Bullying at work can hurt bosses

Workplace bullying can have a devastating impact on victims and can also cost businesses thousands of dollars.

A recent Drake International survey of more than 800 Australian employees found that 25 per cent had been bullied, while 50 per cent said they had witnessed it.

The most common forms of bullying behaviour were isolation, silence, verbal insults, public humiliation and sarcasm.

Psychologist Evelyn Field has written a book to help people to better understand bullying in the workplace.

Bully Blocking at Work features a range of real-life stories, humour, questionnaires and cartoons.

Experts say there are five main types of bullying – work-related, personal attacks, social isolation, verbal threats and the spreading of rumours.

According to the Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act, employers have a duty of care to avoid adversely affecting the health and safety of any other person through an act or omission at work.

Employers can be fined up to $300,000 for a first offence and up to $600,000 for subsequent offences under the Act.

SafeWork SA provides advice about the steps employers should take when workplace bullying is a problem. It suggests:

IDENTIFYING the hazard – you must establish whether or not workplace bullying actually exists or if there is potential for it to occur.

ASSESSING the risk factors – determining and assessing the specific behaviours and circumstances that may lead to bullying.

CONTROLLING the risk factors – developing and implementing strategies and plans to minimise and control the risks relating to workplace bullying.

EVALUATION and review – ongoing review and evaluation of the specific strategies and plans that have been put in place to prevent and control bullying.

SafeWork SA ramped up its warnings about workplace bullying in the wake of a Victorian court case in which four men and a company were fined $315,000 over the bullying of a young waitress, who later committed suicide.