There is little doubt from reading the myriad of comments made on various sites that workplace bullying and harassment continues to fuel discussion.

In fact, I have just finished reading a number of comments made by some obviously very traumatised workers from the public and private sector. There are some common threads relating to:

• management and communication practices
• failure to address the issue
• lack of knowledge about where to go for support on resolution options
• workplace culture
• apparent failure to treat workplace bullying and harassment as a work health and safety hazard

Some of the comments also appeared to indicate that some of those targeted had been subjected to bullying for periods of up to three years, and some had left their employment because of the bullying behaviours.

Words of wisdom and wit are added, and in some cases, the discussions raise new issues, or simply reaffirm old issues.

It does seem that many of the discussions reinforce the ideology that workplace bullying and harassment may be one and the same in the minds of some, and completely different (although related) in the minds of others.

The past two years have seen considerable discussion on the emergence of the new harmonised work health and safety laws that are coming into effect in some States as of the 1 January 2011.

Will it be a case of more of the same in relation to organisational responses, or will the various discussions that have occurred prompt a new approach?

Sins of the past, penalties of the future

It seems that many organisations have well documented policies and procedures in relation to the prevention, detection and resolution of workplace bullying. However, it also seems that despite organisations espousing commitment to a workplace free from bullying and harassment, it is still happening.

It might be the case the officers are not aware of the extent of bullying because individuals have no confidence in internal reporting systems, or they have seen how some targets/victims have been treated.

Recent discussions on various forums suggest that workplace bullying and harassment is very clearly defined in literature and through to Codes of Practice. However, discussions with workers gives a completely different idea. In some cases, reasonable management actions are perceived by some as unreasonable, whilst in other cases, bullying is seen as a way to manage people.

Take this case. Recently, I was discussing bullying with a new acquaintance. He said “Well, how do you get them to work if you don’t bully them?” to which I replied “There must be other ways of getting them to work.” His response was “No, you have to bully them, they are very lazy people.”

After a long and involved discussion, it appeared that what this person was really talking about was using assertive language to motivate or direct workers to undertake their allocated tasks.

What one perceives as reasonable, another may construe as unreasonable e.g. bullying. It is absolutely critical that a common understanding is developed regarding the definition of bullying as it applies in your workplace. It is also critical that workers have the face to face opportunity to discuss (without fear) their understandings of the definition. It is not much point having a definition that workers think means one thing, when it really means something else.

It is important that systems or processes be in place to maintain currency of knowledge of trends and issues, and of Court, Commission or Tribunal decisions that may impact on your policies and procedures.

Imagine a situation whereby you have been called to appear in a Court, Commission or Tribunal and you are confronted with evidence that shows that your organisational policies are out of date, and not only that, those who have responsibility for developing and presenting workshops on bullying, have not kept up to date.

So where do the sins of the past come in? Despite the existence of reporting systems and processes e.g. complaint or resolution processes, it seems that there are a number of workers who lack confidence in those systems. Experience suggests that when some workers understand what is involved in the resolution processes, they decide to do nothing. In some cases, they go away and start making more detailed notes, biding their time until an opportune moment presents itself.

I would suggest that this opportune moment will occur after the 1 January 2012.

The penalties of the future may result from those cases that are slowly gaining momentum now. Even though workers have not taken any action other than seek advice, it may well be the case that over a considerable time, they have been bullied, they have been gathering evidence, taking advice, or seeking support and just waiting.

Will these cases come to finalisation in a Court, Commission or Tribunal? It depends on a number of variables such as the:

• willingness of the individual to take action
• how resilient they are
• whether they understand what is actually involved
• what evidence they possess
• whether they seek legal advice

At this stage, the criminal standard of proof is not required i.e. beyond reasonable doubt, unless criminal offences are involved and this could include stalking, sexual assaults or other acts of violence. In some cases, the victim/target might make the decision not to report the criminal acts and only want action taken in relation to the ‘bullying behaviours’ where a lesser standard is required i.e. civil standard – on the balance of probabilities.

The resultant penalties than could occur might be more than financial or jail terms. Damage to individual or organisational reputations may also occur.

Mitigating the risks

Managing workplace bullying and harassment is not easy especially if you have no proactive or preventive strategies in place.

You need to know what policies, procedures and strategies your organisation has in place. Workplace bullying and harassment incidents can occur even when some of the basics have been addressed.

You might be in an organisation where a workplace bullying or harassment incident has been reported.

How many times have you heard the comment “You could see that coming”. Why was it allowed to escalate?

Some basic questions

How important are risk assessments?

I would say extremely important provided you ask the right questions, and know what the right questions are to ask. The following questions can be used as prompts to help guide when preparing for the risk assessment.

A number of the questions use the traditional who, what, when, why, where, and how model. It is important to understand that a question framed around these words may lead to a response that requires another question.

For some officers and workers, the following questions might push a few boundaries. That is the intention so that you can at least try to plan a response if these questions are put to you in a Court, Commission or Tribunal.

Does your organisation have proactive and preventive strategies that help you answer the following questions?

• Do you avoid or defer difficult conversations about workplace bullying and harassment?
• Do you resist the need to resolve counterproductive behaviours before they escalate into workplace bullying and harassment?
• Does your workplace have a culture of tolerance or acceptability when it comes to workplace bullying and harassment?
• Are you confused about what is and what isn’t workplace bullying?
• Do you know what is and what isn’t reasonable management?
• How does your workplace organisation define counterproductive behaviours that could cost you your job?
• What price do you put on your personal reputation or that of your organisation?
• How has workplace bullying and harassment been addressed in your risk management, business continuity, health and safety, audit or fraud and corruption prevention plans?

‘Officer’ questions

You may have some very good policies in place to prevent, detect and resolve workplace bullying and harassment. The advice that you get about the incidence of workplace bullying and harassment may not reflect the true situation.

Changes in work health and safety legislation, and increased publicity about workplace bullying and harassment could mean that different questions will be asked.

Litigation in Australia is taking some interesting approaches to age old issues. Individuals are engaging legal professionals who will use various strategies to test your knowledge in a Court, Commission or Tribunal. The responses that you provide could very well determine your current and future employment. Adverse publicity generated because you were not prepared could affect your personal credibility and reputation.

The following questions were developed as indicators of what could be asked in a Court, Commission or Tribunal. Of course, the media might also take it upon themselves to ask you the same questions.

How much:

• income did your organisation earn as the result of a single workplace bullying or harassment incident?
• did workplace bullying or harassment contribute towards achieving the aims and objectives of your organisation?
• business does a workplace bullying or harassment incident generate?

How does workplace bullying or harassment:

• improve customer service?
• increase productivity?
• benefit shareholders, investors or taxpayers?
• add value to your brand name or reputation?

