Bullying and harassment in the workplace
The following article - on the key HR theme of Bullying and Harassment in the workplace - has been written in conjunction with the eponymous IRS conference which took place on 6 February 2007.
According to research conducted by the University of Manchester, one in four UK employees will at some point in their working lives be subjected to bullying and harassment in the workplace.
Harassment is defined as the ‘unwanted conduct which has the purpose or effect of:
a) violating [another] person’s dignity; or
b) creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment’ (Race Relations Act 1976 s. 3A)
Surveys and data carried out by the Andrea Adams Trust’s [the UK’s only charity dedicated to tackling office bullying] helpline provide overwhelming evidence to sustain that this staggering statistic is indeed representative of the current UK workforce.
From 1 October 2006, The Employment Equality (Age) Discrimination Regulations incorporated this topic to cover:
- Any kind of abuse that refers to age in a derogatory or harassing manner
- For example, referring to someone as ‘too long in the tooth’ or ‘a young pup’ can be deemed discriminatory and lead to a case being raised
- This also extends to office events where some of your staff may not be invited because they are perceived as too young or old to be interested - you must ensure inclusiveness in your organisation’s activities.
The number of reported incidents by UK employees has risen steadily over the past few years, a clear indication that employees are fighting back as confidence levels in lodging complaints have risen.
“This is not because incidences of bullying are on the increase, but because people now feel considerably more confident in making a complaint and highlighting the issue,” explains Matt Witheridge, operations manager of the Andrea Adams Trust.
This is backed up by findings collated by the Andrea Adams helpline: first-time callers to the helpline tend to have lodged already made a complaint or they are involved in some form of grievance procedure.
The government has become involved in campaigning and leading luminaries in politics, education and medicine all uniting to condemn the dangers of letting a culture of bullying thrive in the workplace.
Organisations are implementing detailed policies and procedures to tackle this issue swiftly and effectively when it inevitably occurs and the message filtering through is however a positive one.
“Awareness of the damaging effects, not only to the individual but to business productivity has significantly increased and as a result organisations are now taking this issue very seriously,” adds Matt Witheridge.
It would however be disingenuous to assume that every workplace culture was homogenous - clearly, bullying and harassment are prevalent in some cultures, where reporting such incidents is frowned upon as employees do not have faith in their employers’ ability to deal with the situation.
Workplace bullying can never be eradicated in toto as potentially stressful situations will always arise when people are confined together for long periods. As Matt Witheridge explains, “This is why it is imperative for organisations to have detailed policies and procedures in place”.
The news is positive as a mixture of legislation and awareness has brought the issue to everyone’s attention - and importantly business is responding.
More information about workplace bullying and harassment can be found by visiting www.banbullyingatwork.com and www.acas.org.uk.
For more information about the remaining IRS conferences, click here.
