Understanding and Mitigating Workplace Bullying Across Cultures

Workplace bullying is a pervasive issue with significant implications for both individual well-being and organizational health. This research assignment investigates the root causes of workplace bullying, its consequences on mental and physical health, and how it affects workplace dynamics. By analyzing studies that explore risk factors such as psychosocial work environments and examining communication strategies within organizations, this paper seeks to understand how diversity and integration challenges for highly skilled migrants influence experiences of bullying. The assignment also evaluates existing mitigation strategies to propose effective solutions for reducing bullying in the workplace. Drawing from a range of interdisciplinary research, it offers insights into creating more inclusive and supportive work environments.

Industry Research Project
WORKPLACE BULLYING
VAIBHAV ARYA
22508036
THE HOTEL SCHOOL MELBOURNE
SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY

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Executive Summary
The organisation that has been chosen to conduct the research is Sash Japanese Pizza Bar, which
is an up-market restaurant in Melbourne. The aim of the research is to recommend solutions to
the issue that the organisation is facing in terms of workplace bullying. The objectives of this
research are to understand the reason why some people engaged in bullying others and how this
impacts staff in a negative way and how this situation can be changed or improved. The sample
size of the research is 25 people who are the current and past employees of the restaurant and the
tools that are employed to collect data are semi-structured interviews. The findings from
interviews and personal observation are presented in the findings and analysis section of the
paper. The sample included all of the staff in the organisation and therefore covered 100% of the
target population, because this is a small organization and the insights everyone are essential in
order to recommend remedies for the problem. It has been observed that the kitchen and the
departments associated with the kitchen are affected by workplace harassment and bullying due
to work pressure and work stress. Recommendations have been provided in order to solve the
issue.

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Background of the research.............................................................................................................3
About the company: Sash Japanese Pizza Bar................................................................................5
Problem statement...........................................................................................................................6
Research aim....................................................................................................................................8
Research objectives.........................................................................................................................8
Research questions...........................................................................................................................8
Significance of the research.............................................................................................................9
Literature review............................................................................................................................10
Research Methodology..................................................................................................................14
Research approach.....................................................................................................................14
Primary data collection..............................................................................................................15
Sample size................................................................................................................................15
Data analysis process.................................................................................................................16
Ethical considerations:...............................................................................................................17
Findings.........................................................................................................................................17
Dissimulation of the Data:.............................................................................................................24
Recommendations and conclusion................................................................................................29

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Introduction
The report investigates the issue of workplace bullying in the organization. There have been
instances of increased employee turnover and internal conflict within the workplace
environment. The organisation that has been chosen to conduct the research is Sash Japanese
Pizza Bar in Melbourne. The research follows an industry report format and includes all the
sections necessary to conduct effective research. The background of the research has been
included along with the aim and objective and the problem statement. This section is followed by
an explanation of the methodology that has been incorporated. The primary data collection tools
have been used to gather information which is analysed and concluded in the following segment.
Background of the research
The human resource of a business organisation has one of the most important roles in the daily
operations of the business; depending on the nature and scale of the business the responsibilities
of the staff members are allocated. It is essential for the management of the organisation to
ensure that work environment and the work surroundings are not only safe from any kind of
health hazards but it is also important to understand that the job satisfaction among the
employees is essential for staff retention (Stagg et al. 2013). There are many aspects which are
directly or indirectly responsible for an employee’s level of job satisfaction. Some of the
common issues that are observed to be the reason for resignation are: unhealthy relation with the
superior or colleagues, unsatisfactory work environment or unsatisfied job role. Human resource
management of an organisation is responsible for taking care and dealing with the aspects related
to all the employees of the company (Branch et al. 2013). This department is not only

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responsible for employing and retaining the staff member, but the performance of the employees
is also a duty of the Human resource management. One of the most prominent barriers in
ensuring job satisfaction among the employees is eliminating workplace bulling; it is an issue in
the work environment and has negative impacts on the employees. It does not only cause harm to
the employee but also impacts the goodwill of the company as well. Workplace bullying violates
the rules of work ethics, work environment and general code of ethics as well. Consistent
mistreatment of an individual which may be either physical or emotional or both during the
working hours by the people working in and around the individual can be considered to be
workplace bullying ((Koziol, 2018). Accordingly more than 50 percent of the respondents in a
study stated that they were unhappy with their job and are dissatisfied (Magee et al 2014) The
reasons for this may be varied but the workplace bullying has been a complaint that has seen
repeated escalations from the Australian employees. Workplace bullying is can be defined as the
consistent and irrational activities of an employee or group of employees directed towards a co-
worker or group of co-workers. This kind of behaviours can gravely impact the emotional and
physical condition of the person who is going through the situation. Some of the behavioural
patterns of workplace bullying are: unreasonable demands, teasing and spreading rumours. In
Australia 5 – 7% of employees have experienced workplace bullying within a 6 month
timeframe, furthermore 40% of the survey respondents report to have experienced workplace
bullying at some point in their career (Magee et al 2014). Therefore the topic of research that has
been chosen is workplace bullying. Some of the impacts of the workplace bullying are: reduced
performance, increased absenteeism, high employee turnover rate of the organisation etc. In a
study performed by the University of Wollongong states that, that workplace bullying has been
categorized as the unacceptable, unpredictable and undignified behaviour towards an a co-

