What is workplace bullying?
Workplace bullying is repeated and unreasonable behaviour that is directed towards a worker or group of employees with the intention of humiliating, denigrating, belittling that ultimately has an impact on the health and safety of the individual.
Typical examples of bullying include, abusive and insulting language, yelling, shouting unwarranted physical or threatening gestures, constantly making someone the brunt of office jokes, taking credit for someone else’s contributions or even providing feedback in a disrespectful manner.
The not so common examples are your manager sending you weekly emails on Sunday evening demanding work be handed in the next morning, your manager unreasonably cancelling your leave applications every time without valid reason or taking your performance bonus away because they simply can are also examples of bullying that many people are sadly not aware of.
Bullying sadly does not discriminate and is gender neutral, unwanted and a violation of our human dignity.
In the past bullying was masked with names such as assertive and aggressive leadership styles and people sadly did not understand the dynamics nor have recourse to speak up about this denigrating behaviour.
Bullying has destroyed many careers, families, communities and people’s lives through not just job loss and depression but through the loss of life which is becoming more prevalent due to mental health pressures that are sadly overlooked. Organizations and economies suffer significant financial and economic losses due to lost productivity, loss of labour and life, skills drain apart from cultural and reputational damage.
Milestones for bullying and harassment in the world of work.
The good news is that global recourse is available, and many nations have now taken the plight of workplace bullying seriously and started mandating laws and regulations to combat and eradicate workplace bullying and harassment. How this has fortunately come about was when the global community made it clear that violence and harassment in the world of work will not be tolerated and must end.
On June 21, 2019, the ILO’s International Labour Conference adopted the Centenary Declaration on the Future of Work, expressing a clear commitment to a world of work free from violence and harassment. On the same day, the Centenary Conference brought this commitment to life with the adoption of the Violence and Harassment Convention (No. 190) and Recommendation (No. 206). Even before the recent global outcry against violence and harassment, the ILO’s constituents had decided that international action was imperative. The adoption of the Convention and Recommendation could not have been timelier, and the significance was not lost on those who attended the Conference or watched from afar.
The leaders of the world of work had made history and produced the first ever international standards aimed at ending violence and harassment in the world of work.
In South Africa the recourse available for employees came about due to the Minister of Employment and Labour published the Draft Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work (Draft Code) for public comment on 20th August 2020.
On 18 March 2022 the Code of good practice on the prevention and the elimination of harassment was signed into law effectively also replacing the Amended Code of Good Practice on the Handling of Sexual Harassment Cases in the workplace 2005.