Australia has a workplace bullying problem

Legislators have struggled to move the needle on workplace bullying. What are they not considering?

According to the Australian Workers Union (AWU), 50 per cent of Australian workers have experienced being bullied, harassed, or exposed to conflict or inappropriate behaviour.

The findings accord with similar research by Safe Work Australia (SWA), which concluded that rates of bullying in Australia are “substantially higher than international rates”.

What does workplace bullying look like, and why is Australia struggling?

Understanding the problem

Rates of workplace bullying are notoriously difficult to gauge as standards between states and countries differ dramatically. The challenge is evident in the divergent findings of different studies.

It is, therefore, crucial that a clear and consistent definition of workplace bullying is used across research efforts.

Though the definition of workplace bullying is unique to each Australian state, it is generally defined as “repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or a group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety”.

A 2012 study found that those who reported having been bullied said they had experienced the following:

1. Sworn or yelled at while at work (33.8 per cent)
2. Humiliated in front of others (22.8 per cent)
3. Discomfort due to sexual humour (19.1 per cent)
4. Unfair treatment due to gender (9.7 per cent)
5. Negative comments regarding ethnic or racial background (6.3 per cent)
6. Physically assaulted or threatened by a co-worker, supervisor, or manager (6.3 per cent)
7. Unwanted sexual advances (4.6 per cent)

According to 2021 research by Safe Work Australia, bullying had been declining over the decade or so leading to 2016, before increasing in the years leading up to the study.

Though the spike might be caused, in part, by an increased willingness to report bullying or better education around reporting standards, other factors likely played a role.

Workplace bullying has been estimated to cost Australia up to $36 billion every year. Getting it right will help affected individuals and the country more broadly.

Arriving at a solution

Many have been wondering why recent legislative changes designed to address workplace bullying do not seem to move the needle.

Experts have been calling for better protective measures of various kinds. For instance, Safe Work Australia has encouraged action on psychosocial safety climate theory (PSC). The idea behind PSC is that reducing workplace bullying will require active changes to corporate culture.

“In high PSC contexts, managers will be cognisant of risk factors and will help to shape jobs where demands are manageable and resources are adequate. Therefore, if PSC is assessed, levels of demands and resources can be predicted,” the SWA report said.

This approach encourages employers to look beyond individual relationships among employees to a more general appreciation of the role of business culture.

According to researchers at the University of South Australia, however, real action on bullying will require going even deeper. Not just to culture, but to the organisational structure of Australian businesses.

“Organisational structures, not individuals, are to blame for workplace bullying,” said the researchers.

“To prevent bullying, organisations must proactively assess and mitigate the underlying risk factors, like other systematic risk management processes. Only then will an organisation thrive,” said the lead author, Professor Michelle Tuckey.

That said, the researchers do see culture as key to a better working future.

“If you have a healthy culture and healthy systems, then you don’t get a lot of bullying,” said Professor Tuckey.

The research conducted by the team at the University of South Australia placed Australia as the sixth-worst country for workplace bullying when compared with 31 European countries.

While successive legislative reforms have failed to properly protect Australian workers from bullying, effective change might have to go deeper, to culture and systems.

Take this quiz to find out if you’re eligible to lodge a stop-bullying application with the Fair Work Commission.