Examples of bullying behaviour

• shouting or swearing at a colleague
• persistent negative and inaccurate attacks on a colleague's personal or professional performance
• criticising a colleague in front of others
• spreading malicious rumours / making malicious allegations
• threatening behaviour, both verbal and physical
• body language and non-verbal communication which is inappropriate e.g. invading personal space
• use of inappropriate tone, language and quantity of emails e.g. inappropriate use of capital letters
• use of social media platforms as a method of enacting inappropriate behaviours (cyber-bullying / cyber-harassment)
• behaviour perceived as sexually threatening or intimidating
• persistently setting objectives with impossible deadlines or unachievable tasks
• removing and replacing areas of responsibility with menial or trivial tasks and taking credit for work achieved
• undervaluing a colleague's contribution, placing unreasonable demands on and / or over-monitoring a colleague’s performance
• withholding information with the intent of deliberately affecting a colleague's performance
• isolating staff
• preventing staff accessing opportunities
• inappropriate, unfair and / or inconsistent use of management policies or procedures

Any of the above behaviours can be by individuals or a group (mobbing), using verbal, non-verbal, written or electronic communications.