Don’t let the office Grinch steal Christmas

Jo Faragher

For those who’ve worked in recruitment for a while, they’ll be no strangers to a certain level of office banter, especially as the festive season hots up.

But a recent survey by CareerBuilder.co.uk shows that, too often, workers fail to feel the funny side of this and half have felt bullied in the workplace.

According to CareerBuilder’s research, the most common ways respondents felt threatened were through being ignored, comments being dismissed or being falsely accused of mistakes they didn’t make. These passive-aggressive office habits ranked much higher than being gossiped about, suggesting that some workplaces are more toxic than they seem on the surface.

One of the issues here is that the nature of the bullying is difficult to evidence. “Someone ignored me” is much harder to prove than having received an aggressive email or being on the receiving end of verbal abuse at the office party. Not surprisingly, around two-thirds of victims have not reported incidents to their HR department, despite it getting worse in many cases.

Bullying is unforgivable, but it’s not the only issue. Another survey this week revealed that office grudges are costing businesses thousands. According to employment law and health and safety consultancy Protecting.co.uk, when bosses fail to nip petty arguments between staff in the bud, the ensuing breakdown in communications can lead to problems down the line.

The company describes one example, known as ‘the Gary Barlow incident’, where two colleagues fell out because every time one left the room, the other would draw a moustache on their Gary Barlow poster, and vice versa. The argument ended up in arbitration and the workers were transferred internally.

If seemingly innocuous issues like these are left unaddressed, Protecting.co.uk says that companies can find themselves in a circle of mistrust and anger that could lead to resignations, strikes, and possibly even the unnecessary stress and expense of employment tribunals.

So as we gear up for this year’s office party, it might be worth taking a helicopter view of your team and how it works together. It’s not just hangovers that can kill productivity; bullying and grudges could really affect your business, so deal with them now.