'I thought I was the problem': Companies with strong hierarchies, insecure employees fuel bullying at workplaces
www.todayonline.com
SINGAPORE — On the first day of work at her new job in a public sector agency, Jamie (not her real name) got a rude shock when a few colleagues told her to stop asking questions and that she would “never be promoted”.
“There were always unnecessary remarks being made,” the young woman in her mid-20s said. "They made remarks about how incompetent I must be because I'm young — they assumed that I wouldn't know what working is like and they pushed their work to me.”
Jamie did not want to make her name public because she still works in the same agency. However, her experience is not unique.
Workplace bullying has come into the limelight again after Police Sergeant Uvaraja Gopal alleged that he had endured workplace bullying, racial discrimination and family issues in a Facebook post on July 21.
The police have said that the allegations of racial discrimination made by Uvaraja before his death were "unsubstantiated", but that they are nonetheless re-investigating.
Human resources professionals told TODAY that workplaces with strong power imbalances and are largely hierarchical are more likely to see bullying instances — not just the uniformed services in the public sector.
In a written reply to a question about workplace bullying in Singapore from Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh in 2019, then Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo said that 2.4 per cent of the country’s resident labour force reported workplace bullying or harassment.
This is based on a Labour Force Supplementary Survey by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) done in 2018, which defined bullying as verbal abuse, threats or assault.
Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said in a written reply in September 2021 that the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep) received an average of 379 workplace discrimination complaints each year between 2014 and the first half of 2021.
Victims of workplace bullying who spoke to TODAY said that they did not report their cases to their company, MOM, their union or other watchdogs such as Tafep.
Whenever she had to interact with these colleagues, they would make snide remarks, putting her down.
“The worst part of the bullying was when we were working together as teammates, and they outrightly pointed out that I wasn't allowed to ask questions,” she recalled.
“They said I ‘just need to do whatever the people above me tell me to do’. They also told me I’ll never get promoted and that my bosses wouldn't like me because I liked asking questions.”
The bullies were a stark contrast to Jamie’s former colleagues from her previous job in a private sector firm, who were much more supportive and less judgemental.
When she tried talking to other colleagues about the bullying, they found it hard to believe Jamie — it seemed that her bullies were nice to everyone at work except her.
With little support from her colleagues, Jamie kept mum about what was happening to her and avoided the bullies as much as possible. After two months of avoiding them, the bullying stopped.
For one 19-year-old freelancer waiting to start his National Service, the bullying at his first part-time job worsened his anxiety and ate into his self-esteem.
After completing his O-Level examinations, he took up a part-time job at a food-and-beverage store near his home. At just 16, he was the youngest employee there — turning him into a target for the stall’s only full-time worker.
The youth did not want to be named because he feared his bully might contact him.
He recalled: “When it’s just both of us (during that shift), she would lash out at me using vulgarities and take out her stress on me. But if there were other people during the shift, she would be nicer.”
The staff member would push him and elbow him on some occasions as well, which he found extremely distressing. However, he thought that her actions were because he was “incompetent and stupid”, so he did not report the bullying to his manager.
Kimberly’s colleagues were less brazen though no less vicious — they spread rumours behind her back. The impact was the same.
The young woman in her 20s did not want to give her full name because she is worried her former company might take action against her.
“It started from a miscommunication between my manager and I, resulting in some work being left undone, but she didn’t say anything when the others chided me for not doing the work during a meeting.”
After the meeting, she sent a message to the manager explaining the situation, before apologising for the miscommunication on her part. Not long after, her message was forwarded by another colleague in the company to a chat group where she was a participant. Nobody reacted to the message, and it was soon deleted.
However, Kimberly saw it — and soon learnt that her colleagues had been talking behind her back.
“I was shocked. I was new to the company, new to full-time work. People make mistakes, but I was villainised over this one thing,” she added.
It got worse as she was left out of projects, and she was later asked to sit in for a one-on-one talk with a colleague about her alleged poor performance.
Believing that there was little opportunity for her at the company, Kimberly left about half a year into her job.
“For example, in long-time industries like manufacturing where using vulgarities might be normal… employees might just see it as part of the workplace (culture),” he said, adding that they may not see such behaviour as bullying.
However, he noted that many employees today may not tolerate such behaviour anymore.
“Having worked in the human resources industry for 38 years, I’ve seen workplaces evolving — the modern day workforce believes in respect,” Mr Yim said.
Hierarchically structured organisations, such as uniformed groups, may face more challenges in handling workplace bullying because autocratic decisions might be perceived as bullying, Mr Soh from Elitez Group said.
“But it is important to create an environment that is safe and people are well-respected. Promoting a culture that has fairness and dignity in everything we do will help to foster better working relationships and benefit the organisation in the long run,” he added.
