{"id":3588,"date":"2016-03-09T12:30:42","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T02:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/2021\/09\/11\/have-you-been-accused-of-bullying-or-harassment-at-work\/"},"modified":"2021-09-11T12:30:50","modified_gmt":"2021-09-11T02:30:50","slug":"have-you-been-accused-of-bullying-or-harassment-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/2016\/03\/09\/have-you-been-accused-of-bullying-or-harassment-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Have You Been Accused of Bullying or Harassment at Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"
We first ran this blog in 2014 and from the number of comments we received, it clearly raised issues that resonated with many of our readers. \u00a0So by popular demand, here it is again. \u00a0We welcome your comments, as always.<\/strong><\/p>\n Bullying and harassment legislation is in place to protect employees from being bullied by their co-workers. If you have been accused of bullying at work, it\u2019s important to follow company procedure and co-operate with any internal or external investigations.<\/p>\n Although most bullying and harassment claims are legitimate, sometimes accusations can arise from misunderstandings, communication difficulties or can be brought against a manager, co-worker or subordinate out of malice or revenge for a perceived slight.<\/p>\n Accusations of bullying commonly occur where managers or supervisors have provided feedback to an under performing employee, or taken disciplinary measures against them. Management direction isn\u2019t considered bullying, and as long as any actions taken were documented and reasonable, you shouldn\u2019t have anything to worry about.<\/p>\n If you are managing employees and providing feedback on performance it\u2019s important to document all your discussions, and ensure that any actions you take are in line with organisational policies. This can help protect you against false accusations of bullying, and make the investigation process easier and more straightforward if a situation is escalated.<\/p>\n If you have been accused of bullying at work, it\u2019s important to follow company procedure and co-operate with any internal or external investigations. If you are accused of workplace bullying, even if you don\u2019t believe it\u2019s justified, it\u2019s important to be open-minded and listen to the other person\u2019s perspective. Here are a few suggestions to help you deal with an accusation of bullying or harassment without making the situation worse:<\/p>\n With the recent increased awareness of workplace bullying, more employees are becoming aware of the ability to lodge a bullying complaint, especially if they feel they are likely to lose their job, or as a form of revenge against a supervisor.<\/p>\n To reduce the likelihood of false claims, it\u2019s a good idea for managers to provide training to employees to help them distinguish between normal management direction and actions, and bullying. Many bullying claims are a result of misunderstandings or miscommunication and these can easily be prevented with the right training, clear expectations, performance indicators, and documentation of feedback and disciplinary actions taken against individuals.<\/p>\n False claims can be extremely distressing to the person who is wrongly accused of bullying, and can even be a form of harassment in themselves if they are taken out for malicious purposes.<\/p>\n\n