What:

• does the preparation, dissemination, storage and archival of workplace bullying or harassment records cost your organisation?
• could your employees be better doing if they weren’t spending time addressing workplace bullying or harassment?
• are your competitors doing whilst workplace bullying or harassment is taking place in your organisation?
• could your employees be doing more productively if they were not involved generating paperwork for Court, Commission or Tribunal hearings?

How does your organisation benefit from the adverse publicity generated from workplace bullying or harassment?

What are the short, medium and long term effects on other employees who are witnesses in grievance and tribunal proceedings?

Who and what are you defending?

What will have you achieved at the end of it?

Will any of your actions result in allegations of unfair dismissal?

Does everyone in your organisation know and understand the personal consequences of workplace bullying or harassment?

Do you know how to respond to these questions?

Do you know why you should be able to respond to these questions?

How will you respond if your claim or allegation is to be resolved in a Court, Commission or Tribunal?

Will you be prepared?

Will you respond in haste and pay the penalty?

Will your actions result in findings of unfair dismissal, breach of employment contract or financial penalties being imposed by a Court, Commission or Tribunal?

These are very important questions that might be put to you in a Court, Commission or Tribunal. These questions could only be the start of what you might be confronted with.

There might be a number of other questions that will be asked of you depending on how you respond to these.

If you are reading this as either a target/victim or as a person who may have been accused of being a workplace bully or harasser, you might like to consider these questions.

Do you know:

• what to do when you have been bullied or harassed?
• what to do if you are accused of being a bully or a harasser?
• how to defend an allegation of workplace bullying or harassment?
• know what questions to ask?

Does your organisation have a workplace bullying or harassment detection, prevention and resolution policy?

If so, do you know where to find it or access it?

Sometimes, you may need to lodge a workplace injury claim because of the workplace bullying or harassment. You may also seek advice from a legal professional.

As either a target/victim or even alleged bully/harasser, you may not realise that the medical and legal professionals will ask you questions.

Do you know what type of questions:

• you will be asked when you seek medical assistance?
• your legal professionals will ask you?

Workplace bullying and harassment has direct and indirect implications on a wide range of people. It is not just a workplace issue. You may seek advice, guidance or support from your family, friends and associates.

Do you know what to say to your family, friends and associates?

If you lodge a workplace injury claim, an investigation will be conducted. You may find this process confusing or even threatening.

Sometimes the investigation will be conducted when you are still traumatised by the incident or even when you are receiving medical or psychological support.

• Do you know:
• why investigations are conducted?
• how the investigation process works?

Do you know:

• what to say to support your claim?
• what not to say, and why?

You may work in an organisation where workplace bullying or harassment is rife. The more likely there is sexual content in the incident, the more chance the media will be interested. Even if you are not directly involved, the media might ask you for your views.

You might even take it upon yourself to use one of the popular social networking sites to discuss the incident.

Do you know how to respond to media interest in workplace bullying or harassment allegations?

Employment conditions

When you started with your organisation or even when you were promoted, you may have attended an induction program. You might have been asked to sign some paperwork.

When you started work, you may not have had time to think about all the paperwork. Practical experience tells me that you need to think about these questions.

• Do you have a current job or position description?
• Do you take part in the performance management process?
• Do you know and understand your conditions of employment (including compliance with Codes of Conduct)?
• Do you know why these questions are relevant for preventing, detecting and resolving workplace bullying?

Legal professionals will ask you many questions. They will generally want to know about your conditions of employment, your workplace policies and procedures and many other issues that you may not realise are relevant.

OHS HARMONISATION

Many of you know that the OHS Harmonisation process has been underway for some time. It has been stated that the new Work Health and Safety Act 2012 will come into effect on the 1st January 2012. There are some important changes in this legislation that you need to be aware of. It does apply to the public and private sector.

The new Act may have some impact on how you respond to allegations of workplace bullying and harassment. In the worst case scenario, you could face prosecution for a breach of workplace health and safety and perhaps even imprisonment. You need to think about your preventive and proactive strategies to reduce this risk. You should be able to answer the following two questions.

Will you be an ‘officer’ under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012?

Do you know what you will have to do to meet your obligations and show that you can meet due diligence requirements?

The prevention, detection and resolution of workplace bullying and other forms of inappropriate behaviours depends on the action that you take. The questions and issues that you have been reading about are only part of the response. You should be aware that there are many left field questions that I have not included. You should know that your answer may provide a lead as to another question.

Trends and issues

Despite some interesting media articles regarding allegations of counterproductive behaviour resulting in out of Court settlements, there is little publicly available information on specific cases. From time to time, some cases are published on the Fair Work Australia website. However, a perusal of media

websites and other support networks, and even sites such as LinkedIn, HR Daily or Human Capital Online, indicates that there is increased commentary on what organisations and individuals should do to prevent or resolve workplace bullying.

Recent discussions also raised the issue of risk assessments for people wanting to work at home, and whether or not domestic violence should be considered. There has been some interesting discussions on how far a workplace extends, what should be considered and what are the implications.

Over the past two years, there have been some interesting reports have been prepared following Reviews or investigations into allegations of bullying. It is in my view, important for public and private sector organisations to at least read these reports and see whether or not there any issues that warrant attention.

Where to in the future

It is not long until the 1st January 2012 and despite all the discussion about whether or not the legislation and regulations will actually become operative from that date, workplace bullying continues to be a concern of workers across the public and private sector.

Waiting for the implementation to occur without actually addressing existing issues about bullying may not provide officers with an excuse. At the same time, workers can play a key role in preventing and detecting workplace bullying.

Standing up and speaking out about bullying may be frowned upon in some workplaces. However, given the physical and psychological trauma that can occur, and the financial costs, it is important to take a preventive role.

