Dealing with Workplace Bullying: A Case Study of NSW Ambulance Service

This report discusses the issue of workplace bullying at NSW Ambulance Service, identifies the issues, and suggests policies to deal with it. It highlights the importance of acting against bullying and formulating policies to prevent it.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT – 712515

Table of Contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................................3
Bullying at workplace...................................................................................................................3
Company background..................................................................................................................3
Identifying bullying issues in the organisation....................................................................4
Acting against bullying at workplace..................................................................................6
Why is acting against bullying a necessity?..................................................................................6
Formulating a policy against bullying...........................................................................................7
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................9
Bibliography.....................................................................................................................10

Introduction
Bullying at workplace
Bullying is an act of demonstrating an unwanted or aggressive behaviour towards another
person as a result of real or perceived power imbalance. In an organisational setting, bullying
is defined as an unwanted or aggressive behaviour that an employee demonstrates towards
another employee working in the same workplace. Bullying at workplace is a problem that
has become very common in the past few decades and is creating an alarming situation
because of the emotional and physical harm that it causes to the employees (McCabe,
Sheehan, & Garavan, 2018). Bullying at workplace can be done using a number of tactics,
such as verbal or non-verbal, physical, psychological abuse and humiliation in extreme cases.
Company background
NSW Ambulance service is an organisation that offers emergency services to the victims
stuck in natural or man-made disasters. Like many other of the emergency responding
organisations, NSW too has been facing a number of problems related to workplace bullying,
which has been having a huge impact on the personal lives of the employees working in the
company. Over the past few years, the local media has published regular articles that have
been pointing out the ongoing bullying issues in the company. In one of the extreme cases, an
employee reported that he received negligible counselling from his seniors in his 28-year
service period, in which he worked as a single crew ambulance officer. The situation became
so worse for Mr. Wallace that he attempted suicide later on. Even after that, a manager told
him to “cowboy up” and passed comments like “it’s all in your mind.” Even though Mr.
Wallace filed a complained against the manager, the management took no action and the
manager was promoted instead.
Similarly, when another employee – John McCornack – was dealing with a post-traumatic
stress situation, his seniors kept on calling him and asking him to join back his duty instead of
understanding his situation. His seniors kept on pressurising his doctors to sign off on his
leave, which was an immense torture for him. The situation in the company has worsen to
such an extent that some of the female employees have described the organisation as a
boy’s club that paid no heed to aggressive employee behaviour, humiliating pranks or
misogynistic behaviour. According to human resource managers, such bullying behaviour

show by employees, in an organisation, can be very destructive for the organisational as a
whole as the employees lose their morale and become dissatisfied with their jobs, which
results in high employee turnover rates and a spoiled reputation as an employer.
Even though multiple queries, related to the issue of bullying, have been coming in from the
government, the company has done nothing more than making false promises. Since a new
human resource manager has been hired by the organisation, the human resource director of
the company now wants the human resource manager to conduct a review of the company’s
bullying policies and review the performance of the organisation. Therefore, this report is
aimed at gaining a deeper insight into the issue of bullying prevailing in NSW Ambulance
Services and come up with certain strategies that could help the management in dealing with
these issues.
Identifying bullying issues in the organisation
Workplace bullying is a problem that is hitting the entire globe. According to Dr. Gray
Namie, Director of the Workaplce Bullying Institute, more than 54 million people got bullied
in U.S. workplaces in 2012 (O’Brien, 2012). Such facts create and urgency to understand the
issues in business organisations that promote bullying and should be dealt with by
formulating strict workplace bullying policies. Certain issues that can be identified in the case
of NSW Ambulance service are discussed below:
First of all, one of the biggest issues in the organisation, that has to such extreme bullying
conditions has been the absence of proper human resource management systems. The present
day human resource management systems provide a great deal of importance to the well-
being of their employees and consider it is an important duty to keep a check on them. An
employee who experiences workplace bullying, it is impossible for him or her to not to show
certain signs. Employees being bullied will always show poor performance levels, increased
absenteeism, a greater tendency to quit their companies, lack of job satisfaction, etc. which
can be a sign to the human resource managers if they are capable enough to recognize them.
It becomes an important duty of the human resource managers to keep a check on the
behaviour of employees and identify irregularities (Barrow, 2012). If such irregularities are
identified in case of any employee, human resource managers can conduct counselling
sessions where the employee can be asked to discuss his or her problems related to the
workplace. Furthermore, human resource management departments should consider

