"Bullying takes many forms, but is usually characterised by some form of aggression," says University of New England researcher Dr Natasha Loi. "Initially aggression can be of a low intensity, with victims accused of being overly sensitive or misinterpreting behaviour, but it can rapidly escalate into physical aggression, especially if the bully is not called to account."
Natasha says bullying typically includes:
- disrespectful behaviour, like talking about or criticising people behind their back;
- blatant rudeness, like constantly interrupting the victim in meetings; or
- outright aggression or violence, like intimidating gestures and physical threats.
"The definition of bullying will come down to what your organisation considers acceptable or unacceptable behaviour," Natasha says. "So every organisation needs a statement within their overall risk policy that describes what bullying can look like and how it can be reported."
So what do you do if you are being bullied?
"You might think that going to the Human Resources department would be the first response," Natasha says. "However, that can be very difficult and scary for most people because they don't want to rock the boat; they just want to be able to get on with their work and often fear losing their job."
In her experience, Natasha says female victims will seek social support from friends and family, which is a healthy approach. "But most people will try to cope by ignoring the bullying or putting their head down," she says. "This can have a lot of negative outcomes, and burnout among victims is a big issue. The psychological impacts of bullying include depression and anxiety, emotional exhaustion, and the loss of motivation and creativity at work.
"Productivity is affected and businesses can lose good staff. People will leave even if they are still present at work; they won't be able to perform like they used to; they'll focus on just dragging themselves through each day. The knowledge, creativity and innovation that that person brings to the workplace can just disappear. And it's not just the victim who suffers. Research has found that bullying can have the same negative impact on bystanders, and have a serious trickle-down effect."
As a minimum, Natasha recommends bullied individuals approach their manager in confidence to report the behaviour, and take steps to safeguard themselves. "The victim needs to behave professionally themselves and according to protocols, keep notes of all conversations and incidents and copies of correspondence, and wherever they can, confide in people they trust," she says.
"Try to keep yourself in a positive space outside work and put your energy into finding satisfaction elsewhere. You might begin efforts to leave the organisation: do some volunteering, get some mentoring or other practical experience.
"Hopefully the manager will do something immediately to address the bullying behaviour, however, unfortunately, most managers don't want to face these behaviours any more than a victim wants to experience them. They often just want to sweep them under the carpet.
"If your manager is the bully or tolerates the bullying, and the organisation won’t intervene or accepts this kind of behaviour, then there is often little choice but to leave the job."
According to Natasha, this highlights the important role - indeed obligation - of managers to support their staff, whatever the situation or allegations.
"Managers need to make sure that all the policies and procedures are in place to discourage negative behaviour," she says."They have to stop ignoring the low-intensity bullying - the verbal aggression and uncivil behaviours - and realise that these can lead to worse, more destructive behaviours. And they have to police the organisation's policies and procedures to protect staff, and intervene if there is a suggestion that bullying is occurring."
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Natasha Loi PhD, from the School of Psychology at the University of New England, teaches Organisational Psychology (https://www.une.edu.au/study/units/organisational-psychology-psyc306) to Bachelor of Psychological Science, Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Social Science, Bachelor of Science, and Graduate Diploma in Psychology students.