I have indicated in previous articles that the following systems and processes should be evident and supported through documentation:

• Clear understanding of due diligence requirements
• Clearly defined responsibilities for Officers
• Commitment to work health and safety – evidence that the CEO and other executives do site inspections – safety leadership
• Risk management policy and procedures
• Copies of risk management plans, directives, instructions, training records
• Workplace bullying policy and procedures
• Copies of documentation, evidence of consultation, risk assessment
• Training for all workers including executives
• Good support networks
• Current list of Contact officers, training, brochures, contact numbers
• Regular reviews of policies and procedures that take into consideration changes to legislation, Court/Commission or Tribunal decisions, and Review findings
• Investigation processes
• Management and Supervisory training in relation to conflict management/resolution
• Management reviews and audits regarding effectiveness or otherwise of various policies and procedures e.g. risk management and workplace bullying

Lessons to be learned

There is little doubt that no matter how hard one tries, one might end up involved in a workplace bullying incident. It is entirely possible that you could be the:

• victim/target,
• one accused of bullying behaviour

• officer/s of an organisation where bullying has occurred
• medical or legal professionals providing advice to the victim/target, the alleged bully or even to one of their family members
• family/friends or associates of the victim/target or the alleged bully
• investigator/s
• media

So, if you fall into one of those categories, you should be prepared. You might have some good systems and processes in place at your workplace. However, you might also like to consider the following:

• Prepare for a day in Court
• Practice responses
• Create scenario based training with role plays
• Test organisational documentation
• Anticipate worst case scenarios and develop risk management plans
• Address workplace bullying through risk management, fraud and corruption plans, audit plans, safety plans
• Identify left field questions
• Engage professionals to assist in developing appropriate responses
• Conduct „spot? audits and checks in the workplace
• Demonstrate evidence of consultation
• Know how risk assessments were conducted and what was considered
• Understanding what is due diligence and what is required
• Do your planning

Summary

It is important to know exactly what your level is risk exposure is in relation to workplace bullying. I would suggest that understanding systems and processes is only part of addressing the issue. It is important to understand why people are not reporting the incidents.

As workplaces change, and individual perceptions about what is and what is not bullying, it pays to constantly evaluate the level of exposure.

Proactive strategies and management practices might not completely eliminate workplace bullying. However, it might help to mitigate any fallout that may occur when an incident occurs.

Bernie Althofer AFAIM 2011 ©

EGL I ASSESSMENTS PTY LTD

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Spring Hill Qld 4004

ABN: 67 126 789 884

Imagine you are an officer from your organisation sitting in a Court, Commission or Tribunal and using that line to justify your actions or inactions in relation to a workplace death where workplace bullying was identified as a significant factor.

How far do you think you will get if you argue that you are not accountable or responsible for the workplace death if ‘nobody told you?’

Let’s go back a few years and think about all the changes that have impacted on the public and private sector.  Let’s think about how those changes might have impacted on your role as an officer.

 You think about how the Work Choices legislation has now changed to Fair Work Australia legislation.  You have heard something about the harmonisation of work health and safety.  You know from documents that you have seen in the past that there has been considerable research and debate conducted on the topic of workplace bullying and harassment. 

You think – “Just what have I been told?”  After all, you are the Head of your organisation and “Do I have to know everything?”

Surely the senior managers across the organisation with delegated responsibilities should take the heat.  After all, as the Head, you hold them accountable for what happens in their area of control even though the business is spread across the State.  As Head of the organisation, you have to respond to a wide range of interested parties and from to time that includes the Government, stakeholders and the community. 

You start to reflect on what it is that you do know about the organisational systems, policies and procedures regarding the prevention, detection and resolution of workplace bullying.  You recall that there was an internal working party established a few years earlier in response to a Government working party looking at the implications of workplace bullying.  You were not the organisational head at that time, so is it now your responsibility to know the finer details of the policy and procedure.  After all, you did not approve the policy.  The more you think about it, the more you consider that responsibility for the policy has been delegated to the HR Director, so they should be the one facing the questions.  Surely if there were problems with workplace bullying, you would have been told.

You think about the reporting mechanisms that are in place in relation to performance.  One of the initiatives that you started as the Head of the organisation was quarterly performance reviews.  A forum chaired by you was conducted and regional managers had to present responses to operational issues.  These regional managers had to present strategies and solutions to regional issues, and from memory, workplace bullying had not been mentioned.

You start to think about some of the Committees that operate within your organisation.  You start to list them – Audit Committee and Risk Management.  The Audit Committee generally presents very detailed reports and from memory, the cost of workplace bullying has not been identified as a critical issue.  

You sit on the Risk Management Committee and an Organisational Risk Management Plan was developed and approved, based on the advice of the Risk Management Co-coordinator.  This Risk Management Plan forms the basis for Regional Risk Management Plans.  As far as you can remember, workplace bullying has never been identified as a risk.

You think about some of the systems and processes that are in place across your organisation.  There is an Employee Assistance Service with psychologists and social workers across the organisation with a support network of Peer Support Officers; there is a network of Harassment Referral Officers and a network of health and safety co-coordinators. 

You get quarterly briefings from the HR Director regarding personnel issues.  You remember that in one briefing included some details about a WorkCover claim where allegations were made regarding workplace bullying.  However, from memory, the claim was rejected on the grounds that the actions were ‘reasonable management’.

As you think about where you currently stand, you decide to seek some outside advice from a consultant colleague.  You think you are on pretty good grounds.  You don’t expect the response your colleague provides. 

You have known the consultant for some time as he used to work in your organisation.  From time to time, the consultant had participated in some of the key change projects that had been implemented.  The consultant had also developed expertise in the field of workplace bullying.  You were reasonably confident that you had the bases covered.

The consultant listened to your concerns and before you realised what was happening, you were up to your neck in questions. 

So what did the consultant want to know?

“Are you an officer under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012?”  This was a bit of shock to the system as no-one had provided any information about this.  The consultant said “You’ve been told”.

“What do you have in place to demonstrate that you can meet your due diligence requirements?” and so you told him that you had a HR Department, EAS, support personnel and health and safety personnel.  “Is that it?” he asked.

“Tell me about the policy on detecting, resolving and preventing workplace bullying” the consultant said.  You start to explain that you were aware of the policy but you had not read it recently.

“Tell how workplace bullying is addressed in the risk management planning process” the consultant said.  You tell him that there is an organisational risk management plan which is used as a regional model.

“Tell me about some of the Safety Conferences that your employees may have attended in the last two years” the consultant said.  You tell him that there has been cut backs in training across the board and that as far as you knew, no-one from the organisation has attended any external health and safety conferences.

The consultant says “I think you should listen to what I am going to tell you, and then you will have to make up your mind as to whether or not you have been told”.   The consultant opens up and tells you this.

“Since I left your organisation, I have been presenting papers at various health and safety conferences across Australia.  It seems to me that the converted have been going.  I have not seen anyone from your organisation at one of those Conferences.  There have been key note speakers there speaking on the harmonisation of work health and safety legislation.  Unless you have been provided with regular briefings, you may not be aware of the changes regarding officers.  You may not be aware that as an officer, you have to do certain things to meet due diligence requirements and this might include getting out of your office and going to the workplace and asking questions.  I can also tell you that I have the luxury of reading comments made by workers on various websites.  Some of the comments are very direct and by tracking these comments, I can tell you that it would appear that there is a workplace culture where bullying is tolerated to the point of acceptance.  Why is culture even on the radar?  According to some legal professionals that I have spoken to, workplace culture is the next big thing to be raised in litigation.  You should also be aware that current employees from your organisation have contacted me in relation to the way they are being treated.  On the face of it, it appears that you may have some managers who are abusive and aggressive, with very little understanding of current legislative requirements regarding discriminatory conduct, bullying and harassment.  Some of your employees have even stated that HR personnel have said “If you don’t like it, why don’t you just leave”.  I can tell you that these employees believe that these managers are your ‘pets’ and that no-one is game to speak up.  If you look at some of the readers comments on the websites, it is fairly obvious that there are comments being made are about your organisation.  You should also know that a number of your employees have contacted not only me, but also legal professionals and told them about the toxic culture that exists.  These employees have been seeking advice about a class action.  I can go on.  However, you should know this if you believe that your systems and processes are working.”

