Signs of Bullying and Harassment at Work

Are you experiencing bullying, undermining or harassment at work, or concerned about how your behaviour affects colleagues? The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) provides practical guidance and reflection tools to help surgeons, trainees and healthcare professionals recognise harmful behaviours, identify potential warning signs and build more respectful working relationships.

Please visit the Facts and the Law page to help guide your further actions.

Am I Being Harassed?

NHS Scotland has produced a reflection tool to help one reflect on behaviours being experienced in the workplace, and to help determine whether they fall within the NHS Scotland Workforce Bullying and Harassment Policy.

Any of the behaviours can be by individuals or a group (mobbing), using verbal, nonverbal, written, or electronic communications. These should be related to one or more of the following protected or personal characteristics:

• age (covers all age groups)

• disability (mental and physical health)

• gender reassignment

• marriage and civil partnership

• pregnancy and maternity

• race (colour, nationality, ethnicity, national origins)

• religion or beliefs

• sex / gender

• sexual orientation

• other personal characteristics such as trans identities including non-binary, carers responsibilities, physical appearance.

Am I Being Sexually Harassed?

Victim Support define sexual harassment as any kind of unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature that makes you feel scared, humiliated, or intimidated, or that creates a hostile environment.

It can include many different behaviours, including:

• Verbal harassment such as sexual or suggestive comments, comments about someone’s body or appearance, and name calling.

• Sexual jokes or innuendos, sexual gestures, leering, whistling, or making sexually suggestive comments or gestures, innuendoes, or lewd comments.

• Spreading sexual rumours about someone.

• Personal questions about someone’s social life, sex life, sexual history, sexual fantasies, or preferences.

• Staring, sexual looks or looking someone up and down.

• Unwanted touching or physical contact, including brushing up against someone, kissing, stroking, pinching, massaging, or hugging.

• Unwanted flirting or repeatedly asking someone out who is not interested.

• Unwelcome sexual advances, propositions or pressure for sexual activity, continued suggestions for social activity within or outside the workplace, after it has been made clear that such suggestions are unwelcome.

• Indecent exposure or ‘flashing,’ cyberflashing, upskirting or downblousing.

• Stalking, sexual assault or rape (including attempted rape or attempted sexual assault).

• Suggestions that sexual favours may further a colleague's career or refusal may hinder it e.g. promotions, salary increases etc.

Am I A Bully?

Most of us choose to go into our professions because we care about our patients. The majority of us are not bullies at the start and may not even consider ourselves bullies now. However, the stresses at work can cause people to behave differently, and that behaviour becomes reinforced until it becomes acceptable and part of the culture in the hospital, clinic, or healthcare setting.

We often go home and mull over the patients that we have seen that day; the clinical problems, how we dealt with them, what we might have done differently. How often do we stop and think about how we behaved that day? Self-reflection is especially important for both our clinical and non-clinical development.

Bullying can happen anywhere and anyone of us can be guilty. Think about your behaviour on a daily basis. It is so easy for our behaviour to change without us noticing.

Checklist to help you think about how your behaviour might impact on others.

• Do you listen to the other members of your team or do you do all the talking?

• Do members of your team come to you with ideas or suggestions?

• Does your sense of humour involve jokes that could be racist, homophobic, or sexist?

• Do you feel that ‘you had it tough so they should too?’

• If you are senior, do you use your position to offer mentorship or do people go to others for this?

• Do you always apologise to someone if you lose your temper?

• Have you written derogatory comments about someone on WhatsApp, Facebook, or X?

• Do your colleagues look you in the eye?

• Do you ignore any of your colleagues?

• Do you blame others for problems that occur?

• Do people speak freely in your theatre / clinic or do you dictate how people behave?

• Does banter form a big part of your interactions with others?

• Have you ever