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Workplace bullying in Australia

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 04:43:13 GMT

Recognising the patterns behind workplace bullying

Workplace bullying continues to be a significant issue across Australian workplaces, affecting employee wellbeing, productivity, and organisational culture. While most employers are aware of the general concept of bullying, understanding who bullies, how they operate, and why can make the difference between reactive HR practices and a proactive, psychologically safe workplace.

Defining workplace bullying

Safe Work Australia defines workplace bullying as repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety. It can take many forms, verbal, physical, social, or psychological, and unlike a one-off conflict, bullying involves a pattern of power abuse and harm. As Einarsen and colleagues note, bullying is best understood as a form of persistent negative acts, such as isolation, humiliation, or obstruction, that degrade an individual's dignity or ability to function in the workplace.

Recognising the patterns bullies adopt

Understanding bullying means recognising the different personas bullies adopt in the workplace. Research by Namie and Namie, along with later work by Samnani and Singh, suggests that bullying tends to manifest through a small number of recurring styles and motives.

The screamer is often overt and aggressive, intimidating through yelling, threats, and public humiliation. This bully thrives on fear and tends to dominate meetings or interactions through volume and aggression. Such behaviour is often tolerated, or even rewarded, in performance-driven cultures where toxic leadership has become normalised, as Skogstad and colleagues have found.

The gatekeeper withholds information, resources, or opportunities to sabotage others, subtly but intentionally. Often operating in middle management, gatekeepers manipulate access to the tools others need to succeed. They frequently avoid detection because their tactics mimic legitimate performance management, even though their real intent is obstruction.

The two-faced colleague is highly manipulative: pleasant to superiors, while undermining colleagues behind the scenes. They may spread rumours, exclude others socially, or take credit for others' work. This bully tends to thrive in hierarchical or political environments where visibility is mistaken for integrity.

The micro-manager uses excessive control, nit-picking, and unrealistic expectations to wear down employees, often under the guise of perfectionism. Their behaviour may be framed as concern for quality but is rooted in distrust and dominance. Research by Fevre and colleagues links this pattern to high turnover and burnout, particularly among early-career professionals.

The serial offender is a repeat bully who targets multiple people over time. They often present as charismatic, which can mask their behaviour from leadership. Left unchecked, they can shape an entire team's dynamics around fear, and they are frequently responsible for a disproportionate share of an organisation's turnover, complaints, and grievances.

The cost of bullying

The toll of bullying extends well beyond the individuals directly involved. Targets often experience anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and reduced career confidence. A study by the Productivity Commission estimated the economic cost of bullying to Australian organisations at over $6 billion annually, due to lost productivity, absenteeism, and legal disputes.

The legal landscape

Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), workers can apply to the Fair Work Commission for an order to stop bullying. Employers are also required under work health and safety laws to eliminate or minimise psychosocial hazards in the workplace, which include bullying. The Model Code of Practice on Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work identifies bullying as a key risk factor that employers must proactively address.

Prevention and intervention

Preventing bullying requires more than policies on paper. Evidence from Australian and international research points to a combination of cultural, structural, and behavioural interventions. Anti-bullying policies need to define unacceptable behaviours clearly, outline complaint mechanisms, and ensure accountability, as Salin has argued.

Leadership plays a central role in shaping workplace norms, and training managers in trauma-informed supervision, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence has been shown to reduce risk. Encouraging bystanders to speak up and support targets can also break the cycle: bystander training has been shown to shift team dynamics and reduce tolerance for bullying, as Paull, Omari and Standen have found. Finally, anonymous surveys and workplace climate audits help organisations detect hidden bullying patterns and inform prevention strategies before they escalate.

Building better workplaces

Bullying isn't just a personality issue, it's also a systems issue. Addressing it well requires organisations to look beyond individual conduct and examine the structures, incentives, and leadership behaviours that allow bullying to take hold and persist.

Concerned about bullying or conflict in your workplace?

Schedule a consultation to explore practical strategies for identifying, responding to, and preventing workplace bullying.

Understanding psychological harm in organisations

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:46:51 GMT

How ethical conflict and organisational pressures impact wellbeing

Workplace mental health conversations have traditionally focused on stress, burnout, and individual coping strategies. Yet many professionals describe something deeper, a sense that they have been required to act against their values, remain silent about wrongdoing, or participate in systems that conflict with their professional ethics. This experience is increasingly described as moral injury.

Originally examined in military contexts, moral injury refers to the psychological distress that arises when individuals perpetrate, witness, or fail to prevent actions that violate their moral or ethical beliefs. Early work by Jonathan Shay , along with later research by Brett Litz and colleagues , identified moral injury as a distinct form of harm associated not only with trauma, but also with ethical conflict and perceived betrayal by authority.

In recent years, the concept has begun to appear in civilian workplaces, particularly in healthcare, education, and the public service, highlighting how psychological injury at work can emerge from systemic pressures rather than single incidents.

The organisational dimension

From a psychological perspective, moral injury differs from burnout or stress. It is not simply exhaustion. It is a rupture between a person's professional values and the organisational systems within which they work.

Professionals frequently enter their fields with strong ethical commitments. When organisational constraints prevent them from acting in accordance with these values, the result can be profound distress.

Research increasingly supports this perspective. Studies examining clinicians and other professionals suggest that institutional pressures including performance metrics, resource constraints, and administrative demands can create environments where workplace ethical conflict and organisational moral harm are common. Scholars such as Wendy Dean and Simon Talbot have argued that these systemic conditions can produce moral injury when professionals are repeatedly unable to act in ways consistent with their professional obligations. Over time, this conflict may lead to disengagement, cynicism, or departure from the profession altogether.