Feeling a bit off colour about has just been said, you say “Why wasn’t I told?”

The consultant said “Look, a lot of your employees hold you in high regard.  They just think that you have a lot of ‘pets’ and they believe that if they speak up about how your ‘pets’ really are in the workplace, you won’t take any action.  I should also say that in some organisations, some people who are being bullied or mistreated in the workplace won’t report any form of inappropriate behaviours because they believe that no action will be taken or that they will be further victimised, threatened or harassed.  In some cases, some of the targets/victims quite openly state that they only want to tell their story once, and not have to relive it.  Frankly, it appears that you have a problem with your workplace culture, some management and communication practices, and to put it bluntly, you have been told”.

Taken aback, you said “What do you mean I’ve been told?”

The consultant said “Look, at a recent conference a lawyer made the same statement.  You have been told about the harmonisation process because it is on the internet, it has been in the newspaper, and there have been communications about the changes.  You really only have until the 31^st December 2011 to get an understanding of the new Work Health and Safety Act and what you have to do.  If an incident occurs on the 2^nd January 2012, you have to be able to justify your actions or inactions.  You know, it might be a case that you don’t know what questions you should be asking, or why those questions are even important.  See, I know that you know what are the right questions to ask in relation to operational matters”.

Feeling somewhat traumatised by these revelations and the openness displayed by your consultant friend, you go back to your office.  Obviously, the time frame is getting shorter so what do you do?  You devise a plan to find out why you weren’t told by your key advisers.  You make a phone call and set a course of action.

Could this be reality or just a little bit of pie in the sky to create a bit of fear?  Everyone has choices to make, and for every action there is a reaction and a consequence.  Ignoring the changes being created through the harmonisation processes could have some very real consequences for officers.  Every organisation may have a different way of addressing the realities of where they are now compared to where they need to be.  Delaying tactics and hoping the changes will all go away might not be the best course of action.

So, if push comes to shove and you are sitting in a Court, Commission or Tribunal, will you be one of those who say “No one told me”, or will you be the one who says “Yes, I was told, this is what I have done and this is why I did that”.

Bernie Althofer AFAIM © 2010

EGL I ASSESSMENTS PTY LTD

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So, what are your thoughts and comments on this article?

The OHS harmonization process will revolutionise how individuals and organisations approach workplace bullying. If it doesn’t, workplace bullying will continue as a critical physical and psychological issue affecting individuals and organisations forever.

So far in Australia, there have been relatively few prosecutions of organisations or individuals for health and safety breaches relating to workplace bullying. However, the recent successful prosecution of and employer and employees linked to the death of Brodie Panlock in Victoria may be the first step as Governments are starting to view deadly implications of the short, medium and long term and sometimes fatal impact of this insidious practice.

Despite publicity generated by Government Departments and strong media interest when there has been a death following a workplace bullying incident, I believe that many public and private sector organisations are being lulled into a false sense of security. Lack of data, small numbers of allegations dealt with quickly, or individuals not reporting incidents create an illusionary perception that ‘all is well’ and ‘we are doing enough.’

The tides of change are coming and as every day goes by, the tide is picking up strength just like a tsunami. What is this tide of change? In a nutshell, it is the Work Health and Safety Act that is due to be implemented in January 2012. Will it make a difference?

I believe that some of the changes will have a dramatic affect on how executive officers think about, and even commit themselves to the notion of work health and safety. They will have to about the physical and the psychological aspects if they are to meet their obligations and show that they can meet due diligence requirements.

Barry Sherriff and Michael Tooma have written an excellent, user friendly publication that is produced by CCH. I believe the way that they have interpreted the legislation has resulted in the publication of the book ‘Understanding the Model Work Health and Safety Act’. Their explanations of various definitions and what they actually mean gives credence to the belief that the tides of change are coming.

It is not intended to reproduce all the definitions covered by Sherriff and Tooma, but I am going to refer to few where I believe public and private sector agencies need to focus in terms of workplace bullying.

Officer

Executives might be blissfully unaware that changes to the legislation means that there is every possibility that they will be considered an ‘officer’ under the model WHS Act, and as such they must exercise due diligence to ensure that there organization complies with its duties under the legislation. Sherriff and Tooma point out that the term “officer” has the same definition as it has in the Corporations Act 2001. They also indicate that the definition is extended to apply to officers of the Crown by s. 244 of the model WHS Act. So, are you an officer? Sherriff and Tooma (2010:32) provide a list in relation to who is an officer.

Who is and who is not an officer in your organisation?

They also discuss due diligence and provide some discussion as to what is meant by due diligence. It is interesting to note that Sherriff and Tooma (2010:33) indicate that officers need to make themselves aware of changes to legislation and developments in case law as well as Australian standards.  Does this apply to workplace bullying? Well yes, it does. Courts, Commissions and Tribunals are continually making decisions that impact directly and indirectly on individuals and organisations. Whilst some organisations may cut back on training, it is essential that the Board and Executive officers be regularly briefed or involved in training sessions so that they can maintain currency in trends and issues and even decisions associated with workplace bullying.

Cutting back on training may even have a negative impact on how ‘officers’ demonstrate that they have met their obligations or fulfilled due diligence requirements.

Worker

Some things in relation to workplace health and safety might not change dramatically, but the definition of a worker is worth considering. As Sherriff and Tooma (2010:52) indicate, a person is a “worker” if they carry out work in any capacity for a PCBU. It is a broad definition, but they also indicate that it ‘includes work as an employee, a contractor, a subcontractor, an employee of a contractor or subcontractor, an employee of a labour hire company, an outworker, an apprentice, a trainee, a student gaining work experience, or even a volunteer.

Each of the ‘workers’ identified above can at any stage be involved in a workplace bullying incident so it is important that the safe system of work, including the prevention, detection and resolution of workplace bullying cover these people. The task is to read your current policy and see if the definition of worker meets this requirement.

Does your policy cover those ‘workers’ in terms of workplace bullying?

Who is a person at a workplace?

