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Bullying is usually seen as acts or verbal comments that could psychologically or 'mentally' hurt or isolate a person in the workplace. Sometimes, bullying can involve negative physical contact as well. Bullying usually involves repeated incidents or a pattern of behaviour that is intended to intimidate, offend, degrade or humiliate a particular person or group of people. It has also been described as the assertion of power through aggression.
Yes, bullying is a workplace issue. In Canada, occupational health and safety laws include the concept of due diligence. Due diligence means that employers shall take all reasonable precautions, under the particular circumstances, to prevent injuries or incidents in the workplace. Every person should be able to work in a safe and healthy workplace. The legislation in your jurisdiction will describe the roles and responsibilities for workplace parties with respect to workplace harassment and violence, including developing and implementing policies and programs. Definitions of harassment and violence often formally include bullying, but can be implied if not.
Please refer to the following OSH Answers documents for more information:
While bullying is a form of aggression, the actions can be both obvious and subtle. It is important to note that the following is not a checklist, nor does it mention all forms of bullying. There is no way to predict who may be the bully or the target.
This list is included as a way of showing some of the ways bullying may happen in a workplace. Also remember that bullying is usually considered to be a pattern of behaviour where one or more incidents will help show that bullying is taking place, but it may be one incident, especially one that has a lasting effect.
Examples include:
If you are not sure an action or statement could be considered bullying, you can use the "reasonable person" test. Would most people consider the action unacceptable?
It is sometimes hard to know if bullying is happening at the workplace. Bullying can be very subtle and may be more obvious once a pattern of behaviour is established.
Also, many studies acknowledge that there is a "fine line" between strong management and bullying. Comments that are objective and are intended to provide constructive feedback are not usually considered bullying, but rather are intended to assist the employee with their work.
As described by WorkSafeBC, bullying and harassing behaviour does not include:
Prince Edward Island also adds that when done reasonably and fairly, the following actions are generally not considered workplace bullying or harassment:
People who are the targets of bullying may experience a range of effects. These reactions include:
Bullying affects the overall "health" of an organization. An "unhealthy" workplace can have many effects. In general, these effects include:
Many jurisdictions have defined bullying separately or have included bullying as part of the definition of behaviours associated with harassment or violence. For example, Prince Edward Island has defined harassment in their Workplace Harassment Regulations as:
(b) "harassment" means any inappropriate conduct, comment, display, action or gesture or any bullying that the person responsible for the conduct, comment, display, action or gesture or the bullying knows, or ought reasonably to know, could have a harmful effect on a worker's psychological or physical health or safety, and includes
(i) conduct that is based on any personal characteristic such as, but not limited to, race, creed, religion, colour, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, physical size or weight, age, nationality, ancestry or place of origin, gender identity or pregnancy, and
(ii) inappropriate sexual conduct that is known, or ought reasonably to be known, to the person responsible for the conduct to be unwelcome, including, but not limited to, sexual solicitations or advances, sexually suggestive remarks, jokes or gestures, circulating or sharing inappropriate images, or unwanted physical contact.
Other resources include in British Columbia, WorkSafeBC has developed policies and resources related specifically to workplace bullying and harassment. The Treasury Board of Canada has published “People to People Communication – Preventing and Resolving Harassment for a Healthy Workplace”.
If there is no legislation which specifically addressed bullying, the general duty clause to provide a safe and healthy workplace establishes the duty of employers to protect employees from risks at work. These risks can include harm from both physical and psychological health aspects.
In addition, federal and provincial human right laws prohibit harassment related to race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, marital status, family status, disability, pardoned conviction, or sexual orientation. In certain situations, these laws may apply to bullying.
If you feel that you are being bullied, discriminated against, victimized or subjected to any form of harassment:
DO
Remember, it is not just the character of the incidents, but intent of the behaviour and the number, frequency, and especially the pattern that can reveal the bullying or harassment.
DO NOT
(Adapted from: Violence in the Workplace Prevention Guide. CCOHS)
The most important component of any workplace prevention program is management commitment. Management commitment is best communicated in a written policy. Since bullying is a form of violence and harassment in the workplace, employers may wish to write a comprehensive policy that covers a range of incidents (from bullying and harassment to physical violence).
A workplace violence and harassment prevention program should:
(Adapted from: Violence in the Workplace Prevention Guide. CCOHS)
DO
DO NOT
(Adapted from: Comprehensive Workplace Health Program Guide. CCOHS)