Anti-bullying policies fail to work - CIPD urge employers to take action

The majority of employers (83%) have an anti-bullying policy in place. But still managing conflict at work, which includes bullying, costs the average employer nearly 450 days of management time every year plus the additional costs such as lost productivity, sickness absence and higher than expected turnover of employees. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for all those involved in people management and development, have launched a new guide to help employers tackle bullying and other undesirable behaviours within the workplace.

The guide, Tackling bullying at work, offers alternative ways to tackle the difficult issues surrounding bullying at work and suggests how to implement an effective policy. Bullying within the workplace costs employers time and money. It is not something that can be ignored as research shows that exposure to bullying can cause the same range of symptoms as post-traumatic stress following events such as armed raids and in some cases the threat of death.

Imogen Haslam, CIPD Professional Adviser, encourages employers to take a new approach to the way they deal with bullying: Employers should work with staff to create a dignity at work policy that defines the positive behaviour expected from all employees. This will help make sure staff know what is expected from them and it will be easier to identify when someone is acting unreasonably. The next step is to provide training to all line managers and team leaders to help them recognise the signs of bullying or undesirable behaviour and take action to encourage people to recognise and change their behaviour before situations escalate.

There is a very fine line between firm autocratic management styles and bullying, and often bullies are unaware of the negative impact their actions may have. Investing time and money in training line managers will help change mindsets making it easier to move away from the traditional boss versus employee scenario, by raising awareness of alternative, more effective, styles concentrating on motivating staff through engaging their commitment and trust. This will help reduce conflict within the workplace and deliver benefits to the business by improving performance, improving the working environment, helping to retain staff and reducing absence rates, especially that caused by stress-related illness.

Being clear about the difference between using reasonable management techniques and bullying at work will help managers who are concerned about being accused of bullying when dealing with difficult personal issues at work, such as managing under performance. The guide covers the following areas:

- Identifying the bullies - how to tell the difference between strong management, healthy conflict and bullying

- Creating and implementing an anti-bullying policy

- Proactive approaches - such as changing the culture, managing stress and exploring ways to manage underperformance

- Dealing with claims of bullying at work

- Supporting those involved - it suggests how to support and help those accused of bullying change rather than just isolate them, which is an essential part of reducing the problem

Bullies are often oblivious to their actions and therefore a policy wonít work in practice and the problem will not stop unless they realise they are behaving inappropriately. The guide highlights the importance of addressing this problem and suggests ways of clearly defining and communicating the positive behaviour expected from staff. This helps identify unacceptable behaviour making it easier to deal with a problem when it arises, says Haslam.