There are some subtle changes to the meaning of ‘who is a person at a workplace?’ Given that workplace bullying can involve internal and external employees or customers, this is an important definition. As Sherriff and Tooma (2010:53) indicate, ‘the duty of care of a person at a workplace is intended to capture visitors to workplaces, such as customers and clients, passers-by, relatives and associates of workers, and trespassers’.

Does your workplace bullying policy cover this definition?

What is a workplace?

Workplace has been mentioned several times. Workplace bullying can happen across a diverse range of locations and a key example of this is ‘cyber bullying’ or stalking (a criminal offence). It is important that employers and employees have a detailed understanding of this section. Sherriff and Tooma (2010:53) indicate that:

‘a workplace is defined as a place where work is carried out for a business or for an undertaking. It includes any place where a worker goes, or is likely to be, while at work (for example, a vehicle, a vessel, an aircraft or other mobile structure, any waters and any installation on land, and on the bed of any waters or floating on any waters). As such, not only are factories, shops, construction sites and offices workplaces, but roads, homes, national parks, schools, hotels, airports, aeroplanes, ports and ships are also workplaces when people are working there. Indeed, any place can be transformed into a workplace if people work there.’

So what is the relevance of that definition to workplace bullying? Workplace bullying can occur in any of the above places, and can be committed by employees of the organisation, or by employees of other organisations. How does your workplace bullying policy define workplace? Is it defined in your health and safety policy, or in some other document that employees hardly ever refer to?

Action

Given that Courts, Commissions and Tribunals appear to have taken a broad view about workplaces and what is workplace related, it is important that employees understand the parameters in which they operate. For example, the birthday bash of work colleagues held in an off site location may be considered work related if an event that occurs at the party site is discussed in the workplace proper.

Some organisations will allow employees to attend post event functions e.g. after a Conference, but ‘kick on events’ may occur after the post event functions. Depending on the circumstances, a ‘kick on event’ may be considered work related, or even a workplace.  From time to time, allegations of sexual harassment and bullying arise following such events, and in some cases, excessive consumption of liquor has occurred.

Changes to the workplace, broadening of definitions and allegations of all forms of inappropriate behaviour can result in adverse publicity and damage to individual and organisational reputations.

Is there a need for panic?  Well, no not at the moment.

However, if I were an Executive in the public or private sector, I would want to make sure that I could meet all the obligations placed on me through the changes to the Work Health and Safety Act and I would to be able to demonstrate that I could meet due diligence requirements. I would not to be sitting in some Court, Commission or Tribunal trying to explain why I had failed in my duties as an ‘officer’. I don’t think like would like to be explaining to the CEO or to the Board about how my inactions failed the organisation.

At the same time, if I was an employee giving evidence in a Court, Commission or Tribunal as to why I had committed a breach of work health and safety, I would want to know the answers.

What should I do?

Executive officers should be getting briefings from their health and safety personnel.

Health and safety personnel should be working hand in glove with HR, Risk Managers, and other key personnel concerned with managing physical and psychological hazards in their organizations.

Employees should approach their unions or health and safety personnel to find out what their obligations are and what they have to do meet them.

Health and Safety policies and procedures, along with various HR policies should be reviewed to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Work Health and Safety Act.

In the meantime, publications such as that listed in the references provide a very good understanding of the key issues identified in this short paper.

Alternatively, there are a number of Safety Conferences being held between now and 2012 where key note speakers address the Work Health and Safety Act. I have been to several of these, and the Melbourne SIA featured the eloquence of Barry Sherriff of Norton Rose explaining in a no-nonsense manner just how the new Act is going to impact on organisations and individuals.

References

Sherriff, B. & Tooma, M. (2010) Understanding the Model Work Health and Safety Act. CCH AUSTRALIA LIMITED. Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group. ISBN: 978 1 921593 72 7.

Knowledge

Currently there is a collective body of knowledge developing in Australia and much of this knowledge comes from victims, alleged bullies, organisations, medical and legal professionals, family/friends and associates, investigators and the media.  There is no unified approach.

Whilst there may be some individuals and/or professional differences of opinion about the best possible solution, a national approach that allows collaboration to build on mutual respect and dignity may ultimately result in strategies or guiding principles that will benefit all and sundry irrespective of individual values and beliefs, cultural background or other critically relevant issues.

Some literature has in the past suggested that guidelines such as those for risk management, quality management and the like be developed.  This approach could have merit if they were developed as industry standards.  They could be guidelines but not compulsory, and tied to the proposed OHS harmonisation processes. 

They would be generic and allow the public and private sector to apply them, and this could result in some cost savings.  Licensing arrangements could allow individual organisations to use the guidelines without having to write numerous pages of policies or procedures.  In some cases, the guidelines might be the extension of a Code of Practice currently owned by a State Government agency.

Emerging trends and issues

Recent media sources indicate that workplace bullying is escalating.  Court, Commission and Tribunal decisions are resulting in an increased need for organisations and individuals to be increasingly vigilant about issues that will impact on workplace bullying allegations.

There are also indications that workplace bullying reduces the corruption resistance of agencies, and at the very least, creates a pathway to corruption or unlawful activities. 

It would be in the best interests of public and private sector agencies (irrespective of size) to develop a system or process that allows them to stay in touch with trends and issues.  It could up being embarrassing for an executive officer if they are confronted in a Court, Commission or Tribunal trying to respond to something they know nothing about.

Deviance

There seems to be little doubt that there is a strong link between deviance and bullying.  For some, ideas about deviance or deviants create a belief it only means rapists, murderers, paedophiles, child molesters or domestic violence perpetrators. 

What if bullying does not meet social norms and values (as if it ever did)?  Would we as individuals or as organisations believe that workplace bullying is something to be tolerate, excused or accepted as part of the ‘norm’?

If we as a society believe that workplace bullies are deviants who fail to meet community standards about treating others with respect and dignity, surely it is time to recognise the financial and societal costs and treat it as disease.  Perhaps it is time that bullying, as well as being recognised as a health and safety issue, be treated as a public health issue.

New Directions

There has to be community debate about the acceptability of workplace bullying if organisations and individuals are expected to survive.  In much the same way that informed debate lead to changes in domestic violence and in leadership, similar processes have to be started to generate understanding about the negative impact on workplace bullying on business and society.

Just because it has existed in many forms across a range of societies and communities since time immemorial, it doesn’t mean that no attempts should be made at a national level.

It is time to treat workplace bullying as a national disgrace and take positive action to create a bully free society and workplace.

All it will take is a few good people to stand up and be counted.  Will you be one of them?

Conclusion

Everyone in society feels the impact of workplace bullying.  As taxpayers, customers or clients we experience higher costs, reduced service and increased levels of frustrations because of the bullying that occurs in some organisations.

When I wrote my book about Resolving Workplace Bullying, I found that there were some common issues involving the victims, the alleged bully, the organisation, the medical and legal professionals, the family/friends and associates, the investigators and the media.  Everyone had a vested interest and everyone wanted to ask questions. 

