The Concept of Workplace Bullying: Implications from Australian Workplace Health and Safety Law

Abstract

Workplace bullying is a significant issue in modern workplaces, with potential health consequences for individuals who are exposed, and increasing costs to organisations. This article examines the treatment of workplace bullying in Australian jurisdictions, and considers how health and safety legislation has been applied in such cases, in order to inform regulatory guidelines and regulatory action. The notion that bullying behaviour must be repeated, common to most conceptual definitions and guidelines of safety regulators, is somewhat inconsistent with the precedent and intent of health and safety law. Requiring behaviours to be repeated could actually expose workers to risks to their health and safety. Although there are good reasons for requiring the repetition of behaviours, from both conceptual and practical standpoints, further consideration of how theory, policy and legal practice can learn from one another in preventing and managing workplace psychological hazards is required.