Bullying at workplace, happen more often than we'd think

“Bullying behaviours can be conducted in secret (Caponecchia and Wyatt, 2011) and can include passive actions, such as excluding from meetings, networks, denial of training opportunities (Rayner and McIvor, 2008) or “the silent treatment” (Keashly and Jagatic, 2011, p. 13). The subtlety of bullying can lead targets to question themselves and to be too embarrassed to bring their concerns to HR

A press release from an Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) employee went viral recently. The release contains heart-wrenching details of bullying he went through from 2011. Needless to say, it sparked heated debate on the Internet. The KPI also found itself in hot water for neglecting the almost decade-old case.

According to the press release, the victim had attempted to file a police report, but it was turned down. The police stated that the matter should be discussed with the employer. When the incident went viral, the next day a KPI commissioner accompanied the victim to file a police report. However, a few days later, the alleged bullies decided to countersue the victim. This is assumed as the reason why the victim dropped his allegations and signed a settlement later on.

Bullying is not a strange phenomenon. According to Jonny Shannon, bullying occurs when one experiences ongoing misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that causes physical and/or psychological harm.

Bullying comes in many forms, namely physical, verbal, cyber, emotional, prejudicial and sexual. It can happen in families, schools or workplaces, as well as online space. However, we would like to delve more into workplace bullying - a very common, yet less talked about occurrence.

According to a study by Hodgins, MacCurtain, and Mannix-McNamara (2019), due to its hierarchical setting, power relations and workplace micropolitics, the workplace becomes a space where bullying is more likely to occur. It is where the dominant (the bullies) abuse their power for personal gain, leaving the bullied vulnerable and disempowered.

The study also mentioned that although bullying affects at least one-third of the workers through either direct exposure or witnessing, it is a fact that most organisations have failed to address and provide effective protection from bullying.

Most organisations will try their best to hide any bullying case by not allowing any matter related to bullying to surface, either within the organisation or to a wider audience. This is known as institutional inaction, meaning if an organisation does not have an anti-bullying policy, no investigation or remediation can take place.

The KPI bullying case can be used as an example of institutional inaction, as the organisation as well as the police delay their action to investigate the incident and downplayed the importance or significance of the issue.

Based on responses TFR receives via social media, harassment seems to be common in workplaces and targets not only new employees, but also interns.

One anonymous respondent told us about their experience being turned into a laughingstock by their colleagues just because of their medhok accent. “When I got offended, they said I couldn’t handle how Jakartans joke around,” the respondent said. This form of “joking around” could become worse as the victim’s feeling was not acknowledged and instead, the bullies put the responsibilities of having such emotion on the victim, a.k.a gaslighting.

Other cases told by TFR’s respondents also showed situations where employees of position abused their power and set a bad example for the whole working ecosystem. “It was only my first probation week and my manager already called me ‘bencong’, the rest of the team followed suit,” said another respondent. This is a perfect example of how an employee with power could not only abuse their power to make it as if it is alright to attack others with microaggression, but also set an example for others to do the same.

Some respondents told TFR that they are being ostracised by their colleagues because of unprofessional and rather discriminatory reasons, such as gender, racial, or even diet differences. Gender identities are also a common theme in the discussions, for example an anonymous NGO employee who was “bullied by a staff member who called me effeminate and took my pictures when sleeping during recess, but I spoke up!”

According to Edwin, a psychologist from ILMP, bullying is a goal-oriented action tightly related to power relations, in which the goal is to fulfill the perpetrator’s needs for domination and control. “Bullying at work is contextually similar to bullying at school,” he stated. The main objectives vary, but it is usually for the bully to get affirmation by force or to exert the internal pressure from family dynamics. However, there are stark differences between bullying in school and at work.

“Children have more time to try recovering from bullying,” Edwin explained, “however, bullying in adults can cause distortion and instability in their mental health.” On the external level, bullies who are considered to have role-model attributes or seniors may create insecurity and fear in the workplace. “This could affect new workers’ commitment to the workplace,” he added. Bullying can be especially harmful if it makes its way into working culture.

Some forms of bullying can affect the victim’s personal resources, such as their money, time and energy. This may not only harm the victim, but also the whole workplace’s productivity. It is also important to note that anti-bullying policy may also be a good indicator of the dynamics in a workplace. “Usually, a company that is committed to having a favourable environment would have a whistle-blowing system handled by its own team,” Edwin explained. He added that authority figures at the middle-level management are generally prone to abuse their power to the point that bullying becomes normalised.