However, not everyone knew what question to ask or why it should be asked.  My practical experience in speaking with victims, alleged bullies and organisations led me to believe that whilst bullying seemed to be part of life, many people were uncomfortable with it happening.

It was a concern that whilst organisations were able to produce policies and procedures about the prevention, detection and resolution of workplace bullying, not much was being done to educate people on the basics of organisational life.

You do need to plan for the day they will be involved in a workplace bullying incident.  When it does happen, how are you going to respond? Whether you believe it or not, we are all in this together.  One of the great things about treating people with respect and dignity is this.  We might not agree on each other’s viewpoint, but we can have some constructive discussions that might be emotive and challenging and we can still agree to disagree without humiliating, intimidating or threatening each other.  It is about communication.

I have set out a few ideas that I believe if addressed not only at a National level but on an organisational and individual level, can make a major inroad into reducing the incidence of workplace bullying.

We can individually and as organisations keep treading water or going around in circles doing the same old thing, and nothing will change.

Alternatively, we can get involved, set the ball rolling and make positive changes.

Thank you so much to Bernie for all of his advice on Bullying in the Workplace.

Reputations

Workplace bullying incidents have the potential to negatively impact on individual and corporate reputations.  Some individuals who are subjected to workplace bullying may find the barriers that exist make it harder for them to report the incident, let alone get an outcome they are satisfied with. 
Some may be confronted with a cone of silence where organisations and work colleagues take a dim view of whistleblowers or those seeking to right workplace wrongs.  Whilst some may suffer in silence for some period of time, the full impact or cost of bullying might never be known if they are not encouraged or required to report.

It should be understood that whilst some individuals take action immediately, others may think about the issues for some time.  Some victims may be so traumatised by the circumstances that simple processes like dealing with the paperwork become overwhelming and increase the negative stress levels.  As a result, the way in which they respond can have a negative impact on their claim process, and they may ultimately do something or take some action that impact on their personal reputation.

Data collection

There is no national data collection system in place so the full extent or cost of bullying is not known.  Projections on averages seem to be one way of working out costs.  It is also problematic for States and Territories wanting to appear proactive. 

Informed decision making is affected as the lack of data means that interventions can be developed on data obtained from a minority.  Surveys can be conducted involving small data collection groups.  Silo approaches used in the prevention, detection and resolution of workplace bullying sometimes mean that critical interpretation regarding the level of risk and exposure being faced by an organisation is overlooked.

The direct and indirect costs can mean that the intangible costs are not captured, not understood and therefore not considered as part of the total cost caused by the bully.

Who would think to capture costs related to resources, meeting rooms, computer storage space, stationery and the like?  After all, aren’t these just abundant office supplies to be used?  If they weren’t being used in the pursuit of bullying incidents, perhaps some costs could be saved along the way.

Data collection models should be carefully considered.  After all, who wants to be so busy collecting data that they don’t have time to do the work for which they are paid.

Some of the literature discusses average costs, but it is hard to know how this should be determined when no two allegations are identical.

Change

Workplace bullying is a complex situation requiring complex solutions.

However, as with any change there is a need for a change in attitude about the short, medium and long term impacts on the physical and psychological wellbeing of individuals and organisations.  There has to be a national commitment to change.  Successful change has to be driven from the top and the positive messages communicated consistently across the Nation.

Just as other forms of physical and psychological hazards are treated as a priority, the same rules have to apply in the way organisations respond to workplace bullying.

Sometimes organisations may use financial data as a way of setting benchmarks against which performance can be measured.  Imagine if your organisation was able to create change by highlighting increases or decreases in the financial cost of bullying.

Financial impact

The financial impact of workplace bullying across the Nation has to be considered as a critical area of improvement.

Ad hoc and inconsistent approaches, whilst providing some relief for those involved, may not provide a holistic, long term approach to problem solving.

It might also be symptomatic that whilst there is no national data collection process in place to give an accurate understanding of workplace bullying, the lack of co-ordination or financial recording of costs within individual work units contributes to a lack of organisational responsiveness.

If the average cost of one workplace bullying incident is $20,000 and there are a number of such incidents across an organisation, how does an organisation recognise the risk expose when the collective cost of several incidents is not recorded? 

There is an inconsistent and perhaps inaccurate process in place to measure the financial cost of bullying.  Some measures take prevalence into consideration and some estimates may not consider all of the indirect costs.

As far as can be determined, there is no national model that can be used to cost workplace bullying, although there are some excellent publications that can be used to form a framework under which costs could be captured.

It does appear that costs of bullying can range from as low as $60 per person per annum to as high as $4690 per person per annum.  Some of these costs have been calculated on a prevalence rate as low as 3.5%, whilst others (the high rate) do not give a prevalence rate.

Whichever way you do the calculation, the figures are almost unbelievable; hence the reason why I indicated it is a national disgrace.  If you are an executive officer, wouldn’t you like some certainty about the degree of accuracy?  That is not to say that the dollar costs indicated in the previous paragraph are inaccurate. 

Hence the imperative to generate a model that can predict with a higher degree of accuracy, all the direct and indirect costs associated with workplace bullying.

Health and Safety

There is little doubt that bullying seems to be heading for the position of number one contender for the greatest negative health and safety cost in terms of physical and/or psychological hazards. 

Whilst all States and Territories have been upping the ante in relation to safer workplaces, the inclusion of bullying with the same level of focus might have national benefits.

It is interesting to note that the current moves to harmonise health and safety laws across Australia.  This could have interesting ramifications and implications for all States and Territories as they develop common meanings and understanding of health and safety related issues such as workplace bullying.

Changes to compliance and penalty regimes could mean that workplace bullying offences are pursued through higher courts such as District Courts, and be heard before a jury. Depending on the nature and circumstances of the workplace bullying incident, there is a possibility that a person convicted under a Category One level could face imprisonment of up to five years. No doubt this will create an environment where organisations will need to think seriously about how they detect, respond and resolve bullying allegations.

If executive officers believe they are at risk of imprisonment, they might be interested in being proactive in preventing, detecting and resolving workplace bullying.

Some organisations are adopting a zero harm approach in relation to health and safety, but some may not have linked the negative impact of workplace bullying to physical injuries or harm. 

What happens when a person is so traumatised by being bullied and they are involved in a physical incident that results in death or serious injuries? Will the investigation look at all the causal and contributing factors to determine state of mind and fitness for duty?

Training to assist managers and supervisors in the identification of ‘at risk’ personnel may be some of the best proactive measures organisations could and should take to meet duty of care obligations in providing safe work environments.

