Bullying
and harassment is a major problem within many workplaces, however often it
remains a hidden problem and can be accepted or even encouraged by the culture
of an organisation.
Bullying
at work can never be acceptable. The TUC believes that all workers have the
right to be treated with dignity and respect at work and any form of bullying
is totally unacceptable behaviour. In addition it can lead to work related
stress and ill health for many workers.
What is workplace
bullying?
Usually if a
person genuinely feels they are being singled out for unfair treatment by a
boss or colleague they are probably being bullied. Although there is no
comprehensive list of bullying behaviours, and there is no one type of person
who is likely to be a bully, the list below should give an idea of some of the
behaviours which constitute workplace bullying.
Bullying
behaviour can include:
- Competent staff being constantly criticised, having responsibilities removed or being given trivial tasks to do
- Staff being shouted at
- Staff being persistently picked on in front of others, or in private
- Having promotion blocked
- Regularly making the same person the butt of jokes
- Constantly attacking a member of staff in terms of their professional or personal standing
- Setting a person up to fail by overloading them with work or setting impossible deadlines
- Regularly and deliberately ignoring or excluding individuals from work activities
- Staff having their views and opinions ignored
The extent of
bullying
The extent of
bullying varies from employer to employer, and sector to sector.
A large
survey on bullying at work by the University
of Manchester showed
that:
- 1 in 10 workers had been bullied in the last 6 months
- 1 in 4 workers had been bullied in the last 5 years
- 47% of workers had witnessed bullying at work
Another
survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 20%
had experienced some form of bullying or harassment over the past two years.
The survey also reported that the groups most likely to become victims of
bullying and harassment are black and Asian employees, women and people with a
disability. Nearly one third (29 per cent) of Asian employees or those from
other ethnic groups report having experienced some form of bullying or
harassment compared with 18 per cent of white employees. Employees with
disabilities are at least twice as likely to report having experienced one or
more forms of bullying and harassment compared with non-disabled employees.
Research has
also shown that while managers and supervisors are more likely to be the bully,
they can also be bullied. For example, almost equal numbers of workers with and
without supervisory responsibility report being bullied in the previous nine
months, and 9% of senior managers report being targeted by bullies. However the
most common type of bullying is by a manager against a subordinate.
Workplace
bullying is also a major concern for safety representatives. The TUC survey of safety representatives published in
2006 showed that one in three safety representatives say bullying is a problem
in their workplace with 15% viewing it as a major hazard of concern to workers.
However within the public sector the figure rose to 18%.
The cost of bullying
The main cost
of bullying is to the individual being bullied. Stress and ill health can
become part of the daily life of those being bullied. Symptoms can include:
anxiety, headaches, nausea, ulcers, sleeplessness, skin rashes, irritable bowel
syndrome, high blood pressure, tearfulness, loss of self confidence, and
depression. In addition employers pay a high price for failing to tackle
bullying because of lost time by staff being affected by stress and ill health,
lost incentives when morale is low and reduced work output and quality of
service in organisations where bullying is endemic. Also workplaces with a
culture of bullying are likely to have a much higher staff turnover.
However it
must be recognised that bullying is not just a question of an individual
picking on someone weaker or more vulnerable than them. Often it is a symptom
of the culture within the organisation. If an employer makes it quite clear
they will not accept bullying, and are prepared to take action against anyone
found to have bullied a colleague then bullying can be stopped in its tracks.
The Law
Employers who
fail to tackle bullying are breaking the law. All employers have a legal duty
under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure the health, safety and
welfare of their employees. That includes protection from bullying and
harassment at work. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
also require employers to assess the nature and the scale of workplace risks to
health and safety, ensure there are proper control measures in place, and take
action to remove or avoid these risks wherever possible as far is as reasonably
practical.
The Health
and Safety Executive also states that 'there should be systems in place to deal
with interpersonal conflicts such as bullying and harassment'.
The
Employment Rights Act 1996 allows employees to claim unfair dismissal if they
are forced to leave their job because of actions by their employer or a failure
to deal with any complaint. This can include failure by the employer to protect
their employees from bullying and harassing behaviour. Often harassment is
motivated by a workers sex, sexuality, race or disability and in these cases
claim may also be able to be taken under the appropriate equality legislation.
Causing a person harassment, alarm, or distress is also a criminal act and in
certain circumstances the police can charge the harasser with a criminal
offence. Also under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 victims of
harassment can seek civil injunctions against behaviour, which causes distress.
However the
priority for trade unions must be to prevent people being bullied in the first
place. That means trying to eliminate it from the workplace. To do that it is
important to focus on the bullying behaviour rather than the bullies
themselves. This recognises that some people who bully do not do so knowingly,
but specifically reflect a culture that is being allowed to develop within the
workplace.
Further information
There is
advice for individuals on bullying on the TUC website at: http://www.tuc.org.uk/tuc/rights_bullyatwork.cfm
In addition,
ACAS have produced guidance on bullying and harassment at: http://www.acas.org.uk/a_z/bullying_harassment.html
The main
charity working in this area is the Andrea Adams Trust. They produce resources
and help on workplace bullying http://www.andreaadamstrust.org/
There is also
advice on the PCS website found at the following: www.pcs.org.uk. Go
to Knowledge Centres/Equality/Advice and
Guidance/Bullying at Work Guidance
