Stamping out toxic workplace culture – one bully at a time
At the 2024 HR Indaba, attendees heard how to tackle bullying, a pervasive workplace issue, head-on.
In a hugely popular session entitled Stamp it out: Bullying, harassment and other toxic workplace culture traits, Dr Ngao Motsei, an author and workplace bullying expert, shared insights with HR leaders into how to recognise, address, and prevent this all-too-common problem.
“Workplace bullying is a complex subject, but bullying is distinct from other negative acts at work, like discrimination,” said Dr Ngao. “Bullying is repeated behaviour: it’s consistent, negative acts meted out in a certain way, it’s systematic, and there is a pattern in which it happens. It also goes beyond just the bully’s targets. With bullying, there are always three players: the bully, the target, and bystanders, who witness the bullying and often do nothing. But by being silent you are complicit – today’s bystander is tomorrow’s target.”
Throughout the session there were many nods of shared understanding and agreement among the attendees, and for good reason. Dr Ngao noted that workplace bullying is often not spoken about, but she added that it’s something she wanted to get to grips with, adding, “Abrasive leaders bully intentionally, but with the right support we can turn it around. I decided that I wanted to understand abrasive leaders, and I now coach them almost exclusively.”
Dr Ngao is a self-proclaimed ‘pracademic’: according to her, unless academic study is practically applied, it’s useless, which is why she’s spent many years understanding the subject of bullying, and more importantly, how to address it.
“Bullying has key features: namely persistence, escalation, and a pattern of negative behaviour. It persists because even if people are courageous enough to report it, usually nothing gets done. That’s because it often involves people who are powerful leaders with influence, who look the other way.”
According to Dr Ngao, bullying also happens at different levels, and not necessarily only between a senior and subordinate. It can happen between peers – someone can even be bullied by a junior who has proximity to power (for example, they may play golf with the CEO, thereby gaining access to information about the target). There’s also institutional bullying, “when the biggest boss is the biggest bully”.
For the past few years, Dr Ngao has also been exploring the concept of psychological safety, a complex subject but one that is the “seed” to a bully-free environment.
To add to this, Dr Ngao cited American scholar Amy Edmondson, who defines psychological safety as “the belief that one will not fear to speak up because they know they won’t be punished, including questioning upwards or coming up with ideas.” Dr Ngao explained that a psychologically safe environment means that people are not afraid to speak up and challenge the status quo (silence is a major red flag because it’s easier to manage).
Dr Ngao shared that every leader casts a shadow, and what you do informs and shapes your direct environment. “To start rooting out bullying, leaders must be aware and intentional of what shadow they cast,” she emphasised. “The shadow has four elements – what you say, how you behave, what you prioritise, and what you measure. These elements need to be congruent; you don’t want to be someone who says something and behaves differently or measures different things that don’t align [to a core purpose.]”
Dr Ngao noted that psychological safety doesn’t mean not holding people accountable. She advised attendees that when hiring business leaders, hire for expertise and conduct, because that is what shapes the environment. Psychological safety is also paramount, because it’s one of the key drivers for innovation and sustainable growth.
She noted that HR professionals have legal recourse to deal with workplace bullying, namely through the Code of Conduct and Employment Equity Act under Section 6. The Code defines bullying as “unwanted behaviour which impairs dignity”, and states that the target determines whether they are bullied, and whether the acts are intentional or not (if it wasn’t intentional it doesn’t take away the harm).
“People get results by leaving blood in the corridors, but you can still drive performance without impairing people’s dignity,” she concluded.
