Bullying in a workplace reflects the culture of a business. Certain conditions create a hospitable environment for bullying, whether it is poor leadership, excessive work pressure, cliques in the workplace, policies that are not enforced, lack of training or policies and HR team that is not empowered to tackle problems.

Employment lawyer, Charlie Thompson considers how workplace bullying has changed since hybrid working became more widespread, how bullying might manifest virtually and tips for employees on what they can do about it.

Workplace bullying

ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service guidance on bullying at work describes it as unwanted behaviour from a person or group that is either: “Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting. An abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone.”

The ACAS guidance provides several examples of workplace bullying, including:

1. Constantly criticising someone’s work, leading to a negative impact.
2. Spreading malicious rumours about an individual.
3. Persistently belittling someone during meetings or ignoring and silencing them.
4. Intentionally assigning someone a heavier workload compared to others or removing their projects.

Bullying is often a product of the working environment and can manifest in several ways:

1. It may be a recurring pattern of behaviour or a one-time incident.
2. It can occur face-to-face during one-on-one meetings, as well as through emails or phone calls.
3. It may take place at work or in other work-related situations.
4. It is not always obvious or noticed by other staff members.

There is, however, no single legal definition of bullying and no claim that can be brought in the Employment Tribunal or High Court for bullying. Nevertheless, bullying can lead to claims including for constructive dismissal, discrimination, harassment and personal injury.

Many organisations will have worked hard over the years to establish and maintain a working environment that reduces the risks of bullying. However, the pandemic has significantly and rapidly disrupted those ways of working, especially for organisations and employees where interactions were primarily face-to-face and at one office.

How might workplace bullying manifest in hybrid working? 

On one level, the increased uptake of remote and virtual working should decrease allegations of bullying. However, with fewer in person interactions, the opportunities for raised voices, comments on personal appearance, inappropriate touching and school-playground-style bullying should be much lower. Yet, without regular face-to-face interaction, there are fewer opportunities to “clear the air” or for a manager to check up on an employee’s wellbeing.

Key challenges include:

1. Remote working has led to a further erosion of normal working hours. Employees increasingly face the prospect of receiving emails or deadlines set at times convenient for managers but difficult for junior staff.
2. Concerns about fairness. Childless employees may feel disadvantaged compared to working parents, particularly in relation to flexibility and workload.
3. The pressure to be constantly ‘available’ or online on platforms like Teams has intensified, with managers scrutinising employees’ visibility rather than their output. Lunch breaks are also often interrupted by meetings scheduled over the midday hour.
4. With email and instant message being the primary form of communication, it is more likely that communications will be either misjudged or insensitively worded by the sender or misinterpreted by the recipient. This can create tensions, which can fester without the safety valve of face-to-face interaction.
5. A more dispersed, fragmented workforce can mean cliques are likely to form and other employees become isolated. People in the office may be given more interesting work or better opportunities for advancement than those who are not.
6. With fewer regular social events and (in some cases) reduced alcohol tolerance, the risk of inappropriate conduct at gatherings is heightened.
7. A lack of trust and confidence between an employee and their manager can be worsened by remote work, where visibility is limited. In certain circumstances, this behaviour may amount to bullying.

Importantly, an employer’s responsibilities toward employees remain unchanged, regardless of whether they are working in the office or remotely.

What to do if you think you are being bullied 

If you are being bullied, it is important to consider how you would like the issue to be resolved. What is your ideal outcome? Is it a resolution through workplace mediation, redeployment, a disciplinary process against the bully, a confidential settlement or having your day in court?

Once you have identified your aim, you can build your strategy around it. Points to consider:

1. It is to important to consider what documentary evidence may be available. Bullying investigations are often extremely difficult for employers to conduct because allegations are typically disputed, and there is often a shortage of documentary evidence. In a hybrid workplace, there may be fewer eyewitnesses. In this instance, consider whether there are specific emails, messages or calendar invites that demonstrate bullying. It is also sensible to keep a contemporaneous record of bullying.
2. Once you have identified your evidence, a common first step is to raise a formal grievance under your employer’s procedure. This may appear to be a significant step that inevitably escalates the issue into a full-blown dispute. This is not necessarily the case. Grievance procedures can lead to a mutually satisfactory resolution of the issue. In fact, employees who do not raise a formal grievance and then subsequently take legal action are likely to be criticised for not first exploring internal channels. Whether or not to raise a grievance, and what to say in it, are critical strategic questions which might significantly influence the outcome of your case.
3. Being bullied is hard enough, and entering into a potentially adversarial formal process may be daunting. It is important to ensure you have a robust support network, not just of family and friends but also professional advisers and medical professionals. Your GP is likely to be sympathetic to your issues and will be a useful ally.

What to do if you are accused of workplace bullying?

In their zeal to meet their duties to the employee complaining of bullying, employers can neglect their responsibilities toward the individual accused. Yet, this person often has the most at stake in any investigation. If allegations are upheld, and disciplinary proceedings lead to dismissal for gross misconduct, the consequences can be career-ending.

Even when the complaint is dismissed, the way an investigation is conducted, and the duration of any suspension can make reintegration difficult. For the accused, the process is typically highly stressful, highlighting the importance of a strong support network.

It is essential to establish a clear strategy at the earliest opportunity to extinguish the allegations and mitigate their damage. This requires a balanced, nuanced approach. For example, while a robust rejection and a counter-grievance may sometimes be appropriate, such actions risk escalating tensions and reinforcing perceptions of bullying.

Above all, priority must be given to ensuring that the investigation is handled fairly and proportionately, so that the individual’s future is not jeopardised by the process itself.

Our team

Our employment lawyers have extensive experience of conducting workplace investigations on behalf of companies, firms, partnerships and LLPs, including in regulated sectors such as professional services and financial services. The Stewarts workplace investigations team have conducted several investigations on behalf of employers, including investigations concerning bullying in the workplace. We also have extensive experience advising people raising complaints and those who are the subject of complaints. If you require assistance from our team, please contact us.