Bullying in the workplace drains the Australian economy of billions of dollars each year as companies lose talented, efficient and hard working staff who have fallen victim to verbal and physical abuse.

In 2003, a Queensland Workplace Bullying Taskforce counted the direct and hidden costs of bullying in Australia to be around $13 billion a year with research indicating that one in four employees in Australia have been bullied at work.

The greatest cost of workplace bullies is the emotional damage they inflict on their victims; the decline in productivity they create within the workplace; the loss of talented and conscientious employees who can no longer stand being bullied or working in an environment where bullying is condoned; the loss of the company’s reputation; and the expensive and time consuming civil action that can occur in the aftermath.

Bullying generally consists of physical and verbal abuse which takes a myriad of forms, such as active and passive aggression, sexual harassment, teasing, insults, spreading rumours, intimidation, the threat of demotion, unwarranted blame, unfair criticism and the threat of job loss.

Bullies also endeavour to sabotage the work performance of others. If the bully is in a position superior to the target, this abuse may include unwarranted criticism, severely overloading the target, taking credit for their work, denying any achievements, insulting the employee to clients, blaming the target for the bully’s own mistakes or withholding vital information to make the target appear incompetent.

Effective communication is vital in the fight against workplace bullies. Employees need to be empowered to report bullying without feeling threatened or intimidated.

Tip 1: Expose the Problem
The first step is to tell someone as soon as the bullying starts. By meeting the matter head on you demonstrate to the bully that you are not afraid and not prepared to be a passive victim to their behavior. Research indicates that bullies increase the intensity of their behavior if the situation is not addressed.

In many cases, bullies talk behind their target’s back in order to discredit and create a case against them. They do this to protect themselves in the event that the target finally speaks up. This is another reason why it is important that the target is not a silent victim.

Tip 2: Criticise the Behaviour, Not the Person
When discussing how you have been bullied, direct your criticism to the person’s behaviour and not the person who is bullying you. For example, instead of saying ‘I do not get on with John Black’ say ‘ I do not like the way John Black treats me’. By addressing the behaviour, rather than the individual, you are portraying yourself as rational. This will help to combat any work the bully has done to portray you as emotional and unstable.

Tip 3: Don’t retaliate
Never retaliate with insults of your own or you will only risk escalating the situation. In this way you retain your personal integrity, which helps to feed your inner strength and personal power. Remember responding is not retaliating. You do not have to wear their insults and can rightfully ask them to stop their behaviour without losing any personal power.

Tip 4: Know your rights
Check out your company’s policy on bullying and talk to your human resource department or industry body for advice. Don’t feel inadequate if you cannot deal with the problem on your own. Many people have been in a similar situation and there are a number of support structures to help you solve the problem, such a counseling, mediation or legal action.