BUSINESS INSIGHTS
BULLYING IS INCREASINGLY SYSTEMIC , BUT WHAT IS THE SOLUTION ?
Bullying in the workplace is rising . It comes in many forms and can affect anyone in a company . So what can a business do to tackle bullying on an organisational level ? Thom Dennis , CEO of culture and leadership specialists , Serenity in Leadership , explains what bullying really means and offers potential solutions .
Bullying costs UK businesses £ 18 billion a year according to ACAS , and the Health and Safety Executive believe more than 17 million working days are lost each year due to work-related poor behaviours , including bullying . Reports of bullying and harassment incidents in the workplace have nearly doubled , rising from 8 % up to 15 % in the past three years . Bullying is an enormous and growing problem , but it is also often systemic , meaning that efforts to combat it have to be on an organisational scale to have an effect and take root .
What does bullying really mean ?
Bullying comes in many forms from excessive criticism , humiliation , threats , domination , intimidation , verbal abuse , isolation and excluding behaviours . This antisocial conduct can come from anyone in the working hierarchy from top to bottom , or by a group but equally , an organisation as a whole ( and its leaders in particular ) can be at fault for fostering an environment where this has become acceptable and unchallenged . The impact is detrimental to the business as a whole , as well as the individuals ’ mental health and quality of working life . I know this because it happened to me .
I was aggressively bullied at school and know that the experience cuts very deep and can leave psychological scars that impact your sense of self-worth . Joining the Royal Marines was a vital part of my recovery . It was a very structured environment , and in training our common objective was to finish but our competition was really with ourselves . We followed the principle that success was only achieved when every individual completed the task , so you looked after your people first and worked as a team . Something we could and should adopt in business .
What does the law say ?
In the UK , while harassment is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 , there is no legislation against bullying , which continues to lead to a lack of effective policies and reporting structures in place , power imbalances and often a toxic culture that does not support individuals , bullying and harassment in the workplace . There is hope though , as The Bullying and Respect at Work Bill has recently been presented in Parliament , which aims to provide a legal definition of bullying at work and to protect those being bullied and call those who abuse their power to account . We are behind the curve of other
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