Posted: 25/01/2012 5:00:00 AM by AMMA Mining Oil and Gas Jobs
Filed under: Career-resources
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So much has been written over the past years about workplace bullying. Australia’s Occupational Health and Safety and anti-discrimination laws explicitly protect victims from bullying and empower employers to take action against bullies. It’s a rare workplace that doesn’t have a policy against bullying. But one area not frequently discussed is the supportive bystander of bullying.
What is a bullying bystander?A supportive bystander is someone who sees or knows about bullying or other forms of violence happening to another person. According to ReachOut.com, “bystanders can be either part of the bullying problem or an important part of the solution to stop bullying”. You may not realise it, but you may be contributing to a bullying situation by doing nothing.
3 Ways you can contribute to bullying1. Egging the bully on or posting gossip about the situation on social media sites like Facebook makes you a bystander.
2. Giving silent approval or encouragement by not speaking out will be perceived by the bully and the victim as backing the situation.
3. Some bystanders are aware or even observe the bullying but don’t do anything. Knowing the situation is not okay but not doing anything about it also makes you a complicit bystander.
What can you do to become a supportive bystander?Bullying is a tricky situation and one that should be dealt with by people trained to handle it. Your HR department will know what to do and be able to address the situation. If you’re a bystander to a bullying situation, you can take action to become a supportive bystander.
• Make it clear you won’t be involved in bullying behaviour.
• Do not watch or encourage bullying behaviour.
• Even harmless teasing contributes to a bad situation.
• Refrain from speaking or gossiping about the situation, especially online.
• Do not acknowledge, reply or forward photos that could be embarrassing to another person.
• Encourage the person who is being bullied to ask for help.
• Report it to someone in authority or someone you trust; your manager or the HR department are good places to start.
• If the bullying is occurring online, you can report it to the owner of the website. Each social media channel has strict rules about bullying and provides details on how to report incidents.
While you may not be personally involved, you have a moral obligation to take action on behalf of the victim. It’s not difficult to become a supportive bystander and it could make a significant difference to your co-workers and workplace. ReachOut.com recommends the following resources if you have been bullied or witnessed others been bullied:
Kids Help Line (1800 55 1800) is a free and confidential, telephone counselling service for 5 to 25 year olds in Australia.
Lifeline (13 11 14) is a free and confidential service staffed by trained telephone counsellors.
The Australian Human Rights Commission (1300 656 419) has a complaint handling service that may investigate complaints of discrimination, harassment and bullying.
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