Bullying

Employers must organize activities and make adjustments to their operations to prevent employees from being subjected to bullying in the workplace. If bullying still occurs, it is important that employees know how to report the matter to their employers, and for employers to follow up on all such reports.

What is bullying?

The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority applies the following definition: Bullying is when a person, repeatedly and over time, is systematically subjected to negative actions from one or more persons, and finds such actions difficult to defend against. This means bullying is a form of harassment.

Bullying can take many forms. Sometimes it takes the form of direct, overt or aggressive actions, but it could also be more indirect, covert or discrete. The offence can be aimed both at the victim as a person, or at the victim’s situation at work.

For example, bullying could entail the employee is being

  • tormented or teased
  • ridiculed
  • discriminated against
  • slandered
  • excluded from social networks in the workplace
  • excluded from learning important information
  • given unreasonable deadlines
  • given meaningless tasks
  • unfairly or excessively accused of doing poor work

The reason bullying is difficult to defend against, is that there is often a perceived imbalance in strength or power between the parties involved. This imbalance could be related to organizational, economic, social or personal matters. In addition, bullying can be draining over time, which would make it more difficult to stand against or tolerate the actions.

Bullying is a serious problem in the working environment and can be quite burdensome. For those affected, it can lead to severe psychological or somatic health problems, and it may reduce employee satisfaction and dedication to the job. For the enterprise, this could lead to increased absences due to sickness, reduced productivity and loss of reputation, and it may even contribute to increased employee turnover – with the costs this entails.

Where does bullying take place?

Bullying has become a more prevalent problem in Norwegian workplaces in the past 15 years. Bullying occurs in any enterprise where employees come into contact with other people, but some occupations and industries have had more problems than others when it comes to bullying from superiors or peers. Occupations with a higher risk of bullying include waiters, construction workers, kindergarten teachers, farmers and fishermen, chefs and kitchen assistants, as well as warehouse and transport workers.

Employers must prevent and handle bullying

Employers are ultimately responsible for ensuring a sound working environment. This entails organizing and adjusting activities to ensure that employees are not subjected to bullying in connection with work, just like they are responsible for preventing other types of harassment. If bullying still occurs, employers have a responsibility to handle it. This includes having procedures for internal reporting (Norwegian only) in place and making sure employees are aware of these. The occupational health service may assist the employer in this effort.

What to do if you experience bullying in the workplace?

If you are being bullied or you become aware of bullying in the workplace, it is important that you inform someone, to give your employer the chance to handle the matter. Information about what to do should be available in the enterprise’s procedures for internal reporting. Employees should always be able to report matters internally

  • to the employer or a representative of the employer
  • through the safety representative, the employee representative or a lawyer

Read more about how you can notify the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority when you are concerned about health and safety at the workplace