Tackling Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination
(BHD) in an organization
Blog 2
18 November 2023
Blog two of Eight - by Dilshad Banu Mohideen
Tackling Bullying:
As I start to pen
down my second blog post, I experienced someone from another department in my
organization, trying to get in the way of my work area and challenge to
interrupt some of my tasks. This is not the first-time, he did this and I had
been giving excuses not to report this as it can become very unpleasant. But
this time, I decided to report it as it doesn’t seem to stop and has created
stress and anxiety in me for no fault of mine. Have you experienced anything
similar in your workplace?
While my blog is
about BHD as a whole, I decided to separately address each topic to give an
understanding on how we can deal with it as leaders/managers.
Let me start with ‘bullying’.
When we hear the word ‘bullying’
children and students in schools and universities come to our mind as so much
had been spoken about bullying incidents in schools and universities. We seldom
hear about bullying in workplace, not because bullying does not happen in
workplace, but it is not exposed. But this a serious problem in organizations which
can have devastating impact on employees and organizations.
The definition set by
National Centre Against Bullying ( https://www.ncab.org.au ) is ‘an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships
through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause
physical, social and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a
group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who
feel unable to stop it from happening’.
Bullying can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as physical health problems. In some cases, bullying can even lead to suicide. Bullying can take many forms, including verbal abuse, physical intimidation, and social exclusion. It can have a negative impact on the employee's physical and emotional health, as well as their productivity.
Organizations have an important responsibility to create a safe and respectful work environment for all employees irrespective of their employment status or hierarchy. Creating a culture of open communication and respect is vital for all organizations. This can be done by encouraging employees to speak up if they are being bullied, and by holding all employees accountable for their behaviour.
There are number of steps
that organizations can take to tackle bullying. These include:
· Developing a clear definition
of bullying: This will help employees to understand what is and is not
acceptable behaviour.
· Implementing a bullying
policy: This should include a clear process for reporting bullying and clear
consequences for bullies.
· Providing training for all
employees: This should include information on how to identify bullying, how to
report it, and how to support victims.
· Creating a supportive work
environment: This should include open communication channels such as fairness
champions and a culture of respect.
Organizations can also take
steps to prevent bullying from happening in the first place. These steps may
include:
· Promote a workplace culture
of respect, inclusion and diversity.
· Creating a clear and
consistent set of expectations for employee behavior
· Encourage open
communication and feedback.
· Address conflict quickly
and effectively.
· Providing opportunities for
employees to report bullying without fear of retaliation.
By taking these steps,
organizations can help to create a workplace that is free from bullying and
where all employees feel safe and respected.
Reporting early or seeking support from friends, family, or a therapist by talking about what the employee (victim) is going through can help to cope with the emotional impact of bullying.
If the victim doesn’t want
to raise it within the organization, he/she may reach out to the dedicated bullying
helpline in the below link:
https://findahelpline.com/lk/topics/bullying
Digital Research Repository
division of University of Vavuniya conducted an extensive research using 30 human resource professionals using
qualitative research methodology representing diverse industries in 2022. The
findings indicated that the participants were not adequately aware of what
bullying is. They tend to confuse bullying with other negative workplace
behaviours such as aggression, dispespect and sexual harassment. The
participants also commonly did not understand who could be bullies and who
could be victims. This lack of understanding of bullying and the many
misperceptions that carry will inevitably result in ineffective prevention and
handling of bullying in their organisations.
A new initiative from the
Sri Lanka Joint Apparel Association (JAAF) and the International Finance
Corporation (IFC) is looking at providing training on policies and frameworks
required to help create peaceful and respectful workplaces which is a positive
move for apparel sector employees.
Are the organizations taking bullying as a serious threat for employee wellbeing? How much effort has been put to mitigate the impact of bullying by HR professionals?
My conclusion is not across all the organizations in Sri Lanka.
References:
https://www.just-style.com/news/sri-lanka-apparel-sector-tooled-to-tackle-workplace-bullying/?cf-view [accessed 19 Nov. 2023]
www.ncab.org.au. (n.d.). Definition Of Bullying | National Centre Against Bullying. [online] Available at: https://www.ncab.org.au/bullying-advice/bullying-for-parents/definition-of-bullying. [accessed 19 Nov. 2023]
findahelpline.com.
(n.d.). Find A Helpline | Free emotional support in 130+ countries.
[online] Available at: https://findahelpline.com/lk/topics/bullying
[Accessed 19 Nov. 2023].
Amarawickrama, N.P. and
Adikaram, A.S. (2021). HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONALS’ PERCEPTION OF WORKPLACE
BULLYING IN SRI LANKA. https://fbs.vau.ac.lk/?page_id=609. [online]
Available at: http://drr.vau.ac.lk/handle/123456789/59
[Accessed 14 Nov. 2023].
Totally agreed Dilshad. Most of the employees are reluctant to go and directly report bullying to their immediate manager or someone above in the reporting line thinking that they may lose their job.
ReplyDeleteAnd also the person who did the bullying, when he gets to know that the victim has complained he might do something unethical to get the revenge.
So, it's the duty of the HR to prepare proper policies and procedures to deal with bullying incidents.
Also in the induction program bullying should be clearly specified and in the employee handbook also it should be mentioned so that employees are liable to adhere to it.
Bullying can take many different forms. It occurs in a variety of situations and crosses gender, race, age and involve one or a number of individuals. However, UNISON has defined workplace bullying as persistent offensive, intimidating, humiliating behavior, which attempts to undermine an individual or group of employees. Bullying is generally carried out face to face but can also occur in writing by telephone, text messaging, email and on social media.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Tackling BHD in an organization is an ongoing commitment that requires proactive prevention, effective response, and continuous improvement. By fostering a culture of respect, implementing comprehensive policies, and regularly assessing and refining strategies, organizations can create a workplace where every employee feels valued and treated with dignity.
ReplyDeleteAgree with your content and Do you think traditional HR structures are equipped to handle complaints of bullying from bosses?
ReplyDeleteThis can be contained very easily depending on the manager of the company. If the staff member is bullying another employee and he sees the Manager laugh about it then there is trouble. However if the manager pulls the staff member to a side and advice that this sort of behavior would not do. Then the situation can be controlled.
ReplyDeleteGreat article Dilshad, Thus bullying at work is an actual concern it frequently goes unspoken or unreported and raising awareness of it and encouraging change are dependent on it being brought to light. This is a great initiative to speak about issues like "bullying" independently in the context of management and leadership. It gives leaders advice on how to handle situations like this. By being transparent about these difficulties, you support a conversation that can assist others in similar circumstances.
ReplyDelete