Remote Bullying

While not to the same extent we’ve seen over the last few years, a lot of workers are still working remotely or have hybrid working models in place. Organisations need to take into consideration the risk that bullying presents in these arrangements as the boundaries and incidents are not as obvious in a remote work setting compared to a physical workplace.

Working remotely can make it easier for cyberbullying to occur, with a perpetrator feeling more confident about being abusive online than they would with colleagues in a physical workplace. It also makes it easy for workers to be marginalised or excluded for activities and meetings.

A Modern Approach

As I said above, modern problems require modern solutions. Thankfully, there are a number of steps you can take to manage the risk of cyberbullying in the workplace:

·       Develop a company position and policy for online acceptable standards of behaviour

·       Communicate the policy to workers, and ensure they understand their responsibilities

·       Provide workers with training on online safety via induction training, team meetings, email and ongoing training

·       Consider incorporating compliance with the policy into annual and performance assessments

·       Regularly review and evaluate the effectiveness of the policy

The economic cost of workplace bullying is estimated to be anywhere between $6 and $36 billion dollars a year according to the Australian Human Rights Commission. On top of the that, there are other financial costs as well as human costs in the form of reduced efficiency, absenteeism, mental health impacts and high staff turnover.

Is it time for you to update your anti-bullying policy or health and safety inductions? WorkPro’s ‘Workplace Bullying’ eBook is a free resource updated with the latest laws and reforms, aimed to help employers navigate this complex issue and implement a practical program to mitigate workplace bullying.