“I’m Being Bullied” Critical Steps Managers Must Take – continued from page 7
you to do anything but…” Managers say the situation poses as a dilemma for them because the staff member has sought their trust and confidence. Hence the manager believes they cannot act on the matter. However, ‘bullying’ is de ned as any repeated, unreasonable behaviour that creates a risk to health and safety. By virtue of this definition, adherence to WHS/OHS law now takes precedent over maintaining confidentiality. A manager, as both an employee and someone in a position of authority has a duty to ensure the creation and maintenance of a safe workplace. Breaches of the WHS/ OHS act are a criminal offence and thus failure to act on such a conversation at work may see the manager face significant fines. It is imperative these managers have a structure to follow to ensure they are supporting their staff member and fulfilling their WHS/OHS obligations. Less serious incidents (such as interpersonal conflict, disrespectful behaviour and differences of opinion) must be resolved promptly and constructively. Left un- addressed or only partially resolved, the situation is more likely to escalate over time. The longer a conflict situation is left unaddressed, the more the workplace relationships deteriorate and the greater the need for a more sophisticated and time consuming resolution process.
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Bullying at Work: Beyond Policies to a Culture of Respect
Our research shows that 83 per cent of organisations – 90 per cent in the public sector – have anti-bullying policies, so why is it still happening? Why is it still costing organisations time, money, staff turnover, absence, damaged employer brand, disturbed working relationships, low morale and commitment? For individuals, the cost can be even higher, with lasting psychological and physical damage.
We’re at an interesting stage in how bullying at work is being tackled. Over the past 20 years, organisations have moved from ‘it doesn’t happen here ,’ to acceptance, and to putting policies in place to try to stop it.
The question now is: do these policies work and, if not, why not? Too many organisations are waiting for bad behaviour to happen, which then needs punishing. They still focus on helping the victim and isolating the bully, only defining negative, unacceptable behaviours rather than promoting positive ones.
They don’t make the link that organisational cu lture can itself create institutional bullying through autocratic management styles, work overload, a blame culture, and tolerating (or even promoting) aggressive behaviour because it is believed to ‘get results’.
HR departments too often fail to take a risk- management approach to decisions affecting people, exposing themselves to potential liability under the model work health and safety laws, according to safety and employment lawyer Fiona Austin. Austin often finds herself explaining to HR teams that they "need to be aware of Workplace Health & Safety (WHS) risk analysis and when to use it, because the impacts of decisions about people are something that can be dealt with under the WHS laws". This is a controversial area of risk facing HR teams under the WHS laws, she says. With an increasing regulatory focus on psychological risks in the workplace, HR departments need to be able to apply their organisation's work health and safety management systems to their own activities, but "many businesses" are not thinking this way. Many HR managers would apply thinking that addresses the risk implications of decisions or working arrangements on people automatically, however few people would adopt or document the risk management approach required under safety laws. Failing to take a risk management approach to HR decisions can expose the organisation, and potentially individual members of the HR team, to liability under the WHS Act, Austin warns. "You need to apply a structured process to that type of decision, because if you're just guessing, you may not choose the best control according to the law.”
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There’s a ne line between reasonable man agement control and bullying, and it’s a line that’s often unclear. One reason why the policies aren’t working , but don’t get changed is that in dealing with bullying at work, we need to tackle the difficult complexities of personal relationships. We need to unpick the intricate and often subtle psychological aspects of bullying behaviour and its impact on individuals – the victim, witnesses and the bully – as well as the organisation itself.
This CIPD Guide aims to move on to the next stage of tackling bullying at work, placing an emphasis on:
• defining the positive behaviours we can all expect from each other
• everyone accepting responsibility for their behaviour and actions
• everyone accepting responsibility for finding solutions
•
‘top team’ behaviour – vital in reinforcing positive behaviours and creating a culture that goes beyond paying lip service to fairness.
Read the CIPD Guide
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE NEWS - continued People Decisions Require Risk-Management Approach
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