Bullying and Harassment
Bullies more likely to be a boss
73% of people who say they have been bullied identify their boss as the culprit according to a new survey. Approxiately 40% of respondents said they had been bullied and just under half of the public sector workers surveyed said they had been bullied. The email survey of 2000 people identified activity from threats of dismissal unless an employee performed work outside their job description to more subtle things such as favouring one employee over another for perks and promotion. The Director of Talent2 who commissioned the survey said that generally speaking, good leaders don't need to bully".
Meet the "powerpath"
One in 10 Australian managers are deceitful, cold-hearted manipulators bent on attaining power for its own sake says Dr Glyn Brokensha. These managers tend to introduce meaningless reforms and endless reviews to cover up that they achieve very little.
Protect us from rage
It may not be bullying but agressive clients can be just as harmful to our health. A South Australian PSA survey of 600 government employees found a third had been threatened or abused while driving government cars, or their vehicles had been vandalised. The South Australian PSA is calling for the removal of government number plates on some cars, a bigger pool of vehicles for home visits and extra security for government buildings. Public servants in agencies such as the Housing Trust, Correctional Services Department, Health Department, SA Police, Education Department and Youth and Family Services often work alone in the field without phones or decent systems for dealing with violent situations. The murder of mental health chief Margaret Tobin in 2002 has focussed minds on the need for security when dealing with angry or mentally disturbed clients. Some staff have been forced to use taxis for home visits because of a shortage of vehicles, leaving staff "vulnerable with no means of escape" in violent situations.
Is bullying a 'beat up'?
Is bullying and its legal ramifications just a ‘ beat up ’ to keep workplace lawyers in their jobs, or are we facing some sort of bullying epidemic. Workplace Lawyers partner Jamie Robinson and solicitor Brett Todd survey the issue.
Sex Harassment - HREOC Report 2004
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has found that 41% of Australian women and 14% of men aged between 18 and 64 years have been sexually harassed. 28% of Australian women and 7% of Australian men have experienced it at work. Almost half of the harassers were co-workers of the target, with over a third of harassers a person in authority in the workplace in relation to the target. Of those harassed by someone in authority the harasser was more likely to be male than female. Female harassers appear more likely to harass co-workers than those in authority. Less than a third of the harassment was formally reported. Full text
of the report can be found at the HREOC site.
Guidance notes on Bullying and Violence - Victoria
This booklet has been endorsed by the Victorian Trades Hall Council, the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australian Industry Group. Trades Hall Council views the document as a starting point but believes a code of practice is required.
Guidance notes on Bullying and Violence - West Australia
This booklet contains information on how to identify and deal with bullying.
PSA Survey on Bullying
Delegates in the Department of Education and Training (DET) ran a survey on bullying with a view to developing a Departmental policy on preventing and handling bullying and harassment. Check the
PSA website for more information.
Bully-Busting
Labor Council secretary John Robertson says unions will focus on bullying as a major area of concern for workers across a range of industries.
"For the first time, the health and safety regulations include provisions for psychological hazards, such as bullying by managers or fellow workers," Robertson says.
"Workplace safety representatives now have enhanced rights to raise safety issues and Labor Council will be encouraging them to target bullying."
NSW Labor Council has produced new guidelines for dealing with workplace bullying including:
- identifying workplace bullies
- raising bullying with employers
- model workplace bullying policies
- and a workplace bullying checklist.
These are available from the unionsafe website
Union Safe
State Government Initiatives
WorkCover NSW
The National Children's and Youth Law Centre (NCYLC) is conducting a project funded by the WorkCover NSW Injury Prevention, Education and Research Grants Scheme to address the problem of workplace bullying, particularly involving young trainees and apprentices. Links to a number of NSW WorkCover documents
Queensland Taskforce on Bullying
The Qld Government is trying to identify the extent of workplace bullying as well as strategies for increasing awareness of the problem and developing a whole of government response. Submissions to the Taskforce closed in 2001 but the discussion paper is a useful resource.
Victorian Proposed Code of Practice
In Victoria in the 2000/01 financial year, nearly 1100 WorkCover claims arose out of either harassment at work or exposure to workplace violence. WorkSafe developed a code of practice to help workplace parties address these problems.
Information from the PSA
The PSA runs courses for delegates and members on Dealing with Bullying in the Workplace, Occupational Health & Safety, and Women in the Union. The training can be done in paid time. The PSA also has policies on occupational violence. For more information talk to your delegate or ring the PSA on 9290 1555.
Information from other unions
Queensland Nurses
NTEU Draft Policy
NSW ASU Clerks
HREOC Annual Report
HREOC's Annual Report 2003 shows that discrimination and harassment is widespread in Australian workplaces.
In one instance a complainant was employed as a labourer with an agricultural company. The complainant alleged that during his three months with the company he was treated less favourably and subjected to abuse because of his Aboriginal descent. He alleged that in front of other employees, the boss swore at him, made remarks about his skin colour when a black sheep came into sight, called him 'eight ball' and held him down and tried to write 'eight ball' on his head. The complainant also alleged that he was refused shift rotation while this was granted to non-Aboriginal employees. The complainant claimed that he resigned because of the alleged treatment.
The complaint was resolved by conciliation with the respondent company agreeing to pay the complainant $1,500 compensation and re-employ him in a different location.
More examples of complaints and their resolution
Mental Health Association of NSW
Many people think of bullying as persecuting or ganging up on individuals but most bullying is not so obvious.
Resources on Bullying & Harassment
The Office of Employment Equity (formerly ODEOPE) used to have a
number of useful resources free of charge in its library. The library was abolished in June 2005. Some of its resources are now located in the Central Corporate Services Unit (Department of Commerce). These
include:
(1)Bullying and harassment: risk prevention guidelines for employers: a book
by Anthea Lowe & Assoc 2001
(2)Bullying: from backyard to Boardroom: a book by Paul McCarthy and others.
Federation Press, 2001
(3)Workplace bullying: what can be done to avoid victim traumatisation? Beyond
Bullying News,
Contact the Office of Employment Equity Librarian Tel: 02 92483528 Fax: 02 92483500
Web
http://www.eeo.nsw.gov.au
We all lose to the office bully
A recent case highlights the problem of workplace victimisation, which is now more widespread than many imagine, writes Grant Michelson in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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