Dr Oliver Suendermann, vice-president (clinical) at mental health company Intellect, said that workplace bullying can cause employees stress and anxiety. If traumatic enough, it may also cause post trauma stress disorder.
“Ultimately, it can lead to decreased job satisfaction, productivity and high staff turnover,” he added.
“This is why it’s essential that companies have a safe and supportive environment for employees to report such incidents without fear of retaliation.”
They also said that companies can do their part to prevent bullying — such as making policies that clearly state what actions are not tolerated by the company and reinforcing the company’s values.
“It’s also important to ensure that you have clear feedback channels so that employees know where to turn to,” Mr Yim said.
“Companies should also remind employees what actions are not condoned when cases of bullying arises.”
Mr Soh said that to make employees feel safe enough to report such incidents, companies should provide support and protection for the victims.
Agreeing, Dr Suendermann said that employers can provide support by ensuring that their workers have access to mental health resources.
For workers who feel that it is unsafe to report to their employers, they may turn to other organisations for help.
One is Tafep, where workers may report cases of workplace harassment and discrimination. The alliance will then follow up with the firm and parties involved.
Under the Protection for Harassment Act, certain behaviours such as verbal insults and abuse can be considered criminal should they harass, threaten or distress someone.
The Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness also released its finalised recommendations, which includes strengthening protection against workplace discrimination, on Friday (Aug 4).
The 22 recommendations made, which the committee aims to be legislated next year, include prohibiting workplace discrimination due to:
“Our approach places emphasis on giving redress to the worker who experienced discrimination while preserving workplace harmony and relationships.”
www.todayonline.com
SINGAPORE — On the first day of work at her new job in a public sector agency, Jamie (not her real name) got a rude shock when a few colleagues told her to stop asking questions and that she would “never be promoted”.
“There were always unnecessary remarks being made,” the young woman in her mid-20s said. "They made remarks about how incompetent I must be because I'm young — they assumed that I wouldn't know what working is like and they pushed their work to me.”
Jamie did not want to make her name public because she still works in the same agency. However, her experience is not unique.
Workplace bullying has come into the limelight again after Police Sergeant Uvaraja Gopal alleged that he had endured workplace bullying, racial discrimination and family issues in a Facebook post on July 21.
The police have said that the allegations of racial discrimination made by Uvaraja before his death were "unsubstantiated", but that they are nonetheless re-investigating.
Read also
Keep workplace fairness law tight, tripartite committee says in response to feedback on expanding scope
The police have also said that while Uvaraja was "facing substantial challenges at work" through his 10 years of service with the police, he was provided coaching to address his performance issues and given transfers, at his request, to six different units in nine years.Human resources professionals told TODAY that workplaces with strong power imbalances and are largely hierarchical are more likely to see bullying instances — not just the uniformed services in the public sector.
In a written reply to a question about workplace bullying in Singapore from Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh in 2019, then Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo said that 2.4 per cent of the country’s resident labour force reported workplace bullying or harassment.
This is based on a Labour Force Supplementary Survey by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) done in 2018, which defined bullying as verbal abuse, threats or assault.
Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said in a written reply in September 2021 that the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep) received an average of 379 workplace discrimination complaints each year between 2014 and the first half of 2021.
Victims of workplace bullying who spoke to TODAY said that they did not report their cases to their company, MOM, their union or other watchdogs such as Tafep.
Read also
SPF to investigate allegations of racial discrimination, workplace bullying made by officer before his death: Shanmugam
Some reasons included being unsure of who they can seek help from and doubts about whether action will be taken. They were also uncertain if their experiences were deemed severe enough to warrant a complaint.‘I THOUGHT I WAS THE PROBLEM’
For Jamie, the bullying started from the first day of work with colleagues who had been in the company for almost a decade, some of whom had the same job title as her.Whenever she had to interact with these colleagues, they would make snide remarks, putting her down.
“The worst part of the bullying was when we were working together as teammates, and they outrightly pointed out that I wasn't allowed to ask questions,” she recalled.
“They said I ‘just need to do whatever the people above me tell me to do’. They also told me I’ll never get promoted and that my bosses wouldn't like me because I liked asking questions.”
The bullies were a stark contrast to Jamie’s former colleagues from her previous job in a private sector firm, who were much more supportive and less judgemental.
Read also
Commentary: What Singapore’s impending workplace discrimination law means for younger, future workers
"(At the new job,) I felt judged even before producing results because of my age. For the longest time, I felt that I made the wrong decision to switch jobs and that I was incompetent,” she said, adding that her bullies would always find fault with her work.When she tried talking to other colleagues about the bullying, they found it hard to believe Jamie — it seemed that her bullies were nice to everyone at work except her.
With little support from her colleagues, Jamie kept mum about what was happening to her and avoided the bullies as much as possible. After two months of avoiding them, the bullying stopped.
