HAPPY AT WORK: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO OVERCOMING WORKPLACE PSYCHOLOGICAL HARASSMENT

Foreword

Only once in my life was I ever bullied, when I was five years old. Walking a few blocks to kindergarten, a much bigger boy down the street made threatening comments and gestures. My father explained that I could avoid this by taking a different route. I was overjoyed at this clever avoidance technique.

Many people associate bullying with childhood, with young, weak, vulnerable kids at school being subject to nasty comments, humiliating demands and physical abuse. Sometimes the bullying is by an entire group. Bullying can cause lasting emotional damage.

What about adults? Surely they have mature capacities to resist the sort of harassment that occurs at schools and neighbourhoods? I started learning about adult bullying at work by talking with whistleblowers, those employees who speak out about corruption, abuse and hazards to the public. For example, an office worker alerts the boss to a discrepancy in the accounts, little knowing that it’s fraud and the boss is implicated. Before long, the boss makes this poor worker’s life difficult. This might be by shouting face-to-face. Or it might be criticisms at meetings in front of co-workers. Or being assigned the worst jobs, or given impossible assignments, or none at all. Sometimes it’s being given the cold shoulder, not being informed of meetings and never being greeted by co-workers. The variations are great, but the common pattern is that working life becomes hell.

Whistleblowers speak out in the public interest, and it is a huge injustice that they are targeted with reprisals, including the sorts of actions that are commonly called bullying or mobbing, which is when a whole group joins in the attack. But whistleblowers are not the only targets. Anyone is potentially a victim. Sometimes it is because they are a member of an ethnic minority. Some are seen as vulnerable and hence easy targets. Some are especially competent and seen as a competitive threat. And some just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time: a manager is pissed off about something else and takes it out on the nearest convenient person.

Bullying is most often by someone higher in rank against a subordinate, but there are exceptions, especially with mobbing. Occasionally a group of employees will act together against a boss, for example a boss who is a woman, a member of a minority group and just someone seen as a threat to the usual order of things.

Attuned to the problem, I started reading about bullying at work. In the 1990s, this issue burst onto the scene, with books and then websites filled with stories and advice. Bullying at work has been going on for as long as people have worked together, but it took a long time before it was named and seen as a social problem.

After reading quite a few books about bullying at work, I wrote a review of them. When it came to advice about what to do, there was one depressing refrain: either put up with it or leave your job. Complaining hardly ever fixed the problem and often made it worse. Depressingly, leaving often meant co-workers would be the next victims. A boss with a pattern of harassing subordinates would pick one target, drive them out of the workplace, and then choose someone else to harass.

When it comes to bullying, things haven’t changed all that much since the 1990s. In some parts of the world, bullying has been criminalised, but the obstacles facing anyone trying to use laws are enormous: financial costs are exorbitant, emotional costs are intensified, and seldom is there a positive outcome. In many workplaces, there are now policies that workers can use, but some of them are more for show than practical use.

Well, it’s not all doom and gloom, because some things have changed. There is much greater awareness of the problem, and there is more written about it, and online you can find lots of information. But how can you tell what’s most useful?

All I can say is that Liz Spencer’s book is a worthy and useful addition to the writing on the subject. Out of the untold thousands of bullied workers, she is one of the very few to use the experience as the foundation for writing a clear-headed, informative treatment designed to help others. This is a systematic treatment by someone who knows the topic from the inside and outside. Liz has combed research for insights and presented what she’s learned in clear prose, organised logically. The focus is workplaces in Australia, with wider relevance.

Several things are worthy of special mention. Liz is a lawyer, a legal academic, and she brings a lawyer’s careful thinking to bear, especially in the chapter on legal responses. Secondly, Liz went through submissions to an Australian public inquiry into bullying, and intersperses quotes from submissions with her text, at appropriate places. Thirdly, she uses quotes from her personal diary in the same way. These quotes don’t give details about the who and what of her experiences, but rather portray her feelings and general observations.

You can learn a lot from Liz’s text about bullying. You can also learn a lot from one thing she did: keep a diary. If you’re ever under threat of any kind at a workplace, or anywhere else for that matter, keep a daily record of what’s happening and how you feel about it. Use Liz’s diary entries as a model for how to do this. Good luck.

Emeritus Professor Brian Martin

Preface

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

This book is a tool for people affected by psychological harassment at work. It shares insights about how to recognise, respond and remedy the problem, and so find ways to be happy, or at least a bit happier, at work.

Whether or not we label this a problem of epidemic proportions, the weight of research and extensive anecdotal evidence indicates the problem is extremely widespread. Precise estimates of the numbers affected vary, in part because it has not been clearly determined what we mean when we talk about psychological harassment, or its extended impacts. A certain level of certainty has been achieved regarding what is sexual harassment or physical abuse, and we no longer accept these behaviours. But the lines are anything but clear, and expectations are continually evolving around what is okay and what is not in our interactions at work. There is work to be done here.

In my own experiences of psychological harassment, I was unprepared. Too often, I was uncertain how to react when targeted, or how to help co-workers in coping with their experiences. This book brings together some of what I learned, in order to help others make sense of the perverse, protracted maelstrom that harassment can easily become. It offers supportive knowledge and guidance to targets who often feel helpless and alone. This book is also intended as a resource for bystanders and HR/P&C personnel, administrators, managers, and would-be leaders. It is for anyone who wants to better understand psychological harassment at work.

