Reflecting on the past few years, it is clear to see that the COVID-19 pandemic completely changed the way we work. Now, after a prolonged period of working from home, we are dealing with the post-pandemic ripple effects. Notably, finding the right hybrid working model has been challenging for many businesses. From Twitter to McKinsey, leading enterprises have found it tricky to strike the balance between employee demands for flexibility, and the role of the office in company culture and productivity.

Unfortunately, bullying and misconduct challenges have also evolved through the remote work and hybrid work eras. In my role as a workplace behaviour consultant, I have seen a significant increase in allegations of bullying across all age profiles. Speaking to my teams, much we suspect is connected to how employees are adapting to the post-pandemic workplace – but the specific ways in which this expresses itself, and therefore the potential solutions, are as varied as the corporate cultures of our clients.

Workplace bullying meets digital transformation
While working fully remotely or in a hybrid manner has become the norm for many businesses and expected by most employees, that isn’t to say that the resulting experience always matches the corporate policy. One challenge we’ve observed, is  the ‘presence premium’ effect which can develop for those in the office on the same day as the boss. Over time, this can lead to preferential treatment of workers who are seen as being more engaged and productive, simply because their participation is physical rather than digital. Out of sight, out of mind. On the other hand, some behaviours are explicitly exclusionary. This can be seemingly small things, like chatting in the corridor on the way to a meeting to discuss an issue, before launching the Zoom call when those at home join. At worst this removes colleagues working from home from the decision-making process and puts them on the back foot when they do get the opportunity to voice their perspective.

Then there is Zoom etiquette. Failing to invite someone to the meeting because it “looks” like everyone is there, or talking over people – a digitalised form of ‘ghosting’. This can happen so easily on a Zoom call and can even be done by accident. The added impact of technical glitches – “you’re on mute” or “sorry, my internet is being slow” – can also mask a whole host of biases which would be more apparent in a face-to-face setting. The Women In The Workplace report by McKinsey released in October 2022 found that women get interrupted 50% of the time in meetings, more so than their male counterparts. Good management is needed by the person leading the meeting to manage discussions so that quieter voices aren’t lost or excluded.

While digital channels have provided a whole new platform for micro-aggressions or outright aggressions to take place, we shouldn’t overlook some of the more traditional outlets too. Many people will be delighted to see the return of post-work drinks, but while well intentioned, we are seeing reduced self-awareness in terms of employees’ own behaviour and lower tolerance levels of others’ behaviour too. Responsibility for wellbeing doesn’t stop at the office door, virtual or otherwise. Employers need to manage outside work activities closely, to avoid the risk of unprofessional or inappropriate behaviour fuelled by one too many beers.

Managers, a crucial link in the chain
The most common form of bullying allegations have always been against one’s manager, partly because it is a bond requiring so much trust and a willingness to be vulnerable. It’s a fine line between transparent performance management and an overbearing or micromanagement style, with much depending on the manager to deliver messages well and the employee to be open to hearing them. Relationships are founded on trust and good faith.

Unfortunately for some organisations these bonds have weakened, rather than strengthened, in the post-pandemic workplace. Many newer entrants to the workforce, for example, may not have had the opportunities to build trust with their managers in the ways that worked before. Helping managers to build good communication habits when working with their reports, on- and offline – is therefore key. One of the most meaningful changes I have seen is changing the focus of one-to-ones, to ensure they are less transactional in nature. The best formats give space for more open-ended discussion, in which managers can ask questions such as “Is there anything else you think I should know right now?”.

However, in many organisations, communication is already off-balance, with more of an emphasis on ‘broadcasting’ from the top down and little robust reply from the bottom up. The result is a power imbalance which is a ticking timebomb under the feet of many employers and specifically, their HR teams.

The problem is under-reported; not over-communicated
The ongoing uncertainty of the world, and now a cost-of-living crisis is causing insecurity across the board.  There are clear generational differences in how this impact is felt, no doubt based on previous experience of similar events and varying levels of financial security. Acutely aware of the power dynamic in the workplace, Gen Z has been left feeling particularly vulnerable. Afraid to rock the boat by reporting bullying for fear of retaliation, we believe it is likely that the youngest group of workers is underreporting bullying behaviour in comparison to older colleagues.

Stereotypes of different generations persist and sometimes this makes for uneasy workplace relationships. Non-Gen Z’s tell me they feel that Gen Z is far removed from their own views or value sets. They talk about entitlement and being outspoken. But Gen Z employees feel far removed from the views and value sets of their non-Gen Z colleagues too, and they don’t trust the power systems in the workplace. It is easy to see how these misunderstandings and alternative perspectives can ladder up to become something far more toxic and insidious.

This gap in understanding presents a significant risk, as employees who don’t feel safe speaking up may choose to share their negative experiences of the workplace through other means, such as online reviews. In extremis, an employee may choose to find a new job and leave the company altogether if they feel a persistent bullying issue would not be addressed. With many HR teams laser-focused on maintaining employee engagement and preventing increased turnover, this is a trend that cannot go unaddressed.

Starting small, but open
There are some simple but really impactful things leaders and managers can do to help create a safe place for people to speak up. This can be as small as introducing a tool that allows employees to leave anonymous feedback or questions. Or it might involve giving highly visible leaders training on their own approachability – how they present themselves in meetings, or ensuring that employees see that in casual conversations they can have fun too. Small but highly visible behaviours such as these can have a big influence on whether someone will feel comfortable in approaching them.  But for any of these approaches, they only work if staff members can see change happening as a result and critically, there is no retaliation for speaking up. Overall, the most important thing is that changes are consistent, meaningful, and communicated transparently – and most crucially, both upwards and downwards in the corporate hierarchy.

From inappropriate behaviour at the pub, to seemingly small slights in meetings, lots of the team issues we’ve seen since the modern workplace came into existence have been crystallised by the drastic evolution of our working model. There is more room for misinterpretation of someone’s actions and a lot of the nuance involved in face-to-face is lost. While the benefits by far outweigh the negatives, as hybrid working becomes ever more popular businesses across industries need to make sure the development of their internal relationships is keeping pace.