With next week being Anti-Bullying Week (13th-17th November), here is a guide how to combat bullying in the workplace as an employee and employer. He also explained what employees should do if they have reason to believe another employee is being bullied.

It comes as online searches show a 200% rise for ‘where to report workplace bullying’ and ‘feeling harassed at work’ over the last year. Searches for ‘workplace bullying’ have also increased by 23% over the last three months.

Bullying in the Workplace
What are the signs employers should look out for that may indicate bullying or harassment is occurring in the workplace?

Bullying can take many forms.

For example:

• A colleague may allow banter to get out of hand, engage in name calling, or spread false rumours.

• Victims may be excluded from conversations or team social events.

• A refusal to cooperate can make it very difficult for the individual to do their work. In some extreme circumstances, impaired communication could even constitute a health and safety risk.  For example, these sorts of issues in say an operating theatre, on the flight deck or on a building site could potentially be dangerous.

• Unfortunately, bullying can also be from managers or superiors. Managers might, for example, undermine employees by belittling the, or unduly criticising their ideas or work as well as in more overt ways.

• Managers might also engage in other types of bullying including excluding a particular individual, piling too much work on them, not allowing them to have any work, or otherwise setting them up to fail.

Beyond more obvious signs of individuals being put down or shouted at by others, employers should do their best to notice changes in behaviour, particularly if staff are becoming quieter or less responsive than usual or if they appear to be visibly upset.

Having open lines of communication and trust with staff in those circumstances will hopefully result in issues being raised quickly before they escalate.

What should an employee do if they have reason to believe another employee is being bullied?

Employees should wherever possible raise concerns about bullying with their employer. Speaking up on behalf of someone else at work can be a brave thing to do. It can certainly make a difference to an individual who is perhaps too worried to raise the issue for themselves. Further, complaints raised by individuals not directly involved may be taken more seriously.

Employees may make any such complaint via the grievance and / or bullying procedure. However, they may be able to raise the issue less formally in some circumstances. Those responsible for HR within an organisation are likely to be able to give guidance as to the best way to approach this.

Staff who raise concerns or participate in an investigation should be protected from any form of retaliation or victimisation.

Why do you think there has been a rise in searches surrounding bullying at work?

Increases may be due to the impact of remote working as people re-adjust to more traditional working practices following time working apart.

Conversely, people continuing to work remotely may continue to face many of the communication challenges posed where direct discussions are not possible causing more disruption to occur.

It may also be the case that individuals are more open to speaking out about their treatment than may have been the case, particularly during the pandemic when many feared for their jobs.

Is it a legal requirement for workplaces to have an anti-bullying policy?

No, and some complaints of bullying and harassment could be dealt with via a company’s grievance procedure, but it is good practice to have a separate policy for these matters to provide the employer with a clearer framework which in turn can provide additional protection both to individuals and to employers.

Why is enforcing an anti-bullying policy at work important?

Employers have a number of duties towards employees including providing them with a safe and suitable working environment and a duty to provide redress of grievances.

Dealing with issues of bullying and harassment effectively promotes a better working environment for staff with all the benefits that brings to productivity and retention as well as to employee wellbeing. It also helps to reduce the risk of claims.

What should be included in an anti-bullying workplace policy?

An effective policy will:

• Clearly define what the employer considers may amount to bullying and to harassment

• Make clear that the employer does not find such conduct acceptable

• Set out a clear framework for raising concerns and for the effective management of such issues, including potential consequences for breaching the policy.