‘Tis the season to be sharing?
As office parties get into full swing and people enjoy themselves, many will share their experiences on social media, but sadly not always in a positive way.
Most employers know how to handle a case of face-to-face bullying. But cyberbullying – which takes place online, mostly via social media – is becoming a worrying trend that few know how to tackle in the workplace. It is a very real modern-day problem, and is one that can significantly affect both employees’ performance and their mental wellbeing.
Cyberbullying in the workplace is rife
The last statistics published were back in 2012, when the Economic and Social Research Council found that even then cyberbullying had become as common as ‘conventional’ bullying in the workplace. It found that 8 out of 10 workers had experienced at least one instance of it in the 6 months before the survey, and between 14-20% of workers said they experienced it on a weekly basis.
Other studies have revealed that cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying both have a similar impact, with cyberbullying linked to job dissatisfaction, mental strain and emotional exhaustion. Worryingly, one of the characteristics that differentiates cyberbullying from face-to-face workplace bullying is that it can occur at any time, which means it can pose a greater threat to people’s home lives. Victims feel trapped as bullies can reach them anywhere. This means there is little opportunity for victims to recover from the demands of work.
What to do about it
It’s important nowadays to have a social media policy in place – in addition to a bullying and harassment policy. And remember that it’s no good just sticking it in a handbook that is given to a new employee when they join, or putting it on the company intranet – you should actively tell employees about it.
Employers should be proactive in tackling cases of cyberbullying as they occur. The fact the bullying’s being carried out online doesn’t change the nature of the behaviour – whether it’s verbal bullying or whether it’s online, it’s the same thing and should be dealt with in the same way.
On being made aware of an allegation of cyberbullying, employers need to carry out a proper investigation into the matter. This is likely to involve gathering evidence and may extend to monitoring employees, but employers must tread carefully. Employees are entitled to a degree of privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention.
The general advice is to use the least intrusive form of monitoring possible. Any monitoring of employees is likely to engage the Data Protection Act 1998, so employers should take specialist HR advice when determining the scope of an investigation.
If the matter is relatively minor, it may be dealt with informally – but if it’s serious it must be dealt with in the proper manner in line with your policy – and may result in summary dismissal.
Remember that employers can also be vicariously liable for the acts of their employees – including for incidences such as bullying. The law says anything that is done by an employee in the course of their employment is treated as being carried out by the employer, regardless of whether the acts were undertaken with the employer’s knowledge or approval.
Is it worth the hassle?
If you are a small business, you may sometimes wonder whether it’s worth the hassle of employing people, with the worry of how to treat your employees fairly and consistently, and ensuring that they do the same, to keeping on top of the myriad of changes to employment law.
But don’t despair – here at Su Allen HR we make it our business to know and understand employment law from an employer’s point of view (particularly those running micro businesses or SMEs) enabling us to support our clients through what can seem like a minefield set to catch out the unwary employer.
Contact us if you want help with a specific problem, or if you’d like to hear about how we provide our Retained Clients with ongoing support and advice.
And have a Happy New Year!
Su Allen HR helps employers by providing a range of HR support that includes advice on how to handle difficult situations, writing clear policies which ensure fairness and consistency in all aspects of managing employees, and providing coaching and training where required. Contact us on 01582 883299 if you’d like to hear more.
Helen Skepper
Su Allen HR