Workplace bullying can be defined as repeated inappropriate behaviour; direct or indirect, whether verbal, physical, or otherwise, conducted by one or more persons against another or others in the workplace, or in the course of employment. 

Alida (not real name) who works for a local media house recalls a time she experienced bullying from someone she had considered to be a respected and well-behaved person.

This was a man who worked at a bank and meets a lot of people; you would expect him to behave accordingly, but the impression he gave me was far from being a respectful one, she says.

"The first time we had an encounter was on the phone when I was looking for simple information for my job. He was heavily rude to me, calling me names, bullying me for my job and laughing at me for the questions I was asking,” she recalls.

The second time Alida had an encounter with the man, was at the bank where he worked. She had for personal matters but even then, not only did the man bully her, he also bullied everyone around him through insults.

"You could sense how his negative energy was affecting everyone. I was disappointed to see such a man who was expected to be very well behaved, acting like that, misusing his position to bully people.”

At the mention of bullying, one may think it only happens in school but it can happen anywhere, including the workplace. 

Your boss in a suit can bully you, your workmate can bully you; bullying has no limit, it happens everywhere.

Companies and workplaces need to learn how to eliminate such wrong acts that can be negative.

Bullying could be regarded as undermining the individual’s rights to dignity and could mentally hurt them or make them feel isolated in their places of work.

Elias Manishaka who works at a Labour Movement’s Humanitarian Solidarity Organisation says that workplace bullying sometimes comes in many forms that can’t and can be identified as bullying.

"If I am at work and me and my colleague constantly tease each other but are fine with it, the people that don’t know us might interpret the act for the wrong reason. But again, if an employee or a boss constantly picks on a certain employee for wrong purposes, that time it is considered as bullying because that employee who gets constantly picked on at work, will get affected negatively and it might affect their life and work-life in all ways,” he says.

How to stop workplace bullying

Manishaka says that to eradicate such behaviours both entities should be considered.

"Everything that comes out of bullying is negative and creates a negative impact on whoever bullying is done to. Managers and HRs in companies have a job to evaluate what is happening in the company and encourage whoever who is bullied to speak up.”

According to him, there are three strategies he believes can help in tackling this issue and theory of change.

There is creating awareness, talking to employees, staff, and higher levels about bullying. Educating them on what it is and making sure that everyone knows about it and can be able to bring it out when it happens. 

Evaluations can also be done after the sensitisation on bullying. Managers need to evaluate if there are any changes happening or if there are still acts of bullying happening. 

Then there is policy implementation, putting up a policy that will punish whoever does bullying, but also a policy that works in favour of the bullied ones.

Workplace culture can help stop bullying, according to a local online blog- Worksafe. 

According to their article, culture is a significant factor in preventing workplace bullying, as it sets the standards and behaviours in a workplace. Everyone in the workplace contributes to its culture; however, management has a greater influence and responsibility for establishing a positive culture at their workplace.