Bullying and Sexual Harassment

Bullying in the workplace not only affects staff  it can also affect organisations in their ability to operate. Yet despite this, research indicates that far from being on the decrease  bullying in the workplace is on the increase.

In 2001, Drake Personnel, one of Australia’s leading employment agencies said in an interview that, “the antics of one serial bully in the workplace had the potential to reduce the performance of their victims by half, and that of other employees by up to 33%.” [17 Apr 2001].

In 2005, WorkCover (ACT) estimated the dollar ‘cost’ of workplace bullying saying, “The financial cost of workplace bullying to business in Australia is estimated to be between $6 billion and $13 billion a year.” This includes indirect costs, such as absenteeism, labour turnover, loss of productivity and legal costs. Accordingly, “the average cost for a stress claim is $41,186 compared to $23,441 for a physical injury claim.” [28 Sep 2005].

The Australian Human Rights Commission believes that the ‘cost’ could be even higher, with their online ‘Workplace Bullying’ fact sheet estimating that “workplace bullying costs Australian employers between $6 – $36 billion dollars every year when hidden and lost opportunity costs are considered.”

As such it is a matter that requires immediate addressing and action.  At Nella Global we have significant experience in these types of investigations. We can provide discreet, diplomatic and effective services in this area with the focus being on resolving Occupational Health and Safety risks to personnel, mediation (where appropriate) and realistic and appropriate recommendations.

Depending upon the agency requirements we can conduct informal reviews on the health and safety of the workplace environment through to formal investigation and breaches of policy and legislation.