As an academic, in undertaking this project, I conducted extensive research and consultation with psychological, organisational, legal and industrial relations experts. I chose to omit the over 200 footnotes in the text, opting instead to include a list of selected references at the end of each chapter. I did this because it is my intention that the book present in a way that is as accessible as possible to a wide audience. I invite those readers who may seek further information to contact me, and to conduct your own inquiries.

The other, perhaps more important reason for omitting the extensive academic referencing is the ethnographic nature of this project as a collection of perspectives drawing upon my experiences of psychological harassment and the subsequent processes, as well as those of others as recorded in submissions to the 2012 Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into Workplace Bullying. Stories are powerful, and carry at least as much truth as other scholarly research methods. I hope readers will respect and appreciate the thoughts and feelings of others shared here, and that they will be motivated to share their own. Ideally, the full diversity of perspectives can be met with respect and open hearts.

A well-told story has its good guys and villains. But this book is not about taking sides. Human beings seek appreciation, belonging, and a sense of being valued in various ways. The discussions in these pages about perpetrators of abuse, the managers who enable them, HR/P&C’s role in serving management, and bystanders who turn away are situated in the context of that shared humanity. Change takes commitment, and it requires all of us to work together. The most powerful tool discussed in this book is solidarity, and so, ultimately, this book is a call for solidarity.

Chapter One

The path to transformation

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.

Henry Ford

We have learned in recent years that epidemic crises can lead to social transformation. Workplace psychological abuse infects our workplaces at great cost to individuals, organisations and society. It is one of the most serious and neglected problems in employment relations across developed economies. A Global Survey by the International Labor Organisation revealed that Australia and New Zealand have the highest reported rates of workplace violence and harassment in the world, with many respondents having suffered multiple times. The rates are higher for women, people of diverse ethnicities, faiths, physical and neurological characteristics, etc.

The quality of our working conditions matters. Over a lifetime, the average person spends over ten years at work. Most of us work to earn a living, yet for many, the 9-to-5 is much more than the 9-to-5. Work is the centre of all kinds of human interaction, for example, competition - it has long been a place of struggle and transformation - but also camaraderie, belonging, friendship, joy, and standing for what we believe in, our self-worth. For many, work is deeply connected to who we are.

Work integrates our sensibilities around social and environmental issues and our overall identity and lifestyle. Today, we are told, ‘Bring your authentic selves to work.’ But what does that mean? And are we really supposed to? The rise of social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reflects this shift toward purpose, personal fulfilment, and the opportunity to impact the world positively. In recent years, the concept of business human rights (BHR) has emerged as a new form of corporate social responsibility. It is bringing transformative change to the interface of business with human rights. In addition, the meaning of work is influenced by emerging influences such as:

•advancing technology

•the changing global economy

•the Uber economy

•intra-generational participation - sometimes four generations in a workplace simultaneously

•diversity, intersectionality, and

•a new emphasis on workplace well-being and safety.

People who find meaning and purpose in their work experience higher job satisfaction, engagement, and well-being. The modern job seeker often has the luxury of considering factors beyond salary and benefits when choosing an employer. A healthy, safe work environment attracts and retains talented employees. This means organisations prioritising mental health are more likely to enjoy greater business success, not only in relations with employees, but also with shareholders, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Relational capital across-the-board is the beneficiary of happier workplaces.

COVID and the working from home phenomenon have reinforced the importance of ensuring that the work environment is safe and does not endanger workers’ physical or psychosocial well-being. Today’s workers seek employer commitment to workplaces free from psychological harassment. Mental health is a human right. Employers have a moral responsibility and a legal duty to ensure that the workplace does not threaten workers’ physical or mental health. In addition to international conventions, many jurisdictions have legislation in place, as well as common law protections and social expectations.

Some workplaces model shared purpose and engagement with high levels of job satisfaction. Workers with diverse voices feel heard and respected; they are genuinely committed to values such as integrity, courage, and trust. Ideally, this will increasingly be the case in the future. Nevertheless, many employers still do not prioritise safety at work. Even while they pay lip service to values like teamwork, collaboration, openness, and transparency, it is not unusual for employers actually to incentivise and reward psychologically abusive behaviour. In many workplaces, the situation is not getting better. Often, we can’t even talk about it.

Right now, workers who attend safe workplaces are the lucky ones. Despite widespread awareness of the importance of well-being, today’s workplace is not always safe. Many of us still suffer demeaning and abusive treatment at work. This book is about changing that. It is about overcoming psychological harassment to transition to work environments that are safer, more productive, happier for more people.

The conversation here is not about physical violence or sexual harassment in the workplace. Those are related but distinct topics. And thankfully, sexual harassment and physical violence are now taken seriously, generally speaking. We have reached a point where, for the most part, those offences are not tolerated.

But we still let psychological harassment happen. And when we do, we deprive ourselves and each other of our right to a safe workplace. A safe shared environment in which to work is not only everyone’s right, but everyone’s responsibility. Solidarity of workers is a fine tradition historically. Research shows, however, that worker solidarity in recent years has declined. This decline is due to various factors, but we can turn it around. Solidarity at work is something we can embrace if we can find the courage and commitment to resist the individualistic impulse to isolate and protect ourselves, and instead make a conscious choice to support each other and to use our voices at work.

This book is not the story of any one person, but rather represents an amalgam of personal experiences and extensive research, that encompasses scholarly research as well as hundreds of accounts recorded in submissions to the 2012 Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into Workplace Bullying. Among the 319 submissions, many documented personal experiences of targets of harassment. Others were from experts in the field.

Informed by this wide range of sources, this book outlines the basics of workplace psychological harassment, offers insights and advice to manage and prevent harassment, and provides a framework for changing the conditions that allow harassment to persist and thrive, from internal processes and