Dealing with bullying in the workplace

Until recently, bullying in the workplace has gone largely unrecognised by both government and by employers alike. Research indicates that somewhere between one third and one half of all stress related illness is directly attributable to bullying at the workplace.

Workplace bullying can take many forms and may include examples of Racial and/or Sexual harassment. On the whole however, bullying in workplaces take place as clear examples of the abuse of power.

The workplace bully is generally well known by both the employees and the employer, even in the case where the bully is not identified within the often entirely unsatisfactory procedure. The bully will often be in a position of authority over the people that he or she terrorises in the workplace and as such is often the first port of call within the grievance procedure. In the past, most if not all potential complaints will either be ignored, disbelieved or trivialised by the personnel department.

The type of workplaces where bullying is more likely to occur are those with an extremely competitive environment; a fear of redundancy or a fear for ones position. Some companies may inadvertently encourage a culture of promotion by putting colleagues down. An authoritarian style of management, organisational change and excessive workloads are also said to be contributory factors.

Nearly one in 12 staff working in the NHS has experienced bullying or harassment by their manager, according to government figures. An official survey of doctors, nurses and administrators shows the scale of the culture of bullying that has to be tackled by hospitals and primary care trusts.  The Observer 27 January 2008

At TrainingTeams, we train all staff to take an interest in justice and fairness in the workplace.