As training budgets are cut in all areas, but particularly in the area of health and safety, it may become harder for executive officers to demonstrate their commitment to health and safety and how they are meeting the legislative obligations in relation to safe working environments.

Uniformity

As indicated previously, the lack of a national uniform approach has negative impacts across business and society. Different Courts, Commissions and Tribunals are used in the resolution processes. Given that bullying is a complex issue requiring complex solutions, Courts, Commissions or Tribunals are often required to hear ‘experts’ so that a determination can be made. 

It is important for those involved in a workplace bullying incident to understand that the legal processes may be a contributing factor in achieving a resolution. For some the resolution may not be what they want and they have to reach a compromise that they are not entirely happy with.

Bullying incidents can involve breaches of contracts, non compliance with policy and procedures, or people simply being nasty to others.  It is important that individuals at all levels understand the changing trends and issues associated with workplace bullying Court, Commission or Tribunal decisions.

Silo approaches in organisations and across organisations engaged in the same industry may result in information not being shared. Consequently, when a Court, Commission or Tribunal decision is made, the results might not be shared. If the information was shared, it might result in a further incident being prevented.

Reasonable Management

What is reasonable to one is unreasonable to another. Some management decisions can be construed as unreasonable when in reality; decisions are made in good faith. 

The law in relation to reasonable and reasonableness is subject to interpretation and hence confusion on the part of managers and other employees. 

Whilst Codes of Practice attempt to give guidance, other decision makers within the injury claims process may have different understandings or interpretations.

It can also become an issue when a Government Department issues a Code of Practice with an outline of what is believed to be the core components of reasonable management, only to find that another area such as one that might make decisions about workplace injury claims has a different interpretation.

Consider these four statements:

1. Workplace bullying incidents have the potential to create financial, physical and psychological trauma to individuals and organisations.
2. Individual and corporate reputations can be severely affected when allegations are ignored or are not effectively investigated.
3. Someone, somewhere died today (physically or psychologically) because of bullying.
4. There is an increased chance that you will be held personally liable for breaches of the law.

How would you respond in a Court, Commission or Tribunal if you were confronted by a legal team representing a victim or the family of a victim who had died because of workplace bullying?

In some cases, your personal or organisational reputation will be damaged because you did not consider workplace bullying to be a risk.

For some individuals and organisations, policies and procedures will be implemented on the intranet, but this may mean little when it comes time to defend an allegation. 

Workplace bullying has a direct and indirect impact on victims, alleged bullies, organisations, the medical and legal professions, the family/friends and associates, the investigators and the media.

Each plays a critical role in preventing, detecting and resolution workplace bullying.  You have to understand what your role is now and what is will be in the future.  Plan for the day when you will be involved in a workplace bullying incident.

Everyone has a tale to tell about how they have been bullied, how a friend was bullied, how the manager was bullied and even how the client was bullied.  After a while all the stories start to sound the same, only the location varies.

In this relatively short article, I want to highlight what I believe are some critical issues that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

We all have choices to make and sometimes it easy to look back in hindsight and understand why a different course of action should have been taken.  We only have to do a quick search on the internet to see how many people are talking about workplace bullying.  It seems that hardly a day goes by without some mention of bullying being made.

Is there too much talk and not enough action?

National Disgrace

If a national company lost between $3 billion and $36 billion a year, there would be all sorts of inquiries and media attention.  It would be viewed as a national disgrace and the executives of that company would be vilified. 

However, various publications and media sources indicate that workplace bullying reportedly costs Australian business between $3 and $36 billion per year.  These costs can include:

• Adverse publicity
• Criminal charges
• Vicarious liability – personal
• Disciplinary action
• Absenteeism
• Presenteeism
• Staff turnover
• Increased stress claims
• Loss of productivity
• Increased negative workplace conflict
• Poor work performance
• Wasted resources
• Increased workload
• Poor motivation
• Family costs
• Medical expenses
• Legal costs
• Physical health
• Psychological health
• Sabotage
• Investigation costs
• Training costs

Some of these costs to business can slip through the cracks as there is no structured approach to collecting or reviewing them.  It can be impossible to allocate an accurate dollar cost on these issues when a workplace bullying incident may go unreported or undetected for a long period of time. 

We should not be lulled into a false sense of security and believe these costs are acceptable.  We should also understand that there are numerous indirect costs involved.

The cynics might say that it is part of doing business and the costs or expenses will be recovered by increasing the price of the product or services being provided to consumers. 

It is also important to consider that the real cost of workplace bullying might not be known.  Some victims may choose to remain silent in fear of further retribution or job loss and some organisations may have no systems or processes in place to collect data about the extent of workplace bullying.

At a time when Australian businesses are tightening their belt because of the international economic situation, and reviewing employment levels, improving systems and processes, it seems to be an appropriate time to be innovative and creative at a national level to reduce the overall negative impact of bullying. 

Who knows, additional job opportunities might be created through the savings generated by addressing causal factors, reducing negative outcomes and creating long term strategies that create positive workplaces.

At a time when the cost of doing business is being reviewed, it is timely that bullying as a bottom line operating cost is addressed.

The negative impact of all forms of bullying has generated a growth industry.  Legislators, researchers, heath and safety professionals, legal and medical professionals, practitioners and consultants, victim support groups, the media and investigators all play a part, some being proactive and some reactive. 

Whilst each and every person is doing something in their own way that contributes to detecting, preventing or resolving workplace bullying, there is no national unified approach.  Image the benefits that could flow if there was a co-ordinated and unified approach.

It also seems that there has been extensive academic research conducted to date, that the answers have already been developed, but for one reason or other are lying around to be ‘discovered’.  No doubt, there are many groups who have been funded for research that is conducted over a long period of time. Again, this might be a cost that could be added to the cost of workplace bullying.

It might be time to pull all the research together (irrespective of source), synthesise the findings, pull out what might work, and put it into practice.  One thing that keeps coming with some of the people that I talk to is the need for simple guidelines about what works and what doesn’t.  Many people just say to me “Just tell me what I have to do; I don’t have time to wait for all that to happen.”

Academic research does have its purpose and many great results have been achieved for those involved.  However, the research could be used to greater benefit if it were adopted at a national level to drive change.

Some people might believe that a proactive response should focus on the victim/s.  However, if there were no bullies, there would be no costs incurred.  Perhaps the real focus should be on the bully and how much they cost the organisation, the customers or clients, or even the taxpayers.

Definitions

Definitions can help people understand the elements of what is and what isn’t bullying.  Whilst some words are consistent, there is no singular international or national definition of bullying.

Not only is that a problem for individuals who are confronted with a virtual maze of what bullying means, organisations that operate across a number of States or Territories must know each State or Territory definition.

No two States or Territory has the same approach to detecting, preventing or resolving bullying.  The development of a single, nationally accepted definition of workplace would provide assistance and guidance to organisations and to individuals.

