Harsh Realities about Bullying in the Workplace

Experiencing workplace bullying, and reporting workplace bullying can be extremely traumatic. Many individuals feel that there is little chance of resolving bullying, and fear that reporting bullying will increase their victimisation. Unfortunately, I have found in my research, experience of being bullied at work, and of being a trade union equalities officer and representative, that many cases of bullying are not adequately resolved. Instead those who experience bullying in the workplace can continue to do so for several years and it can get progressively worse, as more people may get involved in reinforcing the bullying. Here are some of the issues I have found:

Bullying is normalised and accepted: Most people who experience victimisation feel that those who bully them are in a higher position and have a lot of support from others. The bullying they experience might be quite subtle and sophisticated. Those who report bullying might be seen as others as opening the team up to surveillance and scrutiny. Some might feel sorry for the individual who has been reported. Either way, it can be very difficult for those who break the code of silence surrounding the bullying.

Only a minority of complaints are upheld: I once read in a freedom information request about bullying in higher education institutions that only 19% of grievances about workplace bullying are upheld. This means that the majority of individuals who report bullying not only have to face the trauma of reporting the bullying, but then have to get a response saying that their complaint has not been substantiated. However, some organisations are starting to partially uphold complaints more than they used to.

Those who report bullying have their behaviour scrutinised and can feel that the whole experience of reporting bullying is a bullying process. Policies on bullying do not always clarify what should be done after the bullying has reoccurred to resolve the issue. Bullying in the workplace can be so traumatic that people take their distress home, they can be ostracised in the workplace and not be invited to social events at work. Bullying can have a negative impact on an individual’s performance which can prevent them for progressing in their work role.

Few people report bullying formally and only about a minority (about 25%) report that that have been bullied recently (in the last 12 months) in staff surveys. Some organisations interpret low reports of bullying to mean that they do not have much of a problem with bullying. Some organisations even have targets to get increasingly lower reports of bullying. This is a problem because they might actually be suppressing reports of bullying and making people frightened to complain.

A more open culture which actively addresses bullying might actually have higher reports of bullying. This might happen because people are no longer frightened of reporting bullying. Such an approach could improve the workplace culture. Establishing advisory groups where organisations meet regularly to learn about bullying in their organisation and use this forum to improve how bullying is addressed would be helpful in tackling the problem.

There can be cases where two individuals both accuse each other of bullying.This might happen because conflict between the individuals has escalated over several years. Someone accused of bullying might feel victimised by the whole process, or they might accuse the other of bullying as a way to defend their bullying. Anti-bullying policies need to clearly identify how bullying will be resolved after it has been reported. Whether the bullying is substantiated or not, the organisation should reflect on how to improve its climate so people do not feel bullied.

Interviewing witnesses might seem fair but it can lead to more bullying – I am aware of one investigation where an individual was bullied by their manager, and their manager’s friends. When their bullying was investigated, only the manager’s friends were interviewed who all supported the manager and their complaint about bullying was not upheld. The bullying complaint served to formalised the insults that the ‘bullies’ had made about their victim. The victim could have appealed and asked for other witnesses to be interviewed. However, they found the whole incident so distressing that they did not do so.

Still, I am convinced that those who are bullied should not suffer in silence. Support can be available through union representative, dignity at work advisors (if you have them), counsellors and through deciding to stand up and make your voice heard about the bullying. Although reporting bullying can be a distressing process some resolve can be found through making the people who can help the problem aware of it, and working with them to achieve the best outcome. If the bullying still continues after it has been reported then make sure that you let your employer know as well.