Bullying and Harassment: Be part of the solution
According to Statistics Canada, 19% of women and 13% of men reported that they had experienced harassment in their workplace in the past year. Bullying and harassment can take many forms, including verbal aggression, personal attacks, sexual harassment and other intimidating or humiliating behaviours. When unaddressed, workplace bullying and harassment can lead to lost productivity and has far-reaching effects on the health and well-being of workers, as well as on their job tenure, job stability and job satisfaction.
The most common type of workplace harassment is verbal abuse—13% of women and 10% of men reported having experienced it in the past year. The next most common type was humiliating behaviour - 6% of women and 5% of men reported having experienced it, while about 3% of each said they had experienced threats.
What is the difference between bullying and harassment?
While the terms are often used synonymously, they differ in several ways.
The Canadian Centre for Occupation Health & Safety states that bullying usually involves repeated incidents or a pattern of behaviour that is intended to intimidate, offend, degrade or humiliate a particular person or group of people. It has also been described as the assertion of power through aggression.
Harassment is similar to bullying in that someone hurts another person through cruel, offensive and insulting behaviours. It is also defined as unwelcome, intimidating, hostile or abusive behaviour; however, acts of harassment usually centre around unwanted, offensive, and intrusive behaviour with a sexual, racial or physical component. In other words, it is discriminatory.
So, what is discrimination?
Discrimination is defined as an action or a decision that treats a person or a group badly for reasons such as race, age, or disability. These reasons, also called grounds, are protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act and include:
Race
National or Ethnic Origin
Colour
Religion
Age
Sex
Sexual Orientation
Gender Identity or Expression
Marital Status
Family Status
Disability
Genetic Characteristics
A conviction for which a pardon has been granted or a record suspended
Bullying turns into harassment when the behaviour goes against any of these protected grounds.
Beyond the purview of human rights legislation in Canada, and employers’ obligations under occupational health and safety, bullying may also be accepted as a workers’ compensation claim. In some jurisdictions, incidents of workplace bullying can be dealt with in the same manner as other workplace injuries.
What is and is not bullying and harassment?
A worker is considered to be bullied or harassed when someone takes an action against them that he or she knew or reasonably ought to have known would cause that worker to be humiliated or intimidated. Some examples include, but are not limited to:
Physical attacks and other forms of violence
Verbal taunts or threats, name-calling and put-downs
Spreading of intentional hurtful rumours, or sabotaging someone’s work
Unwanted or repetitive advancements towards another worker
However, when an employer or supervisor takes reasonable action to manage and direct workers, it is not bullying and harassment. Some examples include, but are not limited to:
Exercising managerial authority
Work instruction, supervision or feedback
Discipline, suspension or termination
What can you do?
Speak up and encourage others to do the same. Tell the bully what behaviour was inappropriate, and make it clear the behaviour is unwanted and unacceptable. If it continues, report it.
Fostering a workplace culture of dialogue is just one step in addressing bullying and harassment in the workplace. Be part of the solution.