Perhaps there an overemphasis on the word ‘bully’ and some people might wear the tag as a badge of honour.  We should understand that there is considerable research being undertaken on an international level (with Australia and South Eastern Asia) being included.

Definitions can be problematic if criminal charges are pursued.  Each element of the offence must be present and generally there is a requirement to ensure the offence has been committed.  Of course, there is no criminal offence of bullying per se and allegations into bullying only have to be proven to the civil standard of proof, not the criminal standard which requires the charge to be proven ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’.

Where there is a lack of clarity about bullying, this could lead to confusion, and ultimately continued dissatisfaction with outcomes achieved.

We really do need to have a common language and understanding of what is and what isn’t bullying.

Thank you Bernie.

You can find the previous segment to Bernie’s article at Tips for Dealing with Workplace Bullying

The thirteen chapters of discussion, questions and helpful hints within Bernie’s book can be used to help personnel move from being or remaining a ‘victim’ to being a ‘survivor’ if they are involved in a workplace bullying incident.

The book chapters are:

1. Overview
2. Occupational and workplace violence
3. Introduction
4. The victim
5. The alleged bully
6. The organisation
7. The medical professionals
8. The legal professionals
9. The family, friends and associates
10. The investigators
11. The media
12. Summary
13. A call to action

Here are some examples of the questions to be asked of all those related to the bullying incident or who will become involved: (Each question listed below is a ‘lead in’ to a series of related questions.)

Questions – The Victim (this is the person who is being subjected to bullying).

• Who committed the behaviours against you?
• What is the specific nature of the behaviours?
• When were the behaviours committed?
• Why has the bullying happened to you?
• Where did the bullying behaviours happen?
• How did you respond?
• What do you know about your organisation?

Helpful hint: Know your workplace bullying policy and procedures

Questions – the Alleged Bully (this is the person who uses bullying behaviour and in some cases, the alleged bully can be the victim. The book details more on this indicates when this occurs):

• Who decides if my behaviours are those of a workplace bully?
• What is ‘reasonable management?

Note: There are a lot more questions that the alleged bully should be asking.

Helpful hint: Read the organisational/company policy on workplace bullying.

Questions – the Organisation:

• Does the organisation have a workplace bullying policy?

Note: There are many questions that should be asked by the ‘organisation’ if they want to be in a situation where they can successfully defend an allegation.

Helpful hint: Have an implementation plan (including an ongoing training plan).

Questions – Medical Professionals:

• What happens when you go to the GP/psychologist/ psychiatrist/counsellor?

Note: As a patient, you do need to know what happens. Don’t be afraid to ask.

Helpful hint: Be guided by the professional advice offered by the GP and/or psychologist or psychiatrist.

Questions – Legal Professionals

• What do you know about bullying?

Note:  There are many questions you need to ask to make sure that you will get the best possible legal advice.

Questions your Legal Professionals may ask you:

• Tell me about the circumstances of your situation.

Note:  Your legal professional will ask many questions to determine what happened so they can give you the best possible advice.

Helpful hint: Be aware that you may not understand everything your legal professionals ask you.

Questions – Family, Friends and Associates:

• Are you legally prevented from saying anything to anyone in the workplace or elsewhere?

Note: There may be some internal policy that prevents you from talking to others.

Helpful hint: Understand that not everyone will understand your situation.

Note: Victims and alleged bullies may feel on the outer.  Do ask questions.

Questions – Investigators

• Are internal or external investigators used?

Note: The use of internal or external investigators may have some impact on the outcomes of the investigations.

Helpful hint: Have an investigations policy.

Questions – the Media

• Does the organisation have a crisis management policy?

Note: The media loves a good story. 

Helpful hint: Include instructions on how to respond to a workplace bullying incident in the policy.

Once again, special thanks to Bernie, and we hope to have the details of where to get his book in early 2009.

Bernie has recently completed his latest book on dealing with Workplace Bullying which is shortly to be released. (I will keep you up to date with details of where you can access Bernie’s work.)

Bernie has been kind enough to share an article around his book, “Survival questions and helpful hints to resolve the dangerous epidemics and systemic breeding cultures that are workplace bullying” The piece is full of guidelines and questions for handling workplace bullying, so it will need to be cut into sections for the website. Here is the first part:

The mention of workplace bullying conjures up all sorts of images about victims and alleged bullies.  Most States and Territories within Australia have introduced legislation and/or codes of practices that employees at all levels can and should use to detect, prevent and resolve these insidious practices.

Most organisations recognise that workplace bullying has significant health and safety implications that impact on the ability to provide quality services.  Organisations also recognise that negative publicity generated through workplace bullying incidents will have an impact on corporate and individual reputations.

When a workplace bullying incident occurs, it is not just the victim and the alleged bully who are involved.  Workplace bullying also involves the organisation, the medical and legal professionals, the family/friends and associates, the investigators and the media.

How does each of these respond?  I would suggest that some respond poorly and some exceptionally well. 

Workplace bullying is a complex issue that involves a diverse range of contributing factors where there is no simple or standard response.  Preparation and prevention can be the keys to reducing the risk of physical and psychological trauma that may occur to individuals.

Is a workplace bullying policy enough? No.  The workplaces of today are different to those that existed 20 years ago, and will be different to those in ten years time.  The international arena in relation to health and safety and the way in which directors and senior managers are now being taken to task and asked to explain their commitment to health and safety before a jury places more onus on organisations to address workplace bullying.

How should organisations and individuals respond?  There are no set formulae that can be used to respond to each and every possible situation where someone perceives they are being bullied.

However, as part of the prevention and detection process, asking questions can be very effective.  The questions that will be asked will depend on how confident an individual feels and whether or not the organisation has a culture that allows the questions.

When a workplace bullying incident occurs, it may the culmination of a series of events or workplace conflict that suddenly flares up and results in an allegation being made.  Irrespective of who is involved, most questions will revolve around the old standards – who, what, when, why, where or how.  As many people will realise, these questions are not only the realm of detectives, investigators or auditors.

These questions are generally not found in policy or procedural documents except to outline certain responsibilities and actions to be taken.

The resolution of workplace bullying involves a complex range of questions that will be asked by the victim, the alleged bully, and many of the other people involved. A number of personnel can be exposed when a workplace bullying incident occurs.

Chapters of the book are devoted to each of the personnel involved and each chapter is related to one or more other chapters. A series of helpful hints are also included in the book and in many cases, the implementation of these could reduce the short, medium and long term effects of a workplace incident.

What are the questions and hints? …

You’ll find an indepth list on the next segment of Bernie’s article, so stay tuned. Thank you Bernie – and we’re looking forward to when your work is published.