New view on bullying

Companies trying to do the right thing by implementing harassment policies have unwittingly uncovered a new bully - the malicious complainant.

Psychologist and Adelaide University PhD student Moira Jenkins is studying how managers accused of bullying by their co-workers are affected by the accusations. Ms Jenkins says a significant number of managers she has interviewed have been the target of unsubstantiated complaints.

“Not all of them are vexatious complaints but from interviewing some of them, I would say some of the complaints were made quite maliciously,’’ Ms Jenkins says.
Ms Jenkins says managers are often the target of bullying complaints - largely due to their workplace responsibilities.

“Bullying is a subjective thing. People think they’re being aggrieved (but) they were not always being aggrieved - their manager was just trying to manage them.’’

* Managers wanting to take part in the study can email moira.jenkins@adelaide.edu.au or phone 0412 733 453.