For one 19-year-old freelancer waiting to start his National Service, the bullying at his first part-time job worsened his anxiety and ate into his self-esteem.
After completing his O-Level examinations, he took up a part-time job at a food-and-beverage store near his home. At just 16, he was the youngest employee there — turning him into a target for the stall’s only full-time worker.
The youth did not want to be named because he feared his bully might contact him.
He recalled: “When it’s just both of us (during that shift), she would lash out at me using vulgarities and take out her stress on me. But if there were other people during the shift, she would be nicer.”
The staff member would push him and elbow him on some occasions as well, which he found extremely distressing. However, he thought that her actions were because he was “incompetent and stupid”, so he did not report the bullying to his manager.
Kimberly’s colleagues were less brazen though no less vicious — they spread rumours behind her back. The impact was the same.
The young woman in her 20s did not want to give her full name because she is worried her former company might take action against her.
“It started from a miscommunication between my manager and I, resulting in some work being left undone, but she didn’t say anything when the others chided me for not doing the work during a meeting.”
After the meeting, she sent a message to the manager explaining the situation, before apologising for the miscommunication on her part. Not long after, her message was forwarded by another colleague in the company to a chat group where she was a participant. Nobody reacted to the message, and it was soon deleted.
However, Kimberly saw it — and soon learnt that her colleagues had been talking behind her back.
“I was shocked. I was new to the company, new to full-time work. People make mistakes, but I was villainised over this one thing,” she added.
It got worse as she was left out of projects, and she was later asked to sit in for a one-on-one talk with a colleague about her alleged poor performance.
Believing that there was little opportunity for her at the company, Kimberly left about half a year into her job.
BUILDING GOOD COMPANY CULTURE
Mr Asmond Soh, the head of governance at human resource service provider Elitez Group, said that workplace bullying can arise from various factors such as:- Poor organisation culture that fails to promote respect and collaboration
- Lack of clear policies and reporting channels to address bullying incidents
- Ineffective leadership that fails to address and prevent bullying behaviour
- A highly competitive work environment, which can worsen tensions and conflicts among employees
- Insecurity stemming from intense competition with peers
“For example, in long-time industries like manufacturing where using vulgarities might be normal… employees might just see it as part of the workplace (culture),” he said, adding that they may not see such behaviour as bullying.
However, he noted that many employees today may not tolerate such behaviour anymore.
“Having worked in the human resources industry for 38 years, I’ve seen workplaces evolving — the modern day workforce believes in respect,” Mr Yim said.
Hierarchically structured organisations, such as uniformed groups, may face more challenges in handling workplace bullying because autocratic decisions might be perceived as bullying, Mr Soh from Elitez Group said.
“But it is important to create an environment that is safe and people are well-respected. Promoting a culture that has fairness and dignity in everything we do will help to foster better working relationships and benefit the organisation in the long run,” he added.
Dr Oliver Suendermann, vice-president (clinical) at mental health company Intellect, said that workplace bullying can cause employees stress and anxiety. If traumatic enough, it may also cause post trauma stress disorder.
“Ultimately, it can lead to decreased job satisfaction, productivity and high staff turnover,” he added.
“This is why it’s essential that companies have a safe and supportive environment for employees to report such incidents without fear of retaliation.”
WHAT SHOULD WORKERS, EMPLOYERS DO ABOUT BULLYING?
All three experts said that employees should sound out their company’s human resources team should they feel distressed or uncomfortable by certain actions.They also said that companies can do their part to prevent bullying — such as making policies that clearly state what actions are not tolerated by the company and reinforcing the company’s values.
“It’s also important to ensure that you have clear feedback channels so that employees know where to turn to,” Mr Yim said.
“Companies should also remind employees what actions are not condoned when cases of bullying arises.”
Mr Soh said that to make employees feel safe enough to report such incidents, companies should provide support and protection for the victims.
Agreeing, Dr Suendermann said that employers can provide support by ensuring that their workers have access to mental health resources.
For workers who feel that it is unsafe to report to their employers, they may turn to other organisations for help.
One is Tafep, where workers may report cases of workplace harassment and discrimination. The alliance will then follow up with the firm and parties involved.
Under the Protection for Harassment Act, certain behaviours such as verbal insults and abuse can be considered criminal should they harass, threaten or distress someone.
The Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness also released its finalised recommendations, which includes strengthening protection against workplace discrimination, on Friday (Aug 4).
The 22 recommendations made, which the committee aims to be legislated next year, include prohibiting workplace discrimination due to:
- Age
- Nationality
- Sex, marital status, pregnancy status and caregiving responsibilities
- Race, religion and language
- Disability and mental health conditions
“Our approach places emphasis on giving redress to the worker who experienced discrimination while preserving workplace harmony and relationships.”
