Bullies On The Rise

Bully-free workplaces are part of a shrinking minority, according to a new survey of Australian employees in which just 12% stated there was no bullying in their current workplace.

Meanwhile a whopping 85% of employees say they have either been personally attacked or seen others bullied at work, according to the Health Works survey of more than 325 human resource and occupational health and safety professionals.

It says bullying in the workplace is on the increase yet preventative and practical measures for dealing with the problem are not keeping up, with only 47% of businesses saying they have a written policy for bullying in the workplace.

"Workplace bullying is becoming more and more prevalent. In fact, we've found that up to half of all employees will experience some type bullying during their working lives," says Ken Buckley, CEO of Health Works.

Fifty-six percent of employees have or know of a colleague who has taken sick leave as a result of bullying in the workplace, with intimidation the most common type of bullying (66%), followed by humiliation (48%), ridicule (42%) insults (39%), offensive language and degrading (24%).

Other forms of bullying reported included stand over tactics, gossiping, being left out of events or excluded from luncheons and not approving leave.

"Bullying occurs at all levels of the organisation and can directly have an effect on the victim's health and wellbeing such as severe stress, anxiety, panic attacks, sleep disturbance, depression, concentration difficulties and raised blood pressure," Buckley says.

But he has a number of tips for dealing with bullying when the issue arises, including: contacting your union; keeping a detailed diary of incidents (including witnesses who will back you up); approaching the bully directly; telling them you dislike their behaviour and ask them to stop; and informing your supervisor and/or the next in line.

Health Works has published a 'Communication at Work' booklet addressing on the job bullying, which is available from its website at http://www.healthworks.com.au

UnionSafe has also published a number of bullying Fact Sheets which can be downloaded by visiting the Safety Reps section of this website or clicking http://unionsafe.labor.net.au/safety_reps/index_10.html

To comment on this or any other item appearing on t he UnionSafe website please visit our discussion forums at http://unionsafe.labor.net.au/shoptalk/index.php

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Last modified: Tuesday, 15-Nov-2005 20:37:37 EST