Preventing Workplace Bullying: Strategies for a Harmonious Work Environment

Workplace bullying: a topic that all too often gets overlooked in the realm of office culture. A harmonious work environment is crucial for job satisfaction, but it can unfortunately all too often fall victim to the sorts of toxic behaviour that should have stayed put in the playground. For a business owner or manager, supporting your employees involved in this kind of conflict is crucial if you want to uphold a positive space where people actively want to work. Here’s how to manage and prevent bullying in the workplace.

Definition & Forms of Workplace Bullying

What is Classed as Workplace Bullying?

Although there are instances of bullying that are all too easy to spot, there will be times when bullying slips under the radar. This is why it’s important to get to grips with what exactly is classed as workplace bullying so you can put the appropriate steps in place in order to both prevent and manage it properly.

Workplace bullying is defined as any behaviour that undermines, intimidates, or harms employees. This could look like anything from verbal abuse, such as yelling, criticising, or belittling, to non-verbal tactics, such as exclusion or sabotage. This also extends to manipulation and spreading rumours. Bullying can take place both on and offline, and can also involve a third party outside of the bully and the target.

The Difference Between Bullying & Harassment

Especially when it comes to navigating a situation where bullying has taken place, it’s important to understand where to draw the line between bullying and harassment. Here’s how to categorise each behaviour:

• Bullying: Bullying in the workplace will usually look like repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed towards a single employee or group of staff, with the intention of intimidating or humiliating them. It typically involves verbal abuse, exclusion, or sabotage.
• Harassment: Harassment is recognised as being specifically linked to discrimination based on race, gender, religion, disability, or sexual orientation.

This is where the difference lies – while bullying and harassment can undoubtedly overlap, bullying can be more general in nature, compared to harassment which is usually a result of motivated discrimination due to someone’s characteristics.

The Negative Impact of Bullying on Employees and Work Culture

Not only does bullying actively undermine morale, productivity, and mental well-being for the person falling victim to the bully, but it also harbours a culture of fear and resentment at work.

Employees subjected to bullying will often experience a significant impact on their mental health – they might be scared to come into work, or even have a desire to seek employment elsewhere. They may become less motivated to even perform their role, decreasing their productivity and massively lowering their job satisfaction, as well as their sense of loyalty to the company. Their physical health could even suffer as a result of absenteeism or illness.

Other people standing by may also experience a degree of this – they might be afraid to speak up, or even side with the bully to avoid becoming a target themselves. This breeds a toxic work culture, undermining the well-being and success of a team.

This is why recognising and addressing these behaviours promptly is crucial for fostering a safe and respectful work environment where employees are free to thrive in their work and actively enjoy being a part of the team.

Steps to Developing Effective Anti-Bullying Policies

Dealing with bullying at work starts with prevention. Here’s how to develop anti-bullying policies in your workplace.

Set Guidelines

Start by clearly defining what constitutes unacceptable behaviour at work. This could also form part of your harassment prevention policy, as these behaviours will overlap at times. Outline exactly what you define as bullying, informed by research into any local laws and regulations, and make sure to involve employees in the process, educating them as you go so they understand exactly what bullying looks like.

Provide Training

With your guidelines set, you can then train your employees to further their awareness of workplace bullying, what it looks like, and how to deal with it. Make sure you provide extensive training for managers and leaders on how to recognise and address this toxic behaviour, as they will be the ones people turn to in times of need.

Foster a Culture of Open Communication

Cultivating a positive culture at work will massively help to reduce the chances of workplace bullying occurring, or going on for longer than it should. Bring your team together with activities and out-of-office fun, and make sure your staff are well aware that they can always come to you for support if they need to talk anything through.

Reporting & Addressing Bullying Incidents

If an instance of bullying has happened at work, knowing exactly how you’re going to deal with it is crucial to ensure it’s dealt with quickly and professionally. This is why it’s so important to establish clear processes and procedures for reporting and addressing workplace bullying, prior to anything occurring.

Reporting Incidents

Encourage employees to report incidents fast, as soon as they notice or become aware of them, in order to cut that behaviour short as quickly as possible. This process becomes easier if you provide multiple channels for employees to report through – some may not be comfortable with face-to-face reporting, preferring to keep things confidential, or even anonymous.

Dealing With Reports

Designate specific, trained staff to handle these reports impartially and confidentially, ensuring thorough investigation into each incident and continuous documentation each and every step of the way.

Consequences to Bullies

In terms of how to deal with bullies at work, make sure precise disciplinary measures are set out in your anti-bullying policies, and follow them. Whether offenders require further training, a disciplinary, or even termination of their contract, it’s essential to ensure you stay in line with the policies you created, so staff are aware of the repercussions that will happen as a result of their actions.

Support to Victims of Bullying

Provide support such as counselling, mediation, and helpful resources to anyone who has been the unfortunate victim of workplace bullying, and communicate openly with them about how to access further help if they need it.

Role of Training in Awareness & Prevention of Bullying in the Workplace

Prevention of workplace bullying starts with training and awareness. That’s where we come in – if you’re looking for professional guidance to offer a helping hand with your workplace bullying training, we have the knowledge and expertise needed to provide you with everything you need to know.

Our team is fully equipped to educate your employees on the different forms of bullying, its impact, and your organisation’s anti-bullying policies, fostering a culture of mutual respect and equipping staff with the skills needed to recognise, report, and ultimately reduce incidents of bullying in the workplace.

Empower your team, address and mitigate bullying behaviour, and promote a supportive, inclusive work environment. Reach out today to find out more about how we can help you become a bully-free workplace.