In the current climate, individual pressures (like the emotional, physical and financial stress) and changes to work situations (work insecurity, work isolation and role ambiguity) are significant risk factors for workplace bullying.
And it can have a major impact on workplace culture, the wellbeing of individuals and broader workplace productivity, according to clinical psychologist Dr Kylie McDonagh, from UNE Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
Kylie says bullying at work can be obvious – such as physical or verbal attacks, or not so obvious – such as intimidation or exclusion. "In the digital workplace it is more likely to occur through text messages, emails and online meetings, and I think that’s what we are much more likely to see now,” she says.
However, in a 2020 world, where more people are working from home and colleagues are largely interacting online, bullying can be harder to recognise and address.
"It can be far easier to exclude people, intentionally or unintentionally, who are no longer in the same physical workplace, where you don't have to physically face them," Kylie says. "Online meetings and emails also afford a degree of anonymity for a bully to behave aggressively, to belittle or tease someone, or to behave inappropriately."
During online meetings, for example, power can be exercised inappropriately by a bully dominating the discussion and not giving other participants opportunities for input. Misrepresenting someone or spreading malicious rumours can also occur with ease online. And communicating more frequently via technology (such as emails) leaves the door open more widely for miscommunication due to missing vital non-verbal elements of the conversation.
"With so many people working offsite, bullying can start by not even inviting certain staff members to online meetings," Kylie says. "Then there's the act of leaving people off circulating emails, withholding information, or actions that create a divide between those people who have returned to the office and those staff members who continue to work from home."
Socially, our work teams are also functioning in different ways. Some staff may find themselves repeatedly - and deliberately - left off invitations to much-needed social events.
"Bullying, in any context, can be very hard to describe," Kylie says. "It comes down to any behaviour that is repeated and persistent, which would be considered unreasonable by most people, that compromises your health and safety.
"So while COVID may have provided a good opportunity for us to reappraise our work behaviours, to seek to be more inclusive, more sensitive to and respectful of the needs of our colleagues, that doesn't always seem to be the case. In fact, different kinds of bullying behaviours appear to be emerging."
So what do you do if you feel you are being bullied online? Many of the same steps to addressing face-to-face bullying apply:
- Keep records of repeated behaviours that have made you feel uncomfortable, and ask yourself whether it is an isolated event or part of a pattern of intentional behaviour;
- If you feel up to it, approach the bully and express your feelings;
- If not, approach your line manager or supervisor and report it. Most workplaces will have guidelines for the receipt of complaints about bullying, and protocols for respectful behaviour that staff are expected to observe. If your supervisor is the person whose behaviour is concerning you, consider contacting your HR department.
- Investigate what other kinds of staff support you may be entitled to, such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).
