What is workplace bullying?

Workplace bullying is when you are repeatedly treated badly by bosses, managers or coworkers over time. You may feel helpless and unable to stand up to the bully. This can lead to ongoing mistreatment.

Workplace bullying can lead to serious mental and physical health problems. This may result in needing time off work to recover.

Bullying affects both you and your workplace. It's important to recognise and stop bullying to keep your workplace safe and healthy.

What isn't workplace bullying?

Workplace bullying is not the same as a single rude comment or disagreement. It does not include:

• establishing fair performance goals, standards and deadlines
• actions within normal work expectations or legal frameworks, such as receiving feedback
• decisions about promotions, transfers or benefits, as long as the decision is reasonable

What are examples of workplace bullying?

Workplace bullying is when you are repeatedly treated badly at work. This behaviour can make your workplace stressful and upsetting. Examples of workplace bullying include:

• constant harassment — repeated verbal abuse, such as threats, belittling comments, intimidation or invading your privacy.
• disrespectful actions — such as rudeness, blaming you for mistakes you didn't make or taking credit for your work.
• unfair treatment — such as excluding you or giving you tasks with unreasonable expectations.
• mobbing — when a group teams up against you at work.
• emotional harm — behaviours that make you feel insecure, upset, worried or confused.
• negative behaviours — such as spreading gossip or excessive criticism. It may also mean treating you badly when you return to work after being sick.

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is any unwanted sexual behaviour that could make you feel upset, embarrassed or uncomfortable. It's against the law for workers to experience sexual harassment at work.

Examples include:

• inappropriate touching
• rude or offensive sexual jokes
• unwanted flirting
• sharing explicit images or messages

Even seeing or hearing this behaviour can count as sexual harassment.

Discrimination

Discrimination is when an employer treats you unfairly because of personal traits, such as your:

• age
• identity
• sexuality
• religion

Legally, employers cannot fire you or treat you differently because of these traits.

What are my rights?

You have the right to work in a safe environment without anyone acting in a way that could harm you.

You have the right to:

• work without being bullied
• be treated fairly and without discrimination
• work without experiencing sexual harassment

If you think your rights have been violated, the Australian Human Rights Committee (AHRC) and other organisations can offer support.

What do I do if I'm bullied in the workplace?

If you're being bullied at work, there are steps you can take to stop it:

• Speak up — talk to your manager or human resources (HR) department about the issue. If you are part of a union, they can provide guidance too.
• Seek help from external bodies — contact your state or territory's work health and safety regulator. You can also contact an anti-discrimination body for advice.
• Take formal action — apply to the Fair Work Commission for a stop bullying order. They may also provide free legal advice through their workplace advice service.
• Go to the police — call triple zero (000) if you feel unsafe now. Call 131 444 if there is no immediate danger but you need police help.
• Report discrimination — if the bullying involves discrimination, make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

What do I do if I witness workplace bullying?

If you see workplace bullying, try to understand if the behaviour is repeated and unreasonable. Also, check if it could harm someone's health or safety.

Talk to a manager, HR or a union representative and report it as soon as possible. If you see violence, call the police.

Always check your workplace rules for advice on dealing with bullying and ask for support if you need it.

What can I expect from my workplace?

Your workplace has a responsibility to protect your health and safety. This includes preventing and dealing with workplace bullying. If you report bullying or are involved in a bullying report, you can expect your workplace to:

• respond quickly, treat your report seriously and treat everyone involved fairly
• follow workplace policies and procedures
• inform you of how they will deal with it
• give you a contact person and allow you to take someone else to meetings, such as a friend or union representative
• keep everything confidential and maintain records of conversations, meetings and interviews
• allow everyone to explain their version of events without taking sides
• inform you about any available support, such as counselling

After the issue is resolved, your workplace should follow up with you to ensure you feel safe and that the actions taken have worked. If more investigation is needed, they should let you know and have a neutral and experienced person handle it.

If you feel that the bullying situation has not improved after informing your workplace, you can contact outside organisations for help.

Resources and support

For more information, visit these sites:

• Fair Work Australia
• ReachOut Australia
• Australian Human Rights Commission
• Safe Work Australia
• Respect@Work

Other languages

• Fair Work Commission offers translated information to community languages about workplace regulations.
• Speak to the Translating and Interpreting Service by calling 131 450 if you would like to call Fair Work Commission and need an interpreter.

Looking for information for sexually and gender-diverse families?

• QLife offers counselling and referral service for LGBTIQA+ individuals: call 1800 184 527 or chat online 3pm-12am.