workplace bullying as a serious issue and should avoid escaping from it. If there was an
effective human resource management department at place in NSW Ambulance service, the
human resource managers would not have failed the bullied employees and would have taken
the situation seriously, which would have prevented the situation from worsening. Lack of
support from the human resource managers not only motivates workplace bullies but also
increases the feeling of being victimised amongst the employees being bullied (Moneywatch,
2007). Thus, the lack of an effective human resource department at NSW Ambulance service
has been one of the main issues that has worsen the situation of workplace bullying.
Secondly, an important issue that can be seen in the organisation is the lack of an ethical
work culture. Culture, in simple words, is defined as a set of values, ethics, morals, cuisines,
language, etc. that governs the social behaviour of a group of people. In an organisational
setting, work culture refers to the morals, ethics and values, which governs the behaviour of
the employees towards each other and the stakeholders in the business. The behaviour that
the employees at NSW Ambulance service have been demonstrating demonstrates the lack of
an ethical work culture. The employees at NSW Ambulance service do not understand the
importance of workplace relations and have a tendency to demonstrate their power over
others using unethical ways. The culture of pulling each other’s leg is a huge problem in the
company, as some senior level employees of the company have been being rude to employees
who have been experiencing post-traumatic stress. Some employees have also gone to such
an extent that they have tried to influence certain doctors to write-off holiday applications of
those employees who have been experiencing high stress levels, just in order to get them back
to the workplace (Allan, 2017). Further, it can also be observed that the managers at NSW
Ambulance service have not being taking complaints against workplace bullying and
harassment seriously and have neglected such complaints by terming them as interpersonal
work conflicts. The lack of a workplace culture that takes bullying and harassment into
account and treat it as a serious offence has spoiled the workplace culture at NSW
Ambulance service, which makes powerful employees feel that they have complete authority
over the others and can behave in whatever way that feels right to them (Glanville, 2017).
Thirdly, lack of performance management and a feedback system has also been one of the
prime reasons that has been making it tough for the organisation to keep a check on bullies.
Performance management and feedback systems can help in identifying issues that are
prevailing in the organisation as the employees feel comfortable in talking about their issues

when they are asked for anonymous feedback. The management at the company turned a deaf
ear to bullying allegations and in-turn, the management blamed the employees who were
being bullied by the senior level managers (Workplacebullying, n.d.). Further, the
management also made no efforts to ensure its employee well-being, which is one of the most
important tasks for human resource managers working in such companies where the
employees have to provide emergency services to people who are badly affected or are hurt.
Treating people, who are at their worst, can obviously be disturbing for employees who are
responsible for providing emergency services and it becomes really important to ensure well-
being of such employees as they are doing good for the society.
Acting against bullying at workplace
Bullying at workplace can be very harmful to the environment of an organisation and can
have long lasting impact on the workforce. Given the nature of work at NSW Ambulance
service, it is imperative for the management to deal with bullying issues as soon as possible
because it cannot afford to lose its talented workforce, which works day and night to offer
emergency service to people stuck in great difficulties.
Why is acting against bullying a necessity?
Bullying not only has its impact on the employees, but can also have certain long lasting
impact on the organisation itself. Some important effects of bullying are discussed below:
First of all, bullying can have long lasting psychological and emotional impact on the
employees on the receiving end. Bullying can increase the stress levels amongst employees,
who become alcoholic and use drugs to counter the stress caused due to humiliation or
disrespect, which can cause serious health related issues amongst them, such as stress,
anxiety, panic attacks, higher blood pressures, etc. Secondly, employees who are bullied by
their co-workers are often found to lack job satisfaction and are not able to perform well
because of the psychological effect that bullying has on them. Employees can experience loss
of self-esteem, lower productivity, lack of concentration, etc., which can have an impact on
the overall performance of an organisation (Gordon, 2018). Thirdly, an environment in the
workplace, where bullying is a normal thing, the employees who are subjected to bullying
have a tendency to show greater absenteeism, which ultimately leads to quitting jobs. As a
result, companies can experience a very high employee turnover ratio if bullying is not taken

