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Change our workplace bullying culture.
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New Zealand has the world’s second highest rate of bullying in the workplace. The health risks that result from bullying have a moderate to high likelihood of occurring and moderate to severe adverse consequences.
As well as the worker/s being bullied, those observing it (called bystanders) can also suffer harm.
Bullying can also negatively impact the entire workforce and result in:
- A hostile work environment
- Decreased worker health and well-being, motivation, performance and commitment
- Workers attending work while sick or taking more sick leave
- Increased worker turnover
Who has health and safety duties and obligations?
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) is New Zealand’s key work health and safety legislation. It sets out the work health and safety duties that must be complied with.
All work and workplaces are covered by HSWA unless specifically excluded.
WorkSafe New Zealand (WorkSafe) is the work health and safety regulator.
Under HSWA, everyone at a workplace has health and safety duties and so has a role in dealing with bullying. There are four types of people that have duties under HSWA – persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs), officers, workers and other persons at workplaces.
The Effects of Workplace Bullying
The effects of workplace bullying don’t end when you leave the office. Being a victim of bullying can cause physical and psychological problems such as:
- stress,
- anxiety,
- panic attacks,
- trouble sleeping.
Bullying affects Job Performance
Bullied workers can’t perform their jobs to the best of their ability. Performance issues include:
- an incapacity to work or concentrate
- having trouble making decisions
- a loss of self esteem
- lower productivity
Bullied workers not only lose motivation, they lose time because they are preoccupied with:
- trying to defend themselves
- networking for support
- ruminating about the situation
- planning how to deal with situation
- coping with the effects the situation is having on their home and personal life
- feelings of isolation
- leaving the victim so traumatised that they feel powerless, disorientated, confused and helplessness
- suicidal thoughts
- and they are prescribed antidepressants, sleeping pills and tranquilisers
Effects on the Employers of Bullies
Workplace bullying has detrimental effects on employers, not just the victim and their co-workers who witness it. In addition to disrupting the work environment and impacting worker morale it can also:
- reduce productivity
- create a hostile work environment
- promote absenteeism
- impact worker compensation claims
- result in costly and possibly embarrassing legal issues
Other costly effects on the employer include:
- Increased use of sick leave, health care claims and staff turnover
- Erosion of employee loyalty and commitment
- Additional costs to recruit and train new employees
- Poor public image and negative publicity
- Increased risk of legal action
There are no winners
Employers must offer education opportunities for managers, supervisors and other authority figures because the majority of workplace bullying comes from bullying bosses.
Employers must strive to create a workplace environment that cultivates teamwork, cooperation and positive interaction instead.
New Zealand has the world’s second highest rate of bullying in the workplace. Statistics suggest that over 350,000 (17.8% of workforce) employees are currently being bullied {1.2}
However currently the laws as they stand make it hard to combat.
There is no formal process or jurisdiction to combat workplace bullying behaviours in New Zealand. This means there is no place in New Zealand to take a complaint about workplace bullying.
Presently cases are direct to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), however, the ERA can’t deal with workplace bullying as a health and safety issue. Workplace bullying is a health and safety issue not an employment issue.
This means that cases are almost impossible to win and even if they are won are not settled appropriately. For example even if you win a case you will be order to pay the costs of the bully’s legal fees {3}
There needs to be a specific formal jurisdiction set up in the legislation where workplace bullying complaints can be heard as health and safety cases.
There also needs to be trained professionals and independent investigators who know what bullying behaviours look like and how these behaviours impact people. They also need to be independent so that the “sham” investigations that employers currently use can be left in the past and all evidence can be presented.
The Outdoors Party will address these problems and get rid of bullying from all our workplaces.
References:
2 – https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11855415
3 – http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/67597611/former-health-board-employee-must-pay-costs
Definition of Bullying (adapted from Safe Work Australia’s definition)
| Workplace bullying is: repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of workers that can lead to physical or psychological harm. Repeated behaviour is persistent (occurs more than once) and can involve a range of actions over time Unreasonable behaviour means actions that reasonable person in the same circumstances would see as unreasonable. It includes victimising, humiliating, intimidating or threatening a person Bullying may also include harassment, discrimination or violence | Workplace bullying is not: One-off or occasional instances of forgetfulness, rudeness or tactlessness Setting high performance standards Constructive feedback and legitimate advice or peer review A manager requiring reasonable verbal or written work instruction to be carried out Warning or disciplining workers in line with the business or undertaking’s code of conduct A single incident of unreasonable behaviour Reasonable management actions delivered in a reasonable way Differences in opinion or personality clashes that do not escalate into bullying, harassment or violence |