What to do when your boss becomes a bully

We are a nation that prides itself on a fair go for everyone. Yet over recent years we appear to have forged an unenviable track record when it comes to bullying in the workplace.

And some experts suggest the situation is getting worse, describing bullying in Australia as a silent epidemic of workplace violence.

Workplace bullying, in broad terms, is repeated and unreasonable behaviour that creates a risk to the health and safety of employees.

And while workplace bullying can occur between anyone in the workplace, the most difficult situation occurs when an employee’s manager or supervisor is the perpetrator.

Victims will often initially sense they are being bullied by their manager, only to later dismiss those thoughts by inadvertently rationalising their boss’ management style as “someone who is tough and pushes hard to achieve results”.

Yet it is well known that unchecked workplace bullying can result in low morale, reduced productivity, increased absenteeism, high employee turnover and reputational damage.

As such, identifying inappropriate behaviour is very important if the repercussions are to be avoided.

If you suspect that your boss has a bullying management style but need some clarification or confirmation of this, there are a number of red flags employees should look out for.

Bullying bosses make use of a range of inappropriate and threatening behaviour, with verbal abuse often topping the list.

They might, for example, shout, swear or yell at you on a regular basis, or make offensive jokes at your expense.

And when these actions have taken place in front of your co-workers, you may well have been left feeling humiliated.

But it often doesn’t stop there. Bullying bosses are known to intimidate employees. If your boss consistently threatens you, towers over you or invades your personal space, these are red flags that should not be ignored.

Some bullying bosses deploy even more sinister tactics, which are often more difficult to prove and are designed to set you up to fail.

They might, for example, undermine your work performance by setting unrealistic deadlines or allocating tasks to you that require knowledge and skills you do not possess.

Even more subtle are sets of bullying behaviour aimed to isolate you. For example, your boss may consistently excluded you from key meetings or hold important team gatherings knowing you have conflicting obligations.

Or your boss may spread malicious rumours about you that are causing your co-workers to shun you.

It is never easy to stand up to a bullying boss, but learning to identify key behaviour is an important first step in deciding whether or not to take that stand.