as a serious issue. Fourthly, bullying is actually an illegal activity and can cause a lot of legal
trouble for the employees who bully others as well as for the company, in case a company
fails to take an action against such people (Namie & Namie, 2004). Lastly, bullying is
perceived as a very negative workplace habit and an organisation that turns a blind eye will
definitely lose its reputation in the market as an employer, which will make it impossible for
it to retain and attract talented employees. Thus, it is very important for organisations like
NSW Ambulance Services to keep a constant check on bullying.
Formulating a policy against bullying
Bullying is illegal throughout the globe and business organisations are supposed to form
policies and take necessary actions to prevent their employees from being bullied by their co-
workers. Certain policies that can help NSW Ambulance Services to act against bullying in
the workplace are discussed below:
First of all, the company needs to accept the fact that its employees are being subjected to
bullying, which is actually having a negative impact on their mental condition. The
management at NSW Ambulance services needs to start considering all the complaints that
have been made in regard to bullying in the past and should start gathering feedback from its
staff as the very first step (Einarsen, Hoel, & Cooper, Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the
Workplace: International Perspectives in research and practice, 2003).
Secondly, the organisations need to form a team comprising of employees from different
hierarchical levels. This team will handle all claims related to bullying and will be
responsible for keeping a check on any bullying activity that takes place in the organisation.
The newly formed team will also take necessary steps to spread information amongst the
employees that bullying will no longer be acceptable in the workplace and any employee
found bullying another employee will be terminated from the job, if proven, and could also
be legally challenged by the organisation (Bully Zero Australia Foundation , n.d.).
Thirdly, the management at NSW Ambulance Services should make arrangements for
training and development programs that will be aimed at increasing awareness amongst its
employees in relation to bullying, its harmful effects and how it can be dealt with (Florentine,
2015). The employees of the organisation should be informed about the illegal aspects of

bullying and what action can they take in case they feel that a co-worker is trying to bully
them and the management fails to respond to their claims (Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf, & Cooper,
2010). This will not only instil a fear in the minds of employees who possess a tendency to
bully others but will also promote the establishment of a workplace environment where
bullying is considered as a serious offence, which can involve legal action and termination.
Fourthly, the management of the organisation should start taking feedbacks from the
employees at regular intervals, where questions related to the workplace environment and
cultures should be asked. In certain places, the management can include questions related to
bullying at workplace and can even make the feedback anonymous, in order to maximise the
effectiveness of the survey feedback (Salin, 2008). Further, the management should conduct
interviews, where outgoing employees should be questioned about their work experience with
the organisation and instances where they have experienced bullying in the workplace. This
would not only help the management in dealing with issues related to bullying, but will also
help in discovering many other issues that might have been having an impact on the
workforce.
Lastly, checking the tendency of an employee to bully his or her co-workers should be
considered right from the recruitment and selection process. The management at NSW
Ambulance Services should strengthen its human resource management department and
should make it compulsory for them to test the tendency of candidates, who appear in the
recruitment programs, to bully others. Some importance questions that can be included in the
screening process can be:
- Do shortcomings of other people frustrate you?
- Are you concerned about the impact that your words can have on your co-workers?
- Do you normally yell at work?
- Is losing an argument acceptable to you?
- Do you think appreciating other people’s work and efforts is necessary at work?
Likewise, there is a huge list of questions that can be smartly included in the questionnaires
to identify people with bullying tendencies. Further, human resource managers can also make
use of verbal as well as non-verbal cues given by candidates during the recruitment process to
identify their tendency to bully others (Zundel, 2017).

Conclusion
NSW Ambulance Services is an organisation that operates in an environment where
emotional and psychological well-being of the workforce is extremely important for
achieving the desired performance levels. Bullying in such organisations can cause a lot of
serious issues for the employees as well as for the employers. The prevailing conditions at
NSW Ambulance Services has been having a great impact on the emotional and
psychological wellness of its employees. The impact of bullying on employees has increased
to such an extent that some of the employees have attempted suicides while some have
resigned from their jobs. Those who are in a state of trauma, are still being bullied by their
seniors in some way or the other while the employees who have left the organisation are
spoiling the reputation of the company as an employer. If the management still fails to
consider the situation as an alarm, it will become difficult for the organisation to retain and
attract new employees, which would ultimately result in the closure of the company. As a
result, it is important for the management at NSW Ambulance Services to formulate strict
policies against bullying and to treat bullying at workplace as a serious offence.

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