Does this happen at work?

This topic has had some coverage recently, mainly regarding children being bullied at school. However, it’s not just children who are the victims of cyber bullying and this can have an impact on employers.

What is cyber bullying?

Cyber bullying is a form of bullying that takes place using technology, such as text messages, email or on social networking sites. It is common amongst children, but adults also suffer bullying in this way.

When is it a work issue?

One of your employees could be a victim of cyber bullying. This could cause them to feel anxious and depressed, impacting on their mood, attendance levels, performance and overall conduct when they are at work.

One of your employees could be harassing another member of staff in this way. This could be done using your company’s IT systems and during work time.

What if it happens outside of work time?

A lot of employers take the view that anything that happens outside of work is not a work-related issue. Employment law takes a different view, and it’s important to remember this. As with bullying and harassment in general, anything that involves employees outside of work could become a work-related issue.

For example, one of your colleagues could be verbally abusing another employee on a social networking site such as Facebook. Most “Generation Y” employees (those born after 1978) frequently use social networking sites. It is common place for people to share information with their colleagues, and this is fine when people get on ok but invariably issues do happen.

A relationship or friendship could turn sour, and this could cause one employee to harass or post vindictive comments about another. Do you really want an employee behaving this way towards a colleague, even outside of work? Although you cannot prevent this type of behaviour, it’s important to have steps in place to deal with this type of issue.

What can I do as an employer?

Most companies have clear policies and procedures in place to deal with bullying and harassment. If you don’t, Employ Easily can help develop one for your organisation. The policy should clearly state what type of behaviour is unacceptable, and provide advice on how an employee should raise such an issue. We recommend that the policy covers behaviour outside of work, and also includes a definition on “cyber bullying”.

A lot of companies have now introduced social networking policies, which clearly state the rules in relation to the use of these sites at work. Some people may need to use social networking sites for business purposes and this is normally defined.

Remember, bullying is normally persistent behaviour which takes the form of offensive, intimidating, abusive, or malicious behaviour. It’s important to have steps in place to deal with this type of conduct, whether it’s cyber bullying or not.

Inform your employees during their induction of your policies and procedures. Reinforce your procedures on a regular basis, and involve your employee representiatives in developing procedures.

Still concerned?

We are happy to discuss this issue with concerned employers, along with other HR related matters.