Dear reader,
I was sitting across from one of the woman who I consider a close friend – an honour I do not bestow lightly on anyone – her eyelashes stuck together like an infant clings to its mother’s bosom, tears quietly welling up in the corners of her eyes, and dripping down the bridge of her nose.
“I just don’t know anymore. She came up to my desk, and started yelling at me… In front of everyone… I felt so humiliated,” she recounted, glancing down at her fidgeting fingers for a moment, “but she’s my manager, y’know? What are you supposed to do?”
I didn’t have any answers for her, especially not with the unemployment rate standing at 27.6% in South Africa – nobody can afford to put their employment on the line.
“Did you… Tell someone?” I pried, unsure how to sympathise in any other way.
“Yeah, but nothing will come of it. The boss knows about it. She must know about it. Everybody complains but nothing gets done,” she lamented, her voice trailing off as she drowned the last syllable in a cup of coffee.
In the South African Journal of Human Resources management, a study titled ‘Prevalence of workplace bullying of South African employees,’ found that approximately 78% of South Africans had experienced workplace bullying in some form.
This is a shockingly-high percentage when one considers that workplace bullying in the in corporate USA (United States of America), has only been inflicted on 60% of the work force (according to the 2017 US Workplace Bullying Survey).
Workplace bullying is a persistent pattern of mistreatment from others in the workplace, which causes physical, psychological or emotional harm.
It includes tactics such as verbal, nonverbal, psychological and physical abuse, as well as purposely inflicted humiliation.
In the majority of cases, bullying in the workplace is reported as having been by someone who has authority over their victim.
The ever-feared “boss.”
Psychology Today recently reported that the goal of an adult bully is to gain power over another person, and make himself or herself the dominant adult.
Workplace bullies try to humiliate victims, and “show them who is boss.”
Psychologist Kenneth Yeager, director of the Stress Trauma and Resilience program, found that: “…[b]ullies target people who pose a threat to them in the workplace. They will frequently target someone who is smart, competent and well-liked. After the bullying is done, the target will be less confident and may feel inadequate. Workplace bullying may lead to a decrease in a business’s profitability as bullied employees lose their ability to focus and function effectively at work.”
Studies have even found that workplace bullying affects the health of employees (and not just employee turnover) – victims of workplace bulyling may want to see a therapist to help them cope with the fallout, and should be weary of the increased risk of suicidal ideation, eating disorders and self-harm.
An American study found that 10% of all adult suicides could be attributed to workplace bullying.
Research in a 2013 issue of the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health found that even witnessing workplace bullying (and not personally being the victim of it) is associated with an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms over the subsequent 18 months.
“You do know that workplace bullying is classified as harassment in South Africa?” I asked my friend, who was now slumped over my favourite cushion, flipping through all of the available channels (and skipping all the good ones).
“Yeah?” she asked, perking up almost immediately (and almost entirely flinging herself off of the couch).
“Yeah,” I smiled.
You see, workplace bullying is a recognized form of harassment under South African law.
And if you report that you are being bullied at work, and your superiors do not adequately address your complaints through investigation and possible disciplinary action against the bully – that employer is opening himself/herself up to claims of a delictual nature (i.e. you can sue for damages, including emotional trauma).
One such example is in Media 24 Ltd & another v Grobler, where the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) held that an employer owed a legal duty to its employees to create and maintain a safe working environment, and to take reasonable care of its employees’ psychological, emotional and physical safety.
Case law isn’t the only thing protecting bullied employees.
The Labour Relations Act (LRA) makes it possible for an employee to claim damages due to distructive dismissal if the employee quit his/her job as a result of the workplace bullying becoming intolerable.
Furthermore, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration’s (CCMA) ambit states that employers have a duty to protect workers from harassment, and employers should develop a code of conduct on harassment in consultation with the employees and employee representatives.
According to the procedures set out by the CCMA, once a case of bulling has been reported, the employer is obliged to investigate the case – and if necessary, disciplinary action must be taken against the harasser.
Any matters that cannot be resolved at employer level can be referred to the CCMA for conciliation (usually at no cost to the bullied employee), and if a resolution is not reached by that process, then the matter will be referred to the Labour Court.
Anxiously yours,
Aimee
