You might even recall the Appoc scandal from 2016.

There’s been a decade of concerted effort to raise awareness about workplace bullying and yet a 2016 Report from Safe Work Australia of over 4,000 workers found the incidence of workplace bullying in Australia has increased up from 7.0% in 2009-2011 to 9.6% in 2014-2015, giving us the sixth highest rating when compared with 34 European countries. Both the Fair Work Commission and Safe Work Australia have focused on workplace bullying, and HR and management across most industries participate in regular training regarding their legal requirements and skills to address these issues. So what’s going wrong?

Research Indicates an Increase in Dominating, Controlling Behaviours 

The research indicates an increase in narcissistic behaviours, and the number of demanding, dominating and controlling people is considered to be in the order of 10% of the population. Highly controlling people are not really interested in resolving problems and reducing conflict. In fact, they rather seem to enjoy it. Despite complaints, they always seem to be caught up in a personal battle, more interested in being right or getting even, than considering resolving issues. Never-ending grudges, often over rather trivial issues, lead to recruiting others into alliances. This can lead to behaviours in the workplace which are unacceptable, uncivil, but often ignored.

In Australia 62% of Reported Cases, the Bully was the Supervisor

The Safe Work Australia Report (SWA) reviewed several explanations for the prevalence of workplace bullying and harassment, concluding that ‘a lack of managerial regard for workplace psychological health and safety leads to poor quality work and in turn bullying and harassment’, as the main indicator of risk. The authors called this the ‘Psychosocial Safety Climate’. The authors’ reasoning is clear when it was reported that in 62% of cases the bully was a supervisor, more than twice the rate of the next most highly cited perpetrator, at 28% being the co-worker.

It’s clear that demanding, dominant and controlling people are an increasing problem at work. As an Independent Mediator, Management Coach and Workplace Conflict Consultant I work with people facing complex and debilitating conflicts at work, that have been ignored, or dismissed by a series of managers and senior leadership, until finally a courageous line manager steps up and takes on the challenge, often unsupported by upline leadership.

I work with people who are experiencing overwhelming stress and a sense of endless frustration with people trying to manage a controlling person’s behaviours and tactics to escalate conflicts. Bullying and most forms of harassment are associated with adverse psychological health outcomes, including depression, anxiety and emotional exhaustion.

A Lack of Managerial Regard to Workplace Psychological Health and Safety is the Main Indicator of Risk

The SWA Report notes relatively high levels of bullying were reported in:

Psychosocial factors such as were indicators of higher rates, including

While the recent worldwide Google Company employee walkout over the lenient treatment of executives accused of sexual misconduct highlighted this issue, ‘it is global’ one past Google employee, as reported by ABC journalist Hagar Cohen, put our Australian problem succinctly.

“For many, [this is] a terrible reminder of harassment past, or harassment still faced today. This is not a problem that only occurs for people interacting with a few executives on the other side of the world. As much as we would like to believe otherwise, this is a terrible part of our culture; a part that is present here in the Sydney office and the broader Sydney tech community. There are too many stories told behind closed doors. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time or – to be perfectly honest – the safety to share all of those stories today.”

Nearly 1 in 10 People Report that they have been Bullied at Work

The SWA Report cites some staggering statistics:

Working with difficult and demanding people requires a considered approach, informed by good research and proven methods. Next edition I’ll highlight an organisation that I worked with to proactively tackle this problem, and explore their experiences and the successful outcomes they have achieved. Look out for it!

Every organisational values statement I have ever read includes the words respect, integrity and trust.

But if you were to ask staff in many organisations, you might find that those words aren’t in their experience of workplace culture.

Good workplace culture requires leadership vigilance and leading by example. In industries with considerable staff turnover, different cultural heritages and historical hierarchies, leaders can have their work cut out for them to embed and maintain a positive workplace culture.

When properly articulated and aligned with personal values, drives and needs, workplace culture can unleash tremendous amounts of energy toward a shared purpose and enables an organisation’s capacity to thrive.

How do leaders foster a positive workplace culture, with all the benefits that come from engaged, motivated and appreciated staff? There are 3 key areas that leaders can consciously focus on to build a good workplace culture that is often overlooked.

1. Don’t Ignore Workplace Incivility

Small tensions in workplace relationships matter! Workplace incivility is a costly risk to any business. Uncivil behaviours are characteristically slightly rude and discourteous, displaying a lack of regard for others; these low-intensity, aberrant behaviours seem ambiguous, but do cause harm.

Tolerating workplace incivility seems to be increasing. People who experience, or even witness incivility often reduce their effort and time at work. This leads to plunging morale and motivation for employees. Too often leaders discount these behaviours as a minor irritation, or personality difficulties, but it’s the tip of the iceberg indicating real workplace conflicts.

The classic example is when an employee raises concerns about the intrusive negative gossip of one member of a team. Instead of addressing the behaviour, the manager suggests moving the person who raised the issue, further from their colleague. Because that would easily solve the problem.

Creating a respectful workplace culture means leaders must quickly respond to such indicators of workplace tensions. Pay prompt attention to lower intensity emotions to avoid the high voltage variety. Looking after positive relationships means promptly challenging staff about difficult behaviours before these become entrenched.

 2. Empathic is Essential

Empathic leaders are aware of their own emotions and are practitioners of consistent curiosity and observation. They enact integrity. They know enough details of their employee’s world to build supportive, professional relationships. They look for indicators of employee’s well-being and challenges and are proactive in their care.

It is not always simple to spot an apathetic leader. In some situations, they will show concern and fairness. Yet when their own discomfort or anxieties are triggered, their attention is more focused on their own needs and not those of their staff. Apathetic leaders have a high level of pain tolerance for other employee’s problems, and a low tolerance for their own discomfort. Misguided decisions to avoid uneasiness means workplace pain is offloaded downline to team members. This will eventually ripple throughout the broader organisation. Talented staff eventually leave.

Empathic leaders take what their employees say seriously. They recognise difficult moments are an opportunity for building relationships and use coaching skills. They ask more questions and give fewer instructions and advice. They encourage employees to explore issues by offering opinions and guidance as needed.

3. Lead by Example

I’m reminded of a past experience when the interstate-based CEO visited our Adelaide office, without any announcement or any planned meet-and-greets. She would just suddenly appear in a corridor, have mysterious meetings and leave later in the day. When I once introduced myself she abruptly said “Yes, I know your name” and commenced a conversation with someone of higher status. On that particular day, she left rather early, because she’d scheduled attending the opera to cap off her trip. Needless to say, the organisation was having problems recruiting talented staff.

Office politics is the destroyer of trust. Trust is a hard thing to define, yet we know it’s built through daily engagement and working with others towards a shared purpose. Mistrust is hard to repair and highly corrosive.

There are clear indicators that workplace culture is trust-based and free from debilitating office politics:

Conclusion

Good workplace culture is based on what is encouraged, discouraged, accepted, or rejected by the management action. Organisational culture needs to be explicitly defined, deliberately enacted and reviewed regularly to move from mere aphorism to consciously enacted values. Respect, integrity and trust need to be active verbs in leadership behaviour.

I was delighted to have this article published in The Age Editor, Thought Leadership for Energising and Innovating, Spring 2018 edition.