Everyone is talking about bullying. Here’s why it’s a big deal.
In December 2012 Safe Work Australia undertook a study showing that the effects of bullying in the workplace are costing Australian employers AUD$693 million a year. This Federal Government has addressed this problem in the Fair Work Amendment Bill 2013 by including new anti-bullying measures. These changes are significant and have far reaching implications for employers.
We absolutely support this legislation and can show you how to take reasonable steps towards reducing or eliminating bullying in your workplace.
What is the most effective way to reduce or eliminate workplace bullying?
What, over time, works best as a sustainable way to fix what can be an intractable and surreptitious problem?
- Get the “structural aspects” right. Make sure that your organisational policies, processes, practices, systems send very clear messages that bullying is not OK – that’s probably the easiest part.
- Get the “people, interpersonal, relationship aspects” right. This is the part that will take the most effort and most definitely will take a very well developed program that works from the organisational cultural change level right through to enabling each person to review, rethink and change their behaviour.