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worker or a group of co-workers (Magee et al 2014). Bullying in the workplace can not only be
related to the professional aspect it can also be personal issues, this can be either experienced
from senior employees or may be from colleagues and peers as well. Bullying is a significant
issue in attaining job satisfaction and employee turnover in an organisation. Legal action against
the organisation can also be taken by the employee who may feel they have been racially
discriminated in the organisation (Branch et al. 2013).
About the company: Sash Japanese Pizza Bar
The Sash Japanese Pizza bar is an upmarket restaurant in Melbourne providing a unique menu.
Flavours and tastes from around the world are mixed with the contemporary and classic Japanese
flavour to serve the customers with an extraordinary culinary experience. The food that is offered
is not only tasty but also healthy (Sashrestaurant.com.au 2018). The location of the restaurant is
in a prime place and as Melbourne is a popular tourist zone the organisation has gained
popularity owing to the unique menu that is offered to the customers. The restaurant has also
received liquor license and serves cocktails and other alcoholic beverages. Some of the services
provided by the company are: casual dining, cocktail bar, Home Delivery to the consumers via
Deliveroo and UBEReats (Sashrestaurant.com.au 2018).
The lists of employees in the organisation are as follows:
Front of the house staff
Post Number
Managers 1
Assistant manager 1

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Head bartender 1
Junior Bartender 2
Hostesses 2
Waitresses 5
Waiters 4
Back of the house staff
Post Number
Full-Time Chefs 5
Casual Chefs 2
1 Housekeeper (Sashrestaurant.com.au 2018)
Problem statement
The problem being addressed in this study is workplace bullying. Fairwork Australia state that
workers have the right not to be bullied or harassed at work. However, there have been several
incidents of internal conflict and disagreement among the employees at Sash who are supposed
to work together, which in turn is negatively impacting the reputation of the restaurant. The
people who join the organisation have several complaints against the senior employees and their
behaviour towards the peers and the juniors. This situation has also affected the performance of
the employees in a negative way and in turn the service of the organisation. Bullying has been
recognized as an issue with the organisation and there is an increased rate of dissatisfied
employees in the organisation. The secondary issue that has been recognized in the organisation
is an increased rate of employee turnover which impacts the performance and reputation of the
company in the long run. The goal of this study in response to this problem, is to discover the
causes of workplace bullying at the restaurant and suggest solutions to eliminate bullying. There
are many forms of bullying in the workplace, physically harming a person is an extreme form of
bullying but metal pressure and stress also has serious impact on the person who is being bullied

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(Power et al 2013). According to national centre of bullying, there are four ways in which
bullying can be divided: physical, verbal, social and cyber. Bullying behavior in the workplace
may include name-calling, slurs, sharing offensive jokes, physical assaults or threats,
intimidation, victimizing and insults.According to Harvey et al. (2006) bullying behaviour
requires a bully a victim and an organisational setting. Therefore, the culture of the restaurant
itself plays a part in the behaviour as well as the perpetrator and victim. Einarsen’s (2005)
conceptual framework of workplace bullying also identified (2005), three elements can describe
the causes of workplace bullying as individual, social and organisational. Hershcovics, Reich and
Niven (2015) found three contributing factors to workplace bullying which are used to make a
framework for this research:
Perpetrators’ characteristics They show negative personality traits such as narcissism, anger and
anxiety. (Fox & Spector, 1999). Perpetrators are more likely to have
a history of being bullied themselves and have low self-esteem
Targets’ characteristics They have higher levels of anger and anxiety and tend to be more
disagreeable. They might have more cognitive
ability and conscientiousness Employees may punish
overperforming co-workers
Situational characteristics Stressful work environments make workplace bullying more likely,
such as high workload.
Also role conflict, role uncertainty, low independence affect
workplace aggression. Leadership style, where leaders are more
abusive and unsympathetic, and lack of fairness also increases
workplace bullying.
Hershcovics, Reich and Niven (2015)
Research aim
The aim of the research is to find ways to identify and reduce instances of workplace bullying in
Sash Japanese Pizza Bar.
Research objectives
The following are the objectives of the research:
 To recognize the factors that cause workplace bullying
 To identify ways in reducing the issue and creating a healthy work environment
 To ensure that the employees do not engage in workplace bullying
 To be able to recommend measures to the individuals who are facing workplace bullying

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Research questions
R1: What kind of behaviour constitutes workplace bullying?
R2: What are the interpreters for workplace bullying?
R3: what are the impacts that workplace bullying have on individuals?
R4: How can workplace bullying or harassment be reduced or eradicated?

