bullying_at

Bullying at work

On April 6, 1999, a former employee of OC Transpo in Ottawa went on a shooting rampage that left four employees dead, and then took his own life. The killer had himself been the victim of workplace harassment.

Bullying at work is any form of behavior which is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting or is an abuse or misuse of power intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure individuals or groups.

Bullying leads to stress and then to illness and behavioral problems if prolonged. A very high proportion of people subjected to bullying change their job as a result.

Bullying is widespread at work. A survey by UNISON revealed that 66 per cent of the respondents had experienced or witnessed bullying. 34 per cent of those bullied reported that it had gone on for more than three years.

One of the most important things to remember is that the government, our schools, and hospitals are all workplaces prone to bullying. Bullying is all about power, the power to dominate and intimidate. It is because of this, that bullies are attracted to these types of positions. Bullies strive to “be the boss” normal people strive to be a leader. Bullies need to suppress people that are equal or better than they are; normal people encourage and support the career path of employees.

In over 80 per cent of cases, the bully was a manager or senior manager. In almost all cases the higher management knew what was going on but did nothing about it.

Bullying can take many forms:

direct verbal and physical threats
unfair use of disciplinary and assessment procedures
blocking access to promotion, training, overtime, etc.
setting impossible deadlines and targets
withholding information essential to do the job properly
excessively tight supervision
public humiliation including being shouted at
persistent and undue criticism including inaccurate accusations about quality of work
undermining responsibility
abusive references to age, sex, race, disability or other personal characteristics
spreading malicious rumours
physical isolation from other workers.

Bullying is not just an interaction between individuals; there is organizational bullying at work which can facilitate it. Among these are:

an extremely competitive environment
fear of redundancy, cuts or frequent reorganizations
little participation in decision making
poor or no training
de-skilling the workforce
frequent outsourcing
no clear policies or codes of conduct
changing policies and codes of conduct
poor procedures for resolving grievances and problems
indifferent attitude of higher management towards behavior by front-line managers

Bullying at work is a health and safety issue, an employment rights and a trade union issue. It causes job insecurity and adverse health effects and often arises out of an imbalance of power in the workplace which a union can address.

Safety representatives have a central role in curbing bullying at work by:

raising awareness and providing education
supporting employees who are being bullied
negotiating anti-bullying policies with management
organizing union action over bullying

How can bullying affect an individual?

People who are the targets of bullying may experience a range of effects. These reactions include:

shock

anger

feelings of frustration and/or helplessness

increased sense of vulnerability

loss of confidence

physical symptoms such as

inability to sleep

loss of appetite

psychosomatic symptoms such as

stomach pains

headaches

panic or anxiety, especially about going to work

family tension and stress

inability to concentrate, and

low morale and productivity.

How can bullying affect the workplace?

Bullying affects the overall "health" of an organization. An "unhealthy" workplace can have many effects. In general these include:

increased absenteeism

increased turnover

increased stress

increased costs for employee assistance programs (EAPs), recruitment, etc.

increased risk for accidents / incidents

decreased productivity and motivation

decreased morale

reduced corporate image and customer confidence, and

poorer customer service.

Education and Awareness

Safety representatives can provide education on bullying in a number of ways:

providing leaflets, feature articles and posters. Many unions now provide these materials for their members
organizing meetings to discuss the topic, perhaps with an invited speaker, and to draw up a union policy
conducting a survey of the incidence of bullying

Some workers blame themselves for being bullied, developing feelings of guilt and inadequacy about their performance rather than identifying the bully as the cause of the problem. This factor should be taken into account in developing an education program. Surveys should be strictly confidential and the results should be published. They work best as part of a broader plan of raising the issue with the management.

Many unions are now trying to provide courses on bullying to bring representatives up to speed before they raise the issue in the workplace.

Support for Members

Representatives can provide invaluable support for members and other workers:

providing advice and guidance for people who believe they are being bullied, eg. suggesting that they keep an "incident diary"
representing members in any proceedings which take place
raising the issue with management outside procedures which may be instrumental in getting it resolved
assisting members to obtain medical and other professional help

Surveys show that victims of bullying have better success in getting a satisfactory outcome by allowing union representatives to handle the matter for them than by trying to tackle it themselves. Many sufferers are reluctant to complain, for obvious reasons, but the chances of dealing with the problem successfully are higher if the union is involved.

Anti-Bullying Policies

No jurisdiction in Canada requires employers to have a workplace violence prevention program. For that reason, the OC Transpo jury recommended that federal and provincial governments enact legislation to prevent workplace violence and that employers develop policies to address violence and harassment which should include:

a statement of commitment against bullying
acknowledgment that it is a problem for the organization
a statement that it will not be tolerated and may be treated as a disciplinary offense
examples of unacceptable behavior
steps to be taken to prevent bullying
responsibilities of supervisors and managers
confidentiality of complaints
reference to investigative, grievance and disciplinary procedures with timetables for action
protection from victimization of complainants
provision of counseling
training for managers
how the policy is to be implemented, reviewed and monitored

Representatives can build on this by adding the provision of information to employees, the extent of union involvement in procedures and ensuring that the timetable for procedures reflects the interests of victims rather than bullies. The union should get involved in negotiation or consultation on an anti-bullying policy before the employer acts on his own volition.

Organizing Union Action

The union should never leave it entirely to the employer to deal with bullying but should retain the ability to take action independently. Pleas to the employer to do the decent thing are rarely sufficient. In organizations where bullying is prevalent, a climate of intimidation can be created which is harmful for everyone. In the old union parlance, an injury to one is an injury to all.

Representatives should:

ensure that instances of bullying are brought to the attention of members, if the victim agrees. Publicity can be a powerful deterrent. In the final analysis, if other methods have failed, members can choose to take action to defend a colleague
inform their full time official if there is a likelihood of proceedings or a dispute. A timely intervention from outside the organization can be effective
ensure that members are properly advised if they need to draw upon union legal or other services and that any internal union procedures are properly carried out
any action taken must be swift to prevent management from intimidating the employee into withdrawing the complaint.

In some cases, unions may find themselves bullied by the employer. Frequently in organizations where bullying is taking place, employers may target union members, board member, shop stewards etc. These attacks can take many forms but usually fall under the same categories.

Anti-Bully Association

One effort that should be considered is the creation of an Anti-Bully department within an organization. Depending on the size of the organization, this department could be staffed by one or more people and received training directly from the experts at the Anti Bully and Youth Violence Prevention Association. The organization could work to make the work place a better place to work in by helping to educate managers in proper behaviour and how to create a happy motivated staff. The department would pay for itself simply by the reduced employee turn over, sick leave and general poor work environment. This organization could work with both the company and union as a mediator to allow for a quick solution to this type of problem. If the government was serious in trying to reduce workplace bullying and violence, they would provide assistance to organizations that created this department.

The Legal Situation

There is no specific legislation on bullying. The Health and Safety Act places a general duty on employers to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and the Management of Health and Safety Work Regulations sets out the means of doing so. Anti-discrimination legislation, the Sex Discrimination, Race Relations, and Disability Discrimination Acts, may apply in some instances. The Criminal Justice and Public Order and the Protection from Harassment Acts may afford protection. The Employment Rights Act deal with the right to claim "unfair constructive dismissal" in the face of an employer's breach of contract which could include a failure to protect health and safety. However, expert advice should be obtained on all of these measures before any reliance is placed upon them.