What do you believe is the main cause of workplace bullying and why is this so? 

One of the most common causes tends to be employees who need to work part-time for various reasons. Often this results in other members of teams or managers resenting having to manage part-time employees and can result in exclusion or inappropriate personal remarks. Unfortunately it is also very common for women who are pregnant or who have recently returned from maternity leave to be bullied. This behaviour is not isolated to male dominated professions with professional women also experiencing discrimination when they return from leave.

 

 

 

What service do Lawyers offer to employers and employees, and do you help victims of workplace bullying? 

Best to look to fair work for this information. Usually employers will seek counsel from law firms while employees are provided assistance through Fair Work.

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According to a leading workplace psychologist, subtle bullying can have as an acute effects as overt bullying. How do you and your consultants deal with psychological bullying, especially when their is a lack of evidence? 

This is an extremely difficult area but it best to look at patterns of behaviour such as repeated exclusion and delegation of tasks below someone's experience and skill set.

 

 

What should be done to help this issue? 

Education is the best strategy. In my experience many people do not realise their behaviour is bullying. It may be someone making jokes at another's expense that they don't realise is causing that individual harm. Educating and continued training helps people to realise what is appropriate and the effect their actions have on others.

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*Bernadette Olivier is a Workplace Lawyer that has worked with various major mining companies and currently works as the Senior Compliance Specialist at Western Power. She is also a Lecturer at Curtin University in Western Australia.