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Bullying - do you tackle the root causes
Bullying - Do you tackle the root causes?
Bullying at work - employers get the policy right, but run the risk of leaving the root causes unchallenged
While 83% of employers have a clear anti-bullying policy in place, when bullying does happen the focus is almost exclusively on supporting the victim, with little support, advice and guidance being offered to those accused of bullying, according to Managing Conflict at Work, a new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for all those involved in people management and development.
Employers are also training human resource professionals to tackle the problems, but are leaving line managers, who are more likely to spot the problems before they escalate to a damaging level, ill-equipped and unprepared. With 75% of employers surveyed training their HR managers in tackling bullying and harassment at work, but only 55% training their line managers.
Imogen Haslam, CIPD Professional adviser, says;
"It is great that employers are supporting victims, and employers with anti-bullying policies have taken a step in the right direction. But there is no hope that the problem will be reduced and the alleged perpetrators of bullying will not change if employers simply isolate them.
"If employers are serious about tackling the problem they should be training line managers to recognise the signs and take action to encourage people to recognise and change their behaviour before situations escalate."
Over 80% of policies contain a definition of intimidating behaviour but only 38% define positive behaviour. Bullies are often oblivious to their actions and therefore the problem will not stop unless they realise they realise they are behaving inappropriately. Haslam encourages employers to clearly define and communicate the behaviour they expect from all staff. This will help identify unacceptable behaviour making it easier to deal with a problem when it arises.
"There is a very fine line between firm autocratic management styles and bullying. Employers should raise awareness of alternative, more effective, styles concentrating on motivating staff through engaging their commitment and trust. Investing time and money to help change mindsets makes it easier to move away from the traditional boss versus employee scenario. This will ultimately deliver benefits to the business by improving performance, improving the working environment, helping to retain staff and reducing absence rates, especially that caused by stress-related illness. It also means less time and money will be spent on dealing with bullying and harassment cases inside the office or in the courtroom," says Haslam.
Identify the bullies
The report paints a fascinating picture of what constitutes bullying and who has been accused of bullying:
- Line managers make up 38% of those accused of bullying.
- Peers of victim make up 37% of those accused of bullying.
- Department managers make up 22% of those accused of bullying.
- Subordinates of the victims of bullying make up 13%.
"With more than 10% of bullies being subordinates it is clear they are not simply managers or those at the top, but they are made up from a much wider pool - for example, secretaries keeping information from their boss and teams colluding in making a manager seem unprofessional. Employers should ensure they are aware of the different types of bullying which can be subtle as well as obvious and put measures in place to help deal with these problems as they arise," says Haslam.
Costs of bullying
Conflict at work costs employers nearly 450 days of management time every year - equivalent to the time of two managers full time - and almost 4% of grievance and disciplinary cases are related to bullying or harassment incidents
The figure of 450 days of management time does not take into account the significant associated costs of mismanaged conflict at work, including lost productivity, sickness absence and higher than expected turnover of employees.
Other key findings:
- 91% of organisations have a diversity/equal opportunity policy.
- 39% of organisations believe line managers behaviour is the most important factor affecting success in tackling bullying and harassment.
Reasons why organisations have a policy in place:
- Almost 40% of organisations say they have a policy in place to tackle discrimination at work mainly to ensure they meet legal duties.
- Only 8% of organisations implemented their policy to help reduce disputes.
- Only 5% of organisations implemented their policy to help improve individual performance.
- Only 2% of organisations implemented their policy to help improve teamworking.
The report, Managing Conflict at Work, can be downloaded from www.cipd.co.uk/surveys
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