4. Tackling bullying and harassment

Why does bullying occur?

In order to tackle bullying and harassment, it is important to understand the reasons why it occurs. General union Unite says that bullying may occur for many reasons and anyone may become a target. It sets out that:

“Bullying may be part of the culture of an organisation. It may be seen as strong management, or even as the effective way of getting things done. What is increasingly clear is that organisational factors play an important part in whether or not bullying takes place at work. The sorts of workplaces where bullying is more likely to occur are those where there is: an extremely competitive environment, fear of redundancy, envy among colleagues, an authoritarian style of management and supervision, organisational change and uncertainty, lack of training, deskilling, poor work relationships, no clear codes of acceptable conduct, excessive workloads and demands on people and no procedures for resolving problems.”

The teachers’ union NUT says that some bullies, particularly those in senior management roles, behave the way they do because of the intolerable pressure placed on them from outside the organisation, as a result of government policies, for example.

“This type of bullying is, in many cases, easier to deal with than that of the deliberate bully who believes that a bullying management style is the best way of achieving objectives. Both types of bullying are, however, equally damaging for the recipient and neither can ever be justified,” it says.

And according to guidance produced by the college and lecturers’ union UCU’s health and safety adviser, Stopping bullying and harassment at work, “The financial and ‘market’ pressures on colleges and universities together with the use of inappropriate management methods place middle managers in particular in a difficult position where they have to deliver a range of inappropriate or unattainable ‘targets’ — and to do so they are bullied and in turn bully their staff.”

Above all, says Unite, harassment and bullying is about power. It reflects the position of women, black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) workers, disabled, LGBT, young and older people in society, which is why harassers and bullies are often line managers, and the victims under their supervision. But harassment and bullying is also common among employees on the same grade. The effects can be particularly distressing in workplaces in which few women or black, Asian or ethnic minorities work, where part-time, agency and migrant workers face harassment and bullying, where disabled workers are overlooked and LGBT workers are not “out” in the workplace, trans workers are targeted, young workers are undermined and older workers are not given the opportunity to develop.

Harassment, discrimination and bullying aim to undermine the person targeted, often leaving them feeling humiliated and lacking confidence.