In Australia workplace bullying is defined as repeated unreasonable behaviour that creates a risk to health and safety (1). Comparatively, harassment involves “unwelcome behaviour that intimidates, offends or humiliates a person” and can therefore result from a single incident.
Both of these behaviours are serious workplace hazards that will have a direct impact on organisational wellness and how psychologically safe an individual feels. Preventing the occurrence of workplace bullying and harassment is therefore a central component of employers’ duty of care to reduce and limit risks to employee health.
It’s not sufficient to address workplace bullying and harassment as it occurs, we need to treat it like a safety incident to prevent it from occurring. To achieve this we must analyse instances of bullying and harassment and the factors that lead to their occurrence, and then address them at their core to prevent it from happening in the future.
While many consider individual and interpersonal factors to be the main cause of bullying and harassment, research has consistently shown that organisational factors relating to psychological safety are mostly responsible.
Research conducted by Safe Work Australia (Barometer study) shows that psychological safety, which they call psychosocial safety climate (PSC), and organisational factors are the leading indicators of workplace bullying and harassment.
This idea of PSC encompasses an organisation’s policies, practices and attitudes towards protecting the psychological health of their employees. These factors can include work stressors such as high job demands and limited job control, autocratic leadership styles, a lack of resources, poor communication and group hostility (2).
Australian Barometer
From 2014-2015:
nearly 1 in 10 Australian employees reportedly experienced workplace bullying in the last 6 months
37.2% of Australian employees reported being sworn or yelled at while at work.
Australian Human Rights Commission (2018 Report):
39% of women and 26% of men have experienced sexual harassment at work in the last five years.
Barometer:
“Since PSC is a lead indicator of bullying and harassment, cultivating a robust organisational PSC is the best target for intervention and prevention strategies”
“Construction sites are overwhelmingly a masculine space… Practices of aggression and blame towards women and men are abundant.
In addition, women, also endure practices of sexism, sexual harassment and sexual discrimination. There is a tolerance and acceptance of sexism, sexist language and sexist practices by project leaders, employees and subcontractors. Women were called ‘sweetheart’, ‘babe’ and ‘girl’.”
How to build a workplace culture where there is no tolerance for bullying and harassment
Ensure that your expectations and policies regarding acceptable behaviour, bullying and harassment, are clear and relevant to the safety risks that may arise in your specific organisational environment and industry.
Set a zero tolerance for sexually or racially hostile behaviours and be prepared to act on it. This includes environments where offensive jokes or sexually crude conversations are commonplace or accepted (3).
“The 2020 Commission noted that compensation claims relating to bullying often involve performance management, disciplinary action, and co-workers or managers.”
Make sure all employees know what bullying and harassment looks and sounds like so that they understand what is and isn’t acceptable, particularly in relation to performance conversations.
Understanding what is ‘reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner’ (1) is particularly crucial, so that leaders and employees know what is fair and reasonable in terms of supervision and management of employee performance.
Bullying and harassment can be influenced by psychological safety factors such as job control and emotional demands, and can impact a person's social worth.
Visit the SMART Work Design page for more information about how to tackle these influences, specifically by addressing the relational aspects of the job role.
We must effectively manage interpersonal conflict before it escalates and leads to bullying or harassment. If this is a problem for your workplace, it is essential to explore how you can enhance your team’s relationships.
We must make it clear that bullying and harassment will not be tolerated. Set clear expectations for behaviours that are / are not acceptable and the consequences for people deviating from these expectations.
Call To Action
It is crucial that you reflect on your existing policies, and consider whether they are relevant to the psychological hazards that exist in your unique workplace environment, which may contribute to creating a hostile organisational culture and instances of bullying and harassment.
It is also particularly important that you check in with supervisors and leaders’ understanding of these issues, and ensure that they know what constitutes bullying and harassment and what is considered reasonable action in relation to performance management and disciplinary practices.
Taking it Further
Often leaders don’t actually know what impact their behaviour and leadership style is having, or how it is being interpreted by their colleagues.
Because bullying and harassment are often founded in inequalities in power and status and associated with those in management or leadership roles, understanding how others perceive and are impacted by leadership styles can have significant and immediate effects on employee wellness.
If you would like to learn more about how to develop your leadership capabilities explore Leadership Development.
Further, leaders can develop their skills using tools such as a 360° feedback tool. This provides real feedback to leaders on how their colleagues & employees perceive them, and encourages them to adjust their approach when they are potentially having a negative impact on the self-confidence and/or wellness of others.
Additionally, in the same way that preventing and managing physical safety hazards in the workplace is the responsibility of all employees and employers, we are all responsible for maintaining a psychologically safe workplace environment.
You can ensure this by establishing a culture where it is the norm that everyone is expected to and does intervene, when they witness inappropriate behaviour. It is especially crucial that leaders role-model this behaviour consistently.
Where to Now?
Sources
Potter, RE, Dollard, MF, Tuckley, MR 2016, Bullying & Harassment in Australian Workplaces: Results from the Australian Workplace Barometer Project 2014/2015, Safe Work Australia.
The Australian Productivity Commission, 2020, Mental Health, Canberra, Report no.95.
Loosemore, M, Powell, A, Chappell, L, Galea, N, Rogan, A, Blaxland, M, Dainty, A, Mar, P & Salignac, F 2018, Demolishing gender structures, UNSW, viewed 15 March 2021.
UNSW report ‘demolishing gender structures’, pg. 13