The legal blind spot

Despite growing recognition of psychological injury in workplace policy and workers’ compensation systems, legal frameworks often struggle to address harms that arise from organisational culture or systemic pressures. Instead they focus on singular identifiable traumatic events.

Legal systems tend to focus on discrete incidents such as bullying, harassment, or a specific workplace injury. Yet many forms of moral injury develop gradually through patterns of decision-making, leadership practices, and institutional norms. This creates a gap between how psychological injury at work is experienced and how it is legally recognised.

Understanding the positive duty

As workplace mental health becomes a policy priority, there is increasing interest in how legal and organisational frameworks might better account for systemic sources of harm. This raises important questions:

How should responsibility be understood when psychological injury emerges from organisational systems rather than individual behaviour?

What role should employers play in preventing workplace ethical conflict and moral injury?

How might legal standards evolve to recognise harms linked to ethical conflict and organisational culture?

How does an organisation demonstrate the positive duty to prevent incidents when individual actions cause harm?

These questions highlight the complex challenges organisations face in balancing legal obligations, ethical decision-making, and workplace wellbeing. Effectively addressing them requires thoughtful consideration of organisational practices, leadership, and employee support.

Looking ahead

The concept of moral injury offers a powerful lens for understanding why many professionals feel increasingly strained within modern institutions. For organisations, the challenge is not simply supporting individual resilience, but examining the structures and conditions that shape everyday decisions. For legal systems, the challenge may be even greater: recognising forms of harm that are diffuse, systemic, and embedded in organisational life.

If the first phase of workplace mental health reform focused on recognising psychological injury, the next phase may involve examining the organisational and legal conditions that allow such harm to occur in the first place.

As workplaces continue to evolve, the discussion about psychological injury at work is likely to move beyond individual wellbeing toward deeper questions about organisational ethics and legislated responsibility.

Experiencing moral injury or stress at work?

Schedule a consultation to explore practical strategies for preventing harm, supporting wellbeing, and creating a resilient, values-aligned workplace.

The impact of job displacement on mental health

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 22:18:55 GMT

The hidden mental health toll of job displacement

In a labour market shaped by automation, economic uncertainty, and restructuring, job displacement is an increasingly common reality for many Australians. But the impact goes well beyond lost income. Research shows that job loss can profoundly affect mental health, fuelling anxiety, depression, and long-term psychological distress. For HR professionals, psychologists, and individuals navigating this transition, understanding these effects is critical to building effective support strategies.

More than a pay cheque

A job is more than a source of income. It offers identity, purpose, routine, and social connection . When this is suddenly removed, individuals often experience reduced self-esteem and confidence, heightened anxiety and depressive symptoms, social isolation and disengagement, and distress linked to uncertainty about the future.

A meta-analysis by Paul and Moser, published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, found that unemployment is significantly associated with poor mental health outcomes across diverse populations and economic contexts. Later work by Milner and colleagues reached a similar conclusion, finding that the impact was particularly severe among individuals facing long-term unemployment or limited access to mental health support.

What Australian research shows

Recent Australian studies reinforce the seriousness of the issue. A study in Labour Economics by Wilkins and Wooden found that job displacement negatively affected both the displaced individual and their family's overall wellbeing, with higher psychological distress reported among women. Separately, research tracking Australians over sixteen years, by Eliason and Storrie, found that job loss had long-term effects on both income and mental health, including increased use of outpatient and inpatient mental health services following displacement. These findings point to the need for integrated approaches to workforce transition, combining career support with mental health care.

Groups most at risk

While job loss can affect anyone, some groups are more vulnerable to poor outcomes. Older workers may find it more difficult to retrain or re-enter the workforce. Casual, gig, and low-skilled workers often lack employment protections or savings buffers to absorb the shock. People with pre-existing mental health conditions may experience a worsening of symptoms, and sole earners or caregivers face additional emotional strain as financial pressure compounds.

Pathways to support

Evidence-based interventions can make a significant difference to mental health outcomes after job loss. Early access to psychological support matters : through Australia's Medicare-subsidised Better Access initiative, individuals can access up to ten sessions with a registered psychologist each year with a referral from a GP. Practical employment support, including resume workshops, training subsidies, and government-funded job placement programs, can help shorten the duration of unemployment and reduce stress. Employers also have a role to play through workplace exit support: outplacement programs, transparent communication, and mental health referrals can ease transitions and preserve trust. Finally, community and social connection, whether through volunteering, support groups, or mentorship, can help individuals maintain self-worth and routine during periods of unemployment.

Looking ahead

Job loss isn't just an economic issue, it's a mental health one. For those affected, it's important to know that seeking support is not a sign of weakness, but a proactive step towards recovery . For HR leaders and mental health professionals, recognising the emotional toll of job displacement can lead to more compassionate and effective strategies that help people rebuild their lives and careers.

Navigating a job loss or workplace transition?

Schedule a consultation to explore practical strategies for protecting mental health through periods of career change.

15c4d310

Workplace bullying in Australia

Recognising the patterns behind workplace bullying

Defining workplace bullying

Recognising the patterns bullies adopt

The cost of bullying

The legal landscape

Prevention and intervention

Building better workplaces

Further Reading

Understanding psychological harm in organisations

How ethical conflict and organisational pressures impact wellbeing

The organisational dimension

The legal blind spot

Understanding the positive duty

Looking ahead

Further Reading

The impact of job displacement on mental health

The hidden mental health toll of job displacement

More than a pay cheque

What Australian research shows

Groups most at risk

Pathways to support

Looking ahead

Further Reading