Ultimately, office environments can produce harmful behaviour and leave victims of bullying feeling isolated, depressed and disenfranchised.
What is workplace bullying?
Although bullying may not have an exact definition, it can happen in any workplace and can involve repeated unreasonable behaviours that creates a risk to health and safety.
The Anti Bullying Alliance defines bullying as: “The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It can happen face to face or online”.
It may manifest in the form of:
- Spreading rumours or insulting a colleague
- Excluding an individual from group activities
- Abusing positions of power
- Preventing an employee from progressing at work
- Criticising an employee without valid reasoning
- Belittling or humiliating comments
- Intimidation
- Displaying offensive material
- Yelling or using profanity
- Application of pressure to behave in an inappropriate way
It’s important to separate differences of opinion and disagreements, and reasonable management action, from bullying. In a positive workplace culture, where bullying is low or non-existent, differing viewpoints contribute to a healthy debate about issues if offered in a respectful and appropriate way. Furthermore, a manager fulfilling their duty (e.g. directing and controlling how work is done, monitoring workflow and work quality, or initiating transfer and termination of employment), is also acceptable so long as it is carried out in a reasonable manner.
It is only when any of these behaviours or actions create a risk to health or becomes victimising, humiliating, intimidating or threatening over a period of time, can it begin to be classed as unreasonable or acts of bullying.
Preventing workplace bullying
There’s a common misconception that the burden of prevention leans more towards the victim. However, according to a CIPD study, 53% of bullying victims do not report it This means that everyone in the workplace should have a key role to play in building a positive culture. Only then will the incidence of bullying be minimised and, when it does occur, the victim will feel confident to address the behaviour in the early stages.
Let’s take a closer look at the roles that co-workers, and a healthy workplace culture, can have in limiting workplace bullying.
A co-worker who witnesses bullying
A co-worker who witnesses an incident (or incidents) of bullying could be one of two parties:
1) A Bystander
A bystander may view inappropriate behaviour directly in the workplace, be drawn into gossip, or be sent an inappropriate email about another person. There are many ways they can discourage this bahaviour, but it depends on the context, for example:
- If there is a tense interaction in a meeting or group, a bystander could break the dynamic by politely interrupting and/or joining the discussion so that the tension is broken.
- If there is a work situation that is stressful or demanding it helps to articulate the importance of not letting our own stress result in negative impacts on our fellow co-workers.
Having a private discussion with a person who has behaved inappropriately may be necessary. While this is a ‘difficult conversation’ it can be powerful because it comes from a third-party view. For this to be effective, it is important to not ‘fight fire with fire’ but instead to be objective. State what has been observed and relay that the behaviour does not feel respectful.
2) A friend or confidante
A friend is self-explanatory, however you may wonder what a “confidante” is. This is someone who has been informed of the bullying by the victim, or witnesses the bullying, and has become someone the victim trusts with information.
Whether you’re a friend or a confidante, it can seem daunting because you may not want to be seen as ‘picking a side’. However, providing a ‘friendly ear’ is important. You can also be a valuable sounding board for practical steps that can and should be taken. For example, whether they could approach the other person directly, or if it is better to speak with a manager or HR.
In addition to these steps, you can offer an impartial view on assessing what other factors are adding to the difficulty.
Overall workplace culture — the role of leaders and managers
Building a positive culture is a key measure that helps limit a bullying culture. This is where managers and leaders need to be at the forefront of producing a workplace environment where people feel safe raising concerns and would-be bullies understand that harmful behaviour is not tolerated.
This can be achieved by increasing communication, demonstrating expectations for respectful behaviour, and consistently addressing issues that arise through effective resolution processes. This incorporates building the comfort and confidence of people at work to speak up at an early stage before a problem worsens and leads to broader negative impacts for individuals, teams and work relationships.
Identifying and addressing the problem early is a key approach in negating the inevitable interpersonal challenges or pressures that will happen when people work together — especially if the job environment is naturally stressful. While co-workers who witness bullying should consider speaking directly with the person concerned about their behaviour, it is not always a comfortable or suitable option. This is when employees turn to their managers for leadership, support and action.
Because bullying is sometimes hard to define, it can be difficult to recognise or prove, making it more challenging for managers and fellow employees to take action. This is why taking pre-emptive steps to prevent workplace bullying can benefit the whole organisation.
As an employee, pause to reflect whether inappropriate behaviour has become normalised in your workplace, where jokes or put-downs are regularly directed at others and have become the norm. As a leader or manager, it’s important to set the right tone, call out inappropriate or harmful behaviour, adequately communicate what behaviour is tolerated, and provide a safe environment for team members to come to you for help and advice.