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Dignity and Inclusion at Work pp 1–23Cite as

Addressing Workplace Bullying: The Role of Training

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Part of the book series: Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment ((HWBEAH,volume 3))

Abstract

The essence of effective training to address workplace bullying is a systematic, planned training process. Underpinning it must be organizational policy that is clear, relevant, credible and well communicated. Potential trainees include employees, team leaders, line managers, human resources personnel, corporate leaders, union representatives and leaders, legal and medical professionals, counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists, employee assistance programme providers, executive coaches and mediators. Training may cover leadership, conflict management, communication and team building for managers; definitions of bullying, expected behaviour, policy and reporting processes for employees; interpersonal skills, emotional self-management, conflict resolution and stress management for targets; reporting systems and support skills for bystanders; as well as resilience, psychological capital, emotional intelligence and work-related competencies for all personnel. The present chapter focuses on training for managers and leaders, employees and human resources personnel. Managers and leaders must implement policy, support formal and informal processes for resolving bullying issues and be role models for appropriate organizational behaviour. In small organizations without a formal human resources function, managers and leaders will also need to receive and act on reports or concerns about bullying. In larger organizations, managers and human resources professionals need appropriate knowledge, skills and support in order to prevent bullying as well as to address inappropriate behaviour which may arise. Training design and content need to be appropriate for trainees’ needs and organizational contexts and to be evaluated for effectiveness over time. The ultimate aim is to build positive workplace cultures and environments in which bullying behaviour is reduced or eliminated. Bullying behaviours are harder to change than knowledge, attitudes and self-perceptions; therefore, careful attention must be paid to training design, implementation and evaluation in order to maximize their beneficial impact.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    Dianne Gardner

  2. Department of Management, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Helena D. Cooper-Thomas

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  1. Dianne Gardner
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  2. Helena D. Cooper-Thomas
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Correspondence to Dianne Gardner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Organizational Behaviour (OB), Indian Institute of Management Organizational Behaviour (OB), Ahmedabad, India

    Premilla D'Cruz

  2. Organizational Behaviour, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad Organizational Behaviour, Ahmedabad, India

    Ernesto Noronha

  3. University of New South Wales, Faculty of Science University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW, NSW, Australia

    Carlo Caponecchia

  4. University of Barcelona, Department of Organizational Behavior University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Espanya, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Escartín

  5. Hanken School of Economics , Helsinki, Finland

    Denise Salin

  6. University of South Australia , South Australia, SA, Australia

    Michelle Rae Tuckey

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Gardner, D., Cooper-Thomas, H.D. (2018). Addressing Workplace Bullying: The Role of Training. In: D'Cruz, P., Noronha, E., Caponecchia, C., Escartín, J., Salin, D., Tuckey, M. (eds) Dignity and Inclusion at Work. Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment, vol 3. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5338-2_4-1

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