Recent research by Infogroup|ORC International supports the view that bullying is becoming commonplace at work. In fact, our benchmarking data combining surveys from organisations across a range of industry sectors tells us that 15% of UK staff report being treated in a way that they would describe as bullying in the past 12 months.
When our clients' survey results highlight an issue with bullying and harassment we're regularly asked to investigate further and we see some common themes emerging in many scenarios.
There are many definitions of bullying offered by expert organisations providing support for victims. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) sums it up as ‘any unwanted behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated or degraded or humiliated or offended'.
Given this spectrum of behaviours, it is perhaps not surprising that we rarely see a completely positive picture when we ask individuals within an organisation whether they feel they have been treated in a way that could be described as bullying.
But if professional organisations such as Acas can define what they mean by the term, then it's important that organisations do the same. It needs to be made plain in an organisation's values what behaviour is and is not acceptable and these values need to be brought to life for employees through clear in-house communications.
We are often asked whether high levels of reported bullying go together with attempts to embed stronger performance management cultures. Is it the case that managers who fail to do this effectively become the real culprits when it comes to workplace bullying?
In fact, the picture is more complicated than this. The evidence suggests that managers are often not fully equipped to manage, communicate and support individuals in a way that is supportive rather than aggressive or dismissive.
Organisations trying to implement new performance management structures and processes may not always appreciate the need to ‘upskill' managers to use those new processes sensitively and effectively. In these situations, individuals who report they have been bullied may, in fact, be experiencing the turbulence caused by managers struggling with new procedures.
Clearly there are strong moral imperatives to tackle these problems: organisations have a duty of care to protect their employees. But there are other reasons, too, why organisations should not tolerate bullying. Employees who feel they have been bullied are less engaged with their organisation; they are more likely to take time off due to illness; and they are also more likely to leave the organisation.
So what should organisations be doing to address these issues in a positive way? From the research carried out at Infogroup|ORC International, some key action points emerge.
First, organisations should be proactive in asking staff to report bullying behaviour. And once organisations have taken that first difficult step and asked employees the right questions, they must take action on that information. It is important to communicate which behaviours are acceptable, and which definitely are not, but it is also important to understand clearly what values are being enacted in the workplace that lead to bullying behaviour in the first place.
Acceptable behaviours need to be exemplified right from the top of the organisation: a leader who thinks it is acceptable to shout at staff sets a tone in the workplace. Behaviours that do not fit with the values of an organisation need to be identified quickly and actively managed, so everyone within the organisation can be clear about what is and is not right.
The impact that poor management has on employee experiences should not be underestimated. A lack of investment and support in management processes could well lead to a greater propensity for bullying cultures to be established, where unsupported managers inadvertently end up treating their staff in an unreasonable way. All managers need to be fully trained and supported to do their jobs in a constructive, even-handed and supportive way.
In cases where staff feel they are being bullied, it is important to have systems, processes and people in place to help. There should also be more than one reporting route available: there is little point reporting all issues through a line manager if it is also conceivable that same line manager is the one dishing out the unfair treatment.
In the current and coming economic (and political) climate we are likely to see even more instances of individuals feeling they are treated unfairly. We are also likely to see stress having an even greater impact on the way individuals behave at work. Organisations need to work even harder to support their staff during difficult times and make sure that they are creating an environment of mutual respect, trust, openness and fairness.
Sally Winston is divisional manager, public sector employee research, Infogroup|ORC International
