. This I have worked in a company where serious bullying towards one department was institutionalized. It was an incredibly miserable working environment and in addition making employees extremely unhappy, it harmed the company itself greatly and eventually led to it’s demise.
The bullying came from top management and trickled down throughout the heads of other divisions as they were encouraged and “green lit” to also engage in bullying behaviours. The ramifications for the company were an enormous turnover of personnel, an exceptionally poor, unproductive and demotivated entire staff base; not just the bullied department but others too wondering if it would be “their turn next” Ultimately, due to the poor results driven by the terrible working environment the company closed.
Workplace bullying causes psychological and emotional harm and is a hazard that falls under the responsibility of the Health and Safety Manager, or designated staff member responsible for health and safety in the workplace. Of equal importance to physical safety, this must be managed. “Mental violence” and bullying are specifically prohibited under Labour Law 33 of 2021 in the UAE and punishable by substantial financial penalty to companies, up to 10 million AED for repeat offenders.
Workplace bullying is in no way specific to the UAE, in a recent UK survey, 3 in 10 UK employees who responded to the survey said that they had experienced workplace bullying or harassment. Furthermore, according to the American Workplace Bullying Institute, more than 65 million employees, or 27% of the workforce in America have been affected by workplace bullying.
What could be Workplace Bullying Behaviours ?
Workplace bullying is a persistent pattern of mistreatment – harmful, targeted behaviour from others in the workplace. This behaviour may include mocking or intimidation and is usually directed at one person or a small group of people. Bullying behaviour is intended to offend, degrade or humiliate. It can include verbal, nonverbal, psychological and physical abuse.
Bullying can also be subtle. If you are not sure if behaviour is bullying you can use the “reasonable person” test. Would most people consider the action unacceptable ? If yes, then it’s probably bullying ?
Bullying behaviour will likely be repeated over time thus setting it apart from harassment, which is often one single incidence. Persistent harassment can however become bullying.
Bullying behaviors might take the form of:
- Verbal spoken abuse – Including mockery, humiliation, jokes or gossip about an employee. Yelling and/or criticizing a person persistently. Belittling an employee’s beliefs or opinions
- Intimidation – Including threats, social exclusion in the workplace or invasions of privacy. Physical abuse or the threat of physical abuse
- Relating to work performance – Could be placing wrongful blame or overly harsh criticism. Stealing or taking credit for ideas. Purposely misleading or undermining the employee as regards work duties, giving incorrect or impossible to achieve deadlines setting them up to fail. Creating underwork so the employee feels useless. Giving unclear directions or constantly changing guidelines. Excessive performance monitoring or removing areas of responsibility without cause
- Retaliatory – When the employee has spoken about the bullying happening to them, accusations of lying, further exclusion, refused promotions or other retaliation
- Institutional – This is when a workplace accepts, allows or even encourages bullying. This bullying might include setting unrealistic goals. Some highly visible divisions within a company, such as Sales, may be more prone to suffering bullying behaviour than others
What is not Workplace Bullying ?
There is a fine line between strong management and bullying. Not considered bullying are: objective comments, constructive criticism and reasonable disciplinary action intended to assist the employee with their work.
How can Bullying affect an Employees Health?
Bullying can have significant, serious effects on both physical and mental health. The impact of bullying can last long after bullying has stopped.
Physical health effects of bullying include:
- Feeling sick or anxious before work or when thinking about work
- Having digestive issues such as stomach pains, feeling sick or lessened appetite
- High blood pressure
- Having trouble either waking up or getting to sleep, waking in the night
- Headaches
- Inability to concentrate
Mental health effects of bullying include:
- Worrying about constantly about work, even when away from the environment
- Losing interest in usual hobbies
- Anxiety or panic attacks brought on by work or thinking of work
- Suicidal thoughts
- Feelings of frustration and/or helplessness
- Loss of confidence
It is important to remember that not only can the employee who is the target experience these effects, but also others witnessing the bullying.
Can Working Environments Influence the Likelihood of Bullying ?
Yes ! The below are factors which can increase the possibility of workplace bullying occurring:
- Frequently changing environments
- Overly heavy workloads
- Unclear expectations on employee behavior
- Poor communications with employees
- Employees excessively concerned with job security
How can Workplace Bullying Negatively Affect the Company ?
- Reduced productivity from employees
- Increased mental health issues from workforce
- Reduced employee job satisfaction
- Increased absenteeism
- Increased staff turnover
- Increased risk of accidents, incidents and LTI’s
- Decreased workforce morale
- Poor customer service
- Financial loss due to legal costs from bullying investigations
- Reputational damage
What can the Company do to Stop the Potential for Workplace Bullying ?
The number one step is management commitment and a written anti bullying and harassment policy. This should be fully supported and implemented. It should:
- Firstly, be developed by both top management and employee representatives
- Apply to employee’s and also anyone who has a relationship with the company
- Define what workplace bullying is by providing clear examples
- Define the consequences of workplace bullying
- Develop a process to report of all incidents of workplace bullying and outline the procedures for investigating complaints
- Ensure that confidentiality is maintained during the resolution process
- Describe how communications will take place and employees educated on workplace bullying
- Encourage everyone in the workplace to act in a respectful and professional manner
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