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Significance of the research
The organisation that is chosen is in the food and hospitality industry which deals directly with
the customers therefore the behavioural pattern of the employees in the workplace directly
impacts the sales of the organisation. Not only that, workplace harassment can impact the
goodwill of the organisation in a negative way. This research is important because the
organisation or the restaurant is trying to solve the internal conflicts and focus on developing
strategies and policies which will ensure a healthy working environment for the employees. In
Australia the Fair Work Commission is an independent body that is incorporate to enforce the
Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).This research will help this industry partner in understanding the
issues that are facing in the hospitality industry especially restaurant industry (Fairwork.gov.au
2018).

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Literature review
Definition and Constitutes of workplace bullying
Wiedmer (2011) defines workplace bullying as consecutive harmful and pessimistic behavioural
pattern among one or more individuals. Some of the examples of situations that can be
segmented as workplace bully are: misconduct that can be deemed as hostile or threatening to
the physical or mental safety of the employee, vocal abuse and activities that prevent an
employee from finishing a part of their job. Isolation of a worker, screaming or usage of
offensive language in the work premises, psychological harassment, employing difficult or
unrelated tasks or jeopardizing the performance can be considered workplace harassment
(Workplace discrimination, harassment and bullying 2018).
Wiedmer (2011) suggests that the aim of a bully is to intimidate co-workers. According to
Herchovis et al. (2015), around 15% of employees come forward as the victim of bullying in
Australia. The situation can be categorized in three broad segments: perpetrator characteristics,
target characteristics and situational characteristics Herchovis et al. (2015). On the other hand the
impact of workplace bullying can be said to be divided in three groups such as human costs, spill
over costs and organizational costs.
Kitterlin, Tanke, Stevens (2016) suggest that workplace bullying within restaurants is highly
common, and is often accepted as normal. They suggest this is often due to the pressured work
environment in the kitchen, the antisocial working hours, low wages and the stress and pressure
between front and back of house employees. They found that the majority of bullies in the
workplace (72%) were supervisory or managerial staff and that training is the main solution to
prevent bullying.
Reason for workplace bullying
The reason for a person to behave in the way they do has several physiological as well as
circumstantial reasons. Herchovis et al. (2015), state that the personality of an individual is just
one factor that impacts the behaviour of a person. As mentioned above there are three aspects of
workplace bullying stated in the report: the source of aggression in an organisation can be one of
the major reasons to instigate workplace bullying this is just one instance of situational

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characteristics which make up for the strongest predictors for harassment in the workplace.
Stressful working situations like: ambiguity in the role, work load, absence of work-life balance.
In this report it has been stated that the characteristic traits in workers make them prone to being
a target of being bullied. On the other hand, the research by Bohle et al. (2017) claim that aspects
like anxiety, depression, suicide, substance abuse and anger corresponds with bullying.
Disorganization and failure to impose regulatory actions in the company have direct relations
with bullying in the workplace. Monetary stress and bullying had direct positive associations
with the rate of turnover of the company.
Impact of workplace bullying
It has been stated that one of the major impact of workplace bullying is the increased rate of
absenteeism as well as increased employee turnover rate. Job satisfaction is directly impacted in-
case of instances of workplace bullying in an organisation. Inthe long run it also hampers the
productivity of the person who is the victim of the situation, it also creates risk for the victims
health and safety both physical and mental (Workplace discrimination, harassment and bullying
2018). If the grievances of the employees of the organisation are not responded to properly by
the management and not dealt in proper manner there are serious legal costs as well. Earlier
information estimate that workplace bullying costs Australian organizations $6 - $36 billion per
annum therefore this it can be said that the financial repercussion for the organisation is also
significant.
Various forms of workplace bullying
There are several forms of workplace bullying; inappropriate behaviour of a person with the co-
workers in any form is regarded as bullying. Bullying can be intentional or unintentional some
of the examples of behavioral instances that are deemed to be workplace bullying are:
 language or comments that are either abusive, insulting or offensive
 baseless criticism or complaints
 intentionally not including someone from workplace activities
 not sharing important information that a person needs to work effectively
 setting unreasonable timelines or constantly changing deadlines