Dignity at Work: Eliminate Bullying and Create a Positive Working Environment

Citation

Mann, S. (2005), "Dignity at Work: Eliminate Bullying and Create a Positive Working Environment", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 412-413. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730510607899

Bullying at work is now a recognised problem and although there is not yet any direct legislation for dealing with it, existing legislation is increasingly being used to protect victims. Dignity at Work takes its title from the proposed Dignity at Work Bill which, if passed in the UK, will have offer more direct protection for victims of bullying.

Dignity at Work is in two parts; the first offering a handbook for HR personnel and managers and the second part dealing with the role of psychologists/counsellors in the bullying process. Part 1 then, consisting of nine chapters, is mainly concerned with presenting the background that anyone dealing with bullying at work would find useful to know; what behaviours are defined as bullying, who bullies, who the victims are likely to be, the effects of bullying, the current legal situation and mediation issues.

Whilst all Part 1 should be essential reading to anyone with an interest in developing anti‐bullying cultures, the most useful chapter is probably that on the legal situation. There is a great deal of confusion in the workplace regarding the legal right that employees have not to be bullied and this chapter puts the record straight. The chapter on developing dignity at work policies is also likely to be essential reading for managers; this includes a schedule of what such a policy should include, how to launch such a policy and a sample policy.

Part 2 is aimed not so much at managers or HR personnel, but at psychologists or counsellors looking to expand their skills to include bullying mediation or anti‐bullying policy development. A number of theoretical approaches relevant for dealing with bullying are presented including a systems perspective, transactional analysis and emotional intelligence. Other than presentation of these approaches, the rest of Part 2 could be equally useful for non‐experts – and this, I feel, is a failing, of this section; I felt that a more “expert” approach could have been included here in which the various theories are more integrated with practical considerations.

Despite this criticism, I do feel that Dignity at Work is a unique text in offering rather more than a “how to combat bullying” formula that other texts in the area provide. Of course, many practitioners do not want to wade through all the background before getting to the “how to” part, so this book my not be for them. However, anyone who wishes to take bullying at work seriously ought to have this book on their shelf.