Workplace Bullying In The Workplace

Workplace bullying in the workplace is usually explained by personality. The conditions that produce it are more useful to know, because conditions can be changed.

• Role ambiguity. Unclear responsibilities generate friction that quickly gets personalised into a dispute about someone.
• Sustained high demand with low control. Pressure travels downward and finds the least protected person.
• Steep hierarchy with no bypass. Where the only route runs through one manager, nothing gets raised.
• Job insecurity. Casual, contract and probationary staff carry more risk and report considerably less of it.
• Tolerated exceptions. One high performer whose conduct is overlooked sets the real standard for everyone.

The last one is the most powerful and the most avoidable of the five. Every exception made publicly rewrites what the policy actually means to everyone watching.

Safe Work Australia covers psychosocial hazards. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s bullying course for managers and risk management system.