How to tackle bullying in the workplace

In recent years, big name charities have attracted headlines around bullying in the workplace. It’s an unpleasant reality, but according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, over 15% of employees have experienced bullying or harassment at work.

 

Workplace bullying can crush confidence and bring huge stress and anxiety. It can impact physical health and, in extreme cases, drive someone to become suicidal.

 

And, for your organisation, bullying can ruin employees’ careers, drive out great colleagues, destroy motivation, and impact your reputation as an employer.

 

 

What’s bullying?

 

Bullying can take many forms – it can be verbal, physical, or online. It could be unwelcome comments about someone’s age, appearance, or race, through to verbal abuse, unwanted physical contact, or setting impossible deadlines. It’s often repeated behaviour that has the intention of hurting someone.

 

The Anti-Bullying Alliance defines bullying as: “The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It can happen face-to-face or online.”

 

While Unison defines it as: “Persistent offensive, intimidating, humiliating behaviour, which attempts to undermine an individual or group of employees.”

 

Whatever form it comes in, bullying should never be tolerated. Luckily, there are actions you can take to safeguard your charity against bullying in the workplace.

 

 

Have a clear bullying and harassment policy

 

In August 2022, the Charity Commission released revised guidance around bullying and harassment. The headline is that trustees must “recognise that there is simply no place for bullying and harassment within, or by, charities. Trustees have a central role to play to ensure their charity has clear policies, and that allegations are handled appropriately and in line with employment and other laws”.

 

But how do you do that? Well, The Third Sector has a helpful podcast on ‘Creating clear anti-bullying policies’ and the NCVO has a sample anti-harassment and bullying policy and procedures available for its members. Or take a look at peer organisations’ policies and read through the CIPD’s helpful bullying policy checklist.  

 

 

Give your teams great training

 

Regular training is a key way to make sure your policy lives and breathes throughout the organisation. Everyone needs to know what bullying is, how they are protected, and how they can respond to it – should it happen to them or if they witness it happening to a colleague.

 

Those steps might include reporting to a line manager, documenting when and what has been said, and keeping hold of emails or texts. But whatever they are for your specific charity, having clarity around them is crucial for individuals to know what support is there. And it’s essential in creating a supportive and safe workplace culture.

 

 

Equip your managers to follow through

 

Your managers are likely to be the first in line to deal with bullying, so they need to be informed and equipped to deal effectively with it.

 

Dealing with bullying issues can be intimidating for inexperienced leaders, so give them the knowledge, skills and support needed for them to confidently navigate the situation.

 

They’ll also need to act swiftly and keep careful notes of any conversations. 

 

 

Watch out for signs

 

You might notice that an off-the-cuff remark across the office has visibly upset one of your team. In which case, take the opportunity to talk to the person who made the comment.

 

What feels like gentle teasing to one person, might be crushing for another – and sometimes people can be oblivious to the effect they’re having on others.

 

Encouraging your team to be aware of their impact and to change any unwelcomed behaviour is a good way to nip situations in the bud before they escalate.

 

 

Develop a culture of respect

 

As well as people knowing how they shouldn’t behave, it’s just as important to show them what’s expected of them. So make it clear what positive behaviour looks like.

 

Modelling positive behaviour yourself is a key first step, and then recognising positive behaviour in and around the organisation will give others real-life examples to copy.

 

As well as having your core values visible on your walls and intranet, say thanks to someone when they show respect to a colleague and share that thanks publicly – through a message on Teams or a more formal employee recognition scheme.

 

 

Appoint an anti-bullying champion

 

Have a member of the management team champion anti-bullying. This will be your ‘go to’ person for anyone needing to discuss bullying or the procedures you have in place. Having a champion shows employees that you take allegations of bullying seriously.

 

Ideally, this person will be passionate about anti-bullying and creating a safe, respectful work environment. If you have a large organisation, consider having one champion in each department.