By Rebecca Turner.
For Isabelle*, the breakdown of her mental health started when some of her workmates made little jokes at her expense.
Isabelle has a strong work ethic and a love for plants, so it wasn’t unusual for her to earn productivity bonuses at the Perth nursery where she worked.
But her achievements would attract snide, hurtful comments from her fellow nursery workers.
“I didn’t care how much work they gave me — I actually loved the job,” she said.
“I love being with greens, they make me happy.”
“The problem is the people. The people wouldn’t leave me alone.”
Isabelle tried to confront the issues, but her problems with workplace bullying only worsened after she reported it to her superiors.
She was crying every day, wasn’t sleeping well and could barely eat.
Mentally fragile after going through mediation processes and exploring potentially expensive, confrontational and drawn-out legal options, she decided her only real option was to quit.
“All the petty little snippy, snidey things built up and made my life miserable,” she said.
“Eventually it just crossed the line.”
Bullying in all workplaces
It is reflective of the modern workplace that a person like Isabelle — working in an agricultural business — feels unsafe because of threats to her mental health, rather than her physical safety.
Traditionally, workplace safety campaigns have focused on preventing physical injuries or deaths in agricultural and blue-collar industries like construction.
Safe Work Australia statistics show that workplace fatalities have dropped, from 259 in 2003 to 182 in 2016.
But experts say the focus needs to also be placed on the growing impact of workplace bullying and sexual harassment.
Stories like Isabelle’s — as well as the high-profile case of former City of Melbourne Mayor Robert Doyle — reflect the shift in how a safe workplace is defined.
Earlier this month, an independent investigation found the City of Melbourne was an unsafe workplace for two female councillors, who accused Mr Doyle of sexually inappropriate behaviour.
Professor Gary Martin, the chief executive of the Australian Institute of Management in WA, said a safe workplace needed to minimise risks to both the physical and the mental safety of employees.
He said he hears stories of bullying daily, and it is happening in all workplaces — from Government, to corporate, to community and charitable organisations.
Workers ‘grin and bear it’ to protect jobs
The stories have prompted Mr Martin to publish columns about the topic on social media, which he said have provoked emotional responses from his thousands of readers.
“I think there’s a misconception that bullying doesn’t happen or is not rife in white-collar jobs,” he said.
“It is just the same as in the blue-collar sector.”
“A lot of the discussion around workplace bullying is on the office environment, not on sites.”
Mr Martin strongly believes workplace bullying is “a silent epidemic”, where the effect of bullying on the mental health of victims often intensified over time and led them to take extended leave.
“They have been treated for anxiety, they have been treated for depression,” he said.
“There are real impacts of this kind of behaviour you wouldn’t believe happens in 2018.”
“People don’t want to talk it up because they fear for their jobs and even if you are bullied, you grin and bear it because you don’t want to lose your job.”
Mr Martin said it was important to note that a manager managing the performance of an employee was not bullying.
It is difficult to find statistics on the prevalence of workplace bullying, but a 2014 study by Pricewaterhouse Coopers showed there were financial benefits for employers who invested in creating mentally healthy workplaces.
It found that each dollar spent on positive programs such as mental first-aid training or wellbeing checks resulted in $2.30 in benefits, like reduced absenteeism or compensation.
What is a mentally safe workplace?
Dr Grant Blashki, a lead clinical advisor at mental health organisation beyondblue said mentally safe workplaces had four key elements:
- A positive workplace culture — “Somewhere that people feel good about coming to work and everyone feels really encouraged and supported.”
- Reasonable stress levels — “That means not having unrealistic deadlines, job uncertainty, poor communication, poor boundaries between work and time off.”
- Supporting people with mental health issues — “We know that about one in four people will experience anxiety, one in six will experience depression.”
- Zero tolerance for discrimination — “Not uncommonly people with mental health issues have had problems with bullying or being poorly treated in their workplace.”
The Heads Up website has tips for both employers and workers about managing mental health in the workplace: www.headsup.org.au.
* Name has been changed. If you need to talk to someone, call: Lifeline on 13 11 14; Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800; MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978; Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
* Rebecca Turner writes for ABC News. She tweets at @rebeccasturner.
This article first appeared at www.abc.net.au.
