There is no place for bullying in today’s society. Not only is it incredibly harmful to the victim on so many levels, but there can also be awful repercussions for your business too, as it…
· Puts your responsibility to provide a safe and healthy working environment into question.
· Can lead to disciplinary and grievance situations (which are stressful for everyone involved).
· Creates a bad culture, which impacts your team’s morale and motivation.
· Increases employee turnover and recruitment costs.
· Ruins your company’s reputation and employee branding.
Allowing bullying to happen in your workplace is a big mistake.
But what defines bullying in a workplace setting?
There’s no legal definition, unlike with harassment. However, Acas says bullying is ‘offensive, intimidating, malicious, or insulting behaviour, or abuse, or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate, or injure the recipient’.
It typically involves a power relationship. That could mean a manager and subordinate, but it can include other dynamics, too, including groups of employees misusing their authority.
It’s important to note that bullying doesn’t have to take place in the workplace. Today, we see a lot of bullying take place outside of work, and even online. This can include via social media, text messaging, and even at social events unrelated to work.
And bullying can happen for any reason. It doesn’t have to be due to a protected characteristic, as would be the case with discrimination, for example.
The entire issue around bullying is a complex one. That’s because the UK currently has no legal position on it, and no one piece of legislation that tackles workplace bullying.
That being said, as an employer, you do have a legal responsibility to protect the health and wellbeing of your employees, as well as their safety, as per the Health and Safety at Work Act.
That’s why we’ve created this new guide. It explains what bullying is, how it may come about in a business, and the things you can do to prevent it. It also details the process you should follow if you do receive a report of bullying.
Would you like a free copy? Simply click HERE to get a free copy of our new guide “How to stop bullying in your workplace”.
If you need a hand with any of this, or anything else when it comes to the people and practices in your business, we’d love to help. We are always happy to debate the pros/cons, dos/don’ts with you so please do talk to us if we can help in any way, we are here to support you. Just give us a call and arrange a free consultation. You can talk to Alison directly on 07967 221595 or email info@enlightenhr.com