Anti-bullying policy matters when it comes to employees’ well-being and productivity. While addressing the issue might not be easy for many, there are some things employers and employees can do. It would be a good initiative for leaders to get to know their team members as a group or individually in order to profile and identify signs or potential problems that might lead to bullying. This could also encourage the workplace to actually create a system and environment where anyone would feel comfortable to come and speak up.

Equally, every individual in a workplace must speak up when they experience anything unethical or inappropriate at work, especially if the workplace is already supported by a system to deal with such issues. It is also important to keep every evidence one could find regarding the inappropriate behaviours. “A work environment is worth fighting for when these are implemented well,” Edwin concluded.

Indeed, sometimes it might not be worth it to stay and endure incessant and unnecessary attacks at work. However, not everyone can easily shrug it off and call it a day by resigning. Some have to depend their lives on their work, which may cloud their judgement about the importance of their mental health. In this case, effective anti-bullying policy at the workplace becomes even more crucial to have.

Daisy (alias), a teacher, experienced several microaggressions in her daily life at work. Her male colleague complained about her work attire during her first year and scored her working attire 1 out of 4 just because the colour palette does not please him. “I wear a lot of white and black,” she said, “Apparently, he doesn’t like that.” Other male colleagues make fun of her relationship status; one of them told her, “You’re the only one on this table who hasn’t worn the (wedding) ring.”

Some other employees avoid her due to extreme political stance, which entails racial discrimination. These individuals appeared to have no problem watching disturbingly racist videos with the volume turned all the way up to max when she is around. “The tension got worse during the 2019 presidential election,” she added.

As if it is not already bad enough, Daisy claimed that she was gaslighted by her team leader when she reported these constant microaggressions. She found herself lectured and told to lower her expectations whenever she reported something instead of having her experience acknowledged and looked into.

She only realised later that she had been left in the dark at work in her first year. “My colleague would tell me, ‘it’s okay, you can finish the job’, but then he complained to my leader, saying I didn’t do a thing,” she recounted. In the span of four years working in that kind of environment, Daisy has been subjected to a series of panic attacks and got burnt out from time to time.

However, Daisy could only wish that she could leave the job for the time being. At least, during WFH, she does not need to deal with any of them.

Coping with trauma requires a long and often painful process. As bullying at work happens in the workplace, it is also natural that the company takes part in the victims’ recovery where it is needed. Edwin mused that administratively, the top management can confirm and make sure that the company’s commitment to fulfilling human rights is implemented effectively through its policies. It is also important to make sure that the team in charge of implementing that value is just as committed and enthusiastic about the well-being of the employees in the workplace. A periodical anonymous survey to learn about the changes or the nature of the workplace is also a good starting point to learn about what to do next to create a workplace culture that is free of bullying.

Should workplaces have a policy against bullying?

The 2019 study particularly highlights the importance of anti-bullying policy in the workplace as a way to protect all employees. However, it tends to be underpinned by a simplistic one-dimensional understanding of power, and is therefore reactive, falling far short of prevention. Hence, the study states that “it is fair to say that anti-bullying policies are complex interventions in complex settings, [as] there are many contextual and implementation factors at play.”

“We don’t have a written policy for bullying, but our corporate values and the belief system from the board of directors are very much against bullying,” said Vice President of People at PT. Sans Joshua Setia, adding that, “it is morally wrong for us that it could lead to work termination (on the perpetrator).” There is also no written regulation about the process of solving a bullying case, but Joshua stated that if an allegation is proven true, the company will issue a first warning. A second warning and employment termination will be issued if the perpetrator does not stop. He deems the measure appropriate as bullying may disrupt the healthy environment of the company.

He considers anti-bullying policy very important. “From the professional perspective alone, optimum business profit could only be achieved through optimum human resources,” he stated. When the human resources in a company are not in their optimum condition, sooner or later it will catch up and affect the company’s whole profit. In short, paying attention to the well-being of employees is a win-win situation.

HR Manager of Amas Samudra Jaya Rizka Khaerunissa confirmed this notion. “It is important to have a policy against bullying,” she explained, “employees’ productivity would only be as good as their mental health.”

When dealing with actual bullying at the workplace, it is important that the assigned team quickly confirm and decide the disciplinary measure against the perpetrators. This should be done effectively and efficiently to set an example that such violation is not tolerated. Lastly, Edwin reminded that the team responsible to deal with bullying needs to be able to see the report from all perspectives and make all decisions, whether right or wrong, as a learning experience.