With new laws surrounding workplace bullying coming into effect at the dawn of 2014, it was a no-brainer that an article on identifying bullies in the workplace was going to gain traction. Read on for the comment of the week!
With new laws surrounding workplace bullying coming into effect at the dawn of 2014, it was a no-brainer that an article on identifying bullies in the workplace was going to gain traction.
However, some fear Aussie employers might be going about it the wrong way. One commenter, Bernie Althofer, shared their thoughts on workplace bullying:
“It can be an issue for some workplaces that put fairly high standards in place and then jump on people for not meeting those standards. In addition, there appears a need to rush in and investigate every time there is a disagreement in the workplace when in some cases the situation is made worse by the environment in which the parties are working, e.g. heavy workloads, short time frames, poor communication styles, lack of awareness, etc, in addition to the hazards such as change, negative leadership styles, etc.
Sometimes those with the real cause for complaint get lost in the system because everyone is running around trying to solve a problem they think is bullying, without first trying to find out exactly what the problem is.
In addition, some people will take a list of descriptors and then try and match their work colleagues with the list. This can be very good way of interrupting the promising career of someone.
It is important to focus on workplace hazards that contribute to situations where individuals feel the need to bully others, or where they feel as they though are being targeted. Unfortunately it seems that addressing these types of workplace hazards falls in the 'too hard basket', and it is probably not helped when risk assessments have not been conducted.”
Thank you to all our commenters this week – keep them coming!
What do you think of Althofer’s comment? Share your thoughts below.
