Almost half of us will experience bullying in our working lives, even if we don't give it that label.
I didn't recognise it when it was happening to me in another job some years ago.
More Business Videos
Are you guilty of these workplace blunders?
The Diversity Council of Australia's David Morrison has a funny take on the serious matter of respect in the workplace in this #WordsAtWork campaign video.
At first, I wasn't worried – as I had done in the past I thought I would figure out a way to have a productive working relationship. It never happened.
The behaviours were subtle: I wasn't invited to meetings I should have attended; my work was secretly shared with peers who were asked to critique it; my briefs would be sat on for weeks; no decisions were made.
![Almost 50 per cent of Australian employees will experience some form of workplace bullying during their lives.](/web/20161013190115im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/5/9/d/6/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grxk6o.png/1476060988936.jpg)
I consider myself to be resilient; I'm perfectly flawed and I know I don't always get it right.
But after a year of this I was questioning myself and my judgment. My self-confidence was severely undermined.
Finally, I realised I had to take action to protect myself. I raised it up the line and I was given a new role reporting to someone else who expected nothing but the best from me, gave clear feedback and was incredibly supportive.
I thought a lot about what had happened to me and made a few promises to myself about the sort of workplace I would like to create if I ever got the opportunity.
![Beyondblue CEO Georgie Harman.](/web/20161013190115im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/x/m/c/a/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.grxk6o.png/1476060988936.jpg)
Bullying is rife in Australian workplaces and the traditional methods of dealing with it are not only failing, they can make matters worse.
Research from beyondblue shows that almost 50 per cent of Australian employees will experience some form of workplace bullying during their lives. For 5 to 7 per cent, that experience will have occurred in the previous six months.
This confirms the stories thousands have shared with beyondblue over the years: people bullied at work have higher rates of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. They are also more prone to physical health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, migraines and obesity.
Those who witness incidents of bullying – and even the perpetrators themselves – have increased risks of mental health issues, career disruptions and poor job performance.
But what the research, conducted by the University of Wollongong, also finds is that we've been focusing on the wrong things to stamp out bullying at work.
Focusing on individuals or interpersonal problems  or "personality clashes"  is far too simplistic. Cultural, organisational and structural issues in the workplace are at the heart of bullying.
For many of us, work is more than just an occupation. Good work gives us a sense of dignity, identity and purpose, of something bigger than ourselves.             Â
We spend most of our waking hours performing, thinking about or talking about the work we do. We clock into work the moment we get out of bed. It determines our standard of living, when we eat and sleep, where we live, the people we meet.
With it comes the predictable stress of schedules and deadlines, KPIs and targets and performance reporting. And too often, there is more than we bargained for.
There's the office politics to navigate; the demands from above, sideways and below. From time to time, under-performing peers who we believe increase our workloads, personal milestones to be achieved and the workplace gossips to be avoided.
When things go wrong at work, the flow-on effect to our personal lives, our families and even our communities can be devastating. Little wonder employees are increasingly demanding their workplaces be safe environments where their health is not jeopardised.
An employer's duty of care extends beyond the risk of physical injury. The time has come to admit there is no distinction between physical and mental health. It's all OH&S.;
A mentally healthy workplace is not just about employing and supporting people who live and work with mental health issues, as critical as that is.
It's about the culture of the place, its DNA.
It's about business and systems and processes that get out of the way and allow people to thrive, while still setting boundaries, accountabilities and expectations.
It can only be created with a top-down commitment that leaves nobody out. There has to be a willingness to treat good mental health practices as good business practices.
We all want to do good work. For the simple reason that it feels good and is good for us.
Georgie Harman is the chief executive of beyondblue.
Want to learn more about workplace bullying? Visit www.headsup.org.au/workplacebullying. For online chat visit https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums.
3 comments
New User? Sign up