What constitutes workplace bullying?
It is important to understand what constitutes bullying, and what does NOT constitute bullying in the workplace. Too often employees mistake performance management, or receiving a direction to perform a task they do not like, as bullying.
One definition of workplace bullying is:
“the repeated less favourable treatment of a person by another or others in the work place which may be considered unreasonable and inappropriate workplace practice.
[Such behaviour…] includes behaviour that intimidates, offends, degrades or humiliates a worker.”
(Quote from Australian Human Rights Commission brochure – “Good Practice, Good Business.”)
The key here is ‘repeated less favourable treatment’.
Bullies often utilise power, skills or position in the workplace, and they target vulnerable people.
Bullying can include the following actions if received on a repeated and unreasonable basis:-
- physical or verbal abuse
- yelling, screaming or using offensive language
- excluding or isolating individuals
- psychological harassment
- threatening behaviour that intimidates a person
- assigning meaningless or demeaning tasks unrelated to the worker’s job
- giving a worker an impossible task
- deliberately changing work rosters to inconvenience a particular individual
- undermining work performance by withholding relevant information
Comments
One response to “Workplace Bullying”
Please note the following list of grievances, some have occurred on several occasions:
I have documented all instances in my work diary over my time with Credit Corp Group. Dates can be provided if required.
Meeting with Simon Offord raising the concerns I had with the way Trent was treating me and the way he spoke to me.
As a result of this meeting was told I would have further training where needed and follow up sessions with Simon on
how things were progressing. ( I don’t believe the issue with Trents behavior was addressed. It always seemed to be my fault )
Asked TPM for some advise on some of my accounts I was getting stuck on. There was no response to this from TPM. Asked the following day and TPM said he thought I was kidding on needing help. (No help ended up being given to me.)
Received email from TPM re training and support saying he would have a half hour session with me each week.
All the team was invited to sit down and talk to Trent and Simon regarding issues within the team and Trents behavior. I was told I had no choice but to attend. No other team members attended this meeting. The same concerns were raised in this meeting. (Nothing changed as a result of this meeting)
Still no training or support given by TPM no follow up on commitments.
I was told by TPM not to look over file notes in a demining manner. Even though I had been told in the past to go through file notes and write down any relevant information required to help me skip trace customer. eg phone numbers in bank notes email addresses and nok details. (To me are an important step in locating customer.)
Sent email to TPM re next action on account as I wanted to double check it was correct in what I had done on this file.
Was called into private office with Trent and was basicley abused and was asked ” Do you not understand your job” ” You don’t know how to read a file”
I said to Trent ” I thought TPM’s where there for us to ask questions and for support”
Was told by TPM not to worry to much as we don’t know everything in 6 months of working for company and that all this information takes time to learn.
Was then told by TPM that I should know everything after being with the company for this long ( around 6 months)
Asked for help on file. None given even though TPM is still helping other staff out.
Tried to park 6 accounts belonging th the same customer all in my name( value $400,000 ) TPM would not look at accounts or park them.
Have been getting no were when asking for help or guidance on accounts. Trent helps the rest of the team out however when I ask it is ignored. I am being treated different to every one else.
The team was asked to start at 8.30 am ( Friday ) and could finish at 5pm. If you only have a half hour lunch you can go at 4.30pm. I had done this and when it came time to leave at 4.30pm he changed his mind and said i couldnt go. I was the only one in the team who had a half hour lunch and still had to stay till 5pm. This also has occured a few times
There came a stage where stopped documenting everything as most things were starting to happen on a daily basis.
I have mostly been ignored by Trent the past few months. At times I would stand up and be face to face with Trent and ask him a question and he would just turn his back on me.
At this stage I had given up on receiving help from my TPM and would just have to do the best I could on my own
All I want is to come into work every day do my job and feel like I am being treated equally as one of the team.
To be spoken to in a polite and respectable manner and not to be sworn at or singled out,
To receive guidance where needed and support where needed.
May 4 2011
Called HR regarding bad treatment, abuse and standover tactics I had received from Trent throughout my time with Credit Corp. At this time I was extreamley upset and probably didnt get my point across very well. I was advised to approach him and to talk about the issues I was having. I explained to HR when I was on the phone that I have done this in the past and all he would do is turn it back around on me and tell me it was “all in my head” as he has said this to me many time in the past.
I asked Trent if I could talk to him and sat down in a meeting room and started to discuss the issues and concerns I had with him.
Some of the issues I raised was the fact that he gave me no support and ignored me and didn’t help me with some of my problem files. His comment was “its all in my head” and ” I do Fucking help you ” was not going to sit there and be spoken to in this manner so I got up to walk out of the room and go and see Mick. Trent told me to sit back down and there was no need to go to Mick involved. I said I had spoken to HR and this is what they had asked me to do. We continued talking for a minute or so when I was told again ” its all in your head” At this stage I couldn’t take it anymore and walked out off office and went to see Mick. During this meeting with Mick I know i didn’t make much sence and I told him I could no longer work for Trent. After a bit of a discussion Mick offered to move me to another team the next morning. He then asked me to call him on my way to work the next day. I then left for the day as I was so upset and unable to go back to work.
The next day I woke up feeling like this was a great opportunity to start new and fresh and to not have to worry about being bullied or ignored anymore. On the way to work I called Mick and was told to meet him in his office when I got there. Straight away I knew something was wrong. When Mick arrived we sat down and he said he had spoken to the team and basically they had said it was all my fault. The two people that had seen most of this behavior towards me where not spoken to as they were away that day. As a result of this I was told by Mick that he had spoken to HR and had been advised not to move me as he would be moving a problem from one team to another. I asked Mick to call HR again as at this stage I broke down as I knew I was unable to return to the team and work in an environment where I had no support. I can understand the team sticking by Trent as im sure they were afraid of the repercussions this could cause them. When I did go back to work no one would talk to me and they ignored me apart from the two people that were away the previous day. One staff member came to me and said she had been approached by Trent and had been told to stay away from me and to not talk to me or ask me any questions, Im sure this was said to all staff because of the way I was being treated.
My main concern is, that no one else in the future need suffer the same treatment and bulling that I have received. I consider myself a strong person but what this has done to me over a period of time has made me feel like I am incapable of doing my job let alone any other job. I would go home from work and be crying due to his treatment and the stress this was putting on me, and this started to be a regular occurrence. Waking up in the morning and crying because I knew I had to face another day with the same treatment. Working is extremely important to me as I am a very independent person. I felt like I had no other choice but to walk from my position at Credit Corp Group. This has been extremely hard on myself and my family. I now find my self with no job, no income and needing to spend time on myself to rebuild my confidence and health.
As a result of Trents actions and inactions this is how it has affected me.
I feel I have been less active and successful in my duties at Credit Corp
I feel like information has been deliberately held back from me that I have needed to get my work done properly
I feel stressed, anxious and depressed
I have found I have wanted to stay away from work
I feel like I can’t trust my employer
I feel a lack confidence and happiness about myself and my work
I have felt I have been treated differently from other employees
This has affected my personal life due to me constantly bringing home how I am feeling
After seeking medical attention due to the way I was feeling, I felt like the only opption I had available to me was to resign from my position from Credit Corp Group as I felt I would get no other result from my complaints.