Recognising bullying in the workplace

Bullying can occur in a number of different ways.
Some are obvious and easy to identify. Others are
subtle and difficult to explain. Examples of bullying
behaviour include:

— ignoring views and opinions
— withholding information which can affect a
worker’s performance
— setting unreasonable or impossible deadlines
— setting unmanageable workloads
— humiliating staff in front of others
— spreading malicious rumours
— intentionally blocking promotion or training
opportunities
— ridiculing or demeaning someone by picking on
them or setting them up to fail
— overbearing supervision or other misuse of
power or position
— deliberately undermining a competent worker
with constant criticism.

Examples of bullying behaviour

There are many examples of bullying. The following
are various types of bullying behaviour experienced
by UNISON members:

Public verbal abuse

“I was blamed for my mistakes in front of the entire
office. I was shouted at and told to do the work
that should have been done and not to do it again.
Everyone was listening as the manager shouted at
me.”

“Rubbishing your work, public humiliation
through doing a job not to the required standard.
Setting unrealistic targets, being made to feel
‘unprofessional’.”

Contract manipulation

“I was threatened with job loss because I wanted
the bank holiday off with my family.”

“I was harassed at home by phone by my ward
manager when I was off sick. I was threatened
about my job due to how much sick leave I’d
had in the past six months. The sick leave was
due to having to wait three weeks for a hospital
admission.”

“I needed time off with a viral infection. My
manager told lies to other members of staff about
why I was off work.”

Undermining actions

“The manager totally undermined me in front
of clients, giving them the impression I was not
capable of helping them and advising them to
come another day.”

“Taking my clock card out of the rack and
discussing my hours with general office staff. Not
passing on messages; delaying paperwork so
deadlines were missed.”

The first steps to deal with bullying in the workplace

1.Get to know your company’s policy. Your employer should have a policy on behaviour in the workplace, including information on bullying. Find out all the details you can, including processes on informing supervisors and the steps you can expect them to take.

2. Start informally. If you feel safe enough, the best thing you can do is to first talk to the person who is bullying you. In some cases, they might not be aware how their behaviour is affecting you. Talking to them may cause them to reflect on how they’ve treated you.

3. Make management or HR aware. In many instances, it isn’t possible to confront the perpetrator head on. Instead, you’ve got to make the relevant people aware of what’s going on. Whether it’s management, HR, or your trade union, they’ll be able to take steps on your behalf to resolve the issue.

4. Keep any evidence. Gathering a record of the date, times, place, details and names of any witnesses of any bullying could prove invaluable if anyone asks you to substantiate your claims. Save any horrible emails, and document the times you’ve been left out of relevant meetings.

5. Find someone to talk to. Bullying is a stressful thing to go through. You shouldn’t have to experience it alone. Having someone you trust to talk to will help you minimise the impact it has on your life.

6. Make an official complaint. If you feel like your problem hasn’t been taken seriously by those you informed at work, and the bullying hasn’t stopped, you can seek to make an official complaint via the usual grievance procedures. Your employee handbook will detail this process.

What to do if you’re being bullied by a manager or boss

Unfortunately, it’s common for bullying to come from your superiors. Those who’ve experienced a bad boss in the past will understand how much it can affect your daily life to have someone in charge that lacks respect for others at work.

“Although bullying takes place at all levels within the workplace, the most common perpetrators are managers. This type of bullying often arises due to an unequal balance of power, with managers attempting to control the behaviour of their subordinates through coercive methods,” says Shainaz Firfiray, assistant professor of organisation and human resource management at Warwick Business School.

Just because they’re in charge of you, it doesn’t mean they can get away with bullying. The policy of any good company will include a designated colleague who you can talk through your concerns with, without fear of being punished for side-stepping your manager. You can show them your diary of events and discuss whether the behaviour was acceptable or not and make decisions on where to go next.

What’s more, confidentially is a key part of the complaints process. You should always be treated fairly and sensitively.

Deciding whether to take legal action

Taking legal action shouldn’t be your first port of call. But if you feel, despite all your attempts, no progress has been made to stop the bullying, it’s time to get advice on your legal rights.

It’s important to have tried to resolve the problem with your company first. When you make a claim to an employment tribunal, that’s one of the first things they’ll ask you. If you can show them a record of the mistreatment, your efforts to resolve the issue, and the inaction from your company, then you could have a claim for constructive unfair dismissal. Bear in mind the following facts:

• You need to have worked for your employer for 24 months
• It needs to be considered harassment under the Equality Act 2010

According to the Equality Act, something can be counted as harassment where the behaviour is meant to or has the effect of either:

• Violating your dignity
• Creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment

What employers can do to prevent bullying

As an employer, you have a responsibility for your employees. Not only is it the right thing to do, but you have a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees – and that includes protection from bullying and harassment. With offensive behaviour affecting workers from the shop floor to the C-Suite, it’s something for bosses to take seriously.

Here are some examples for you to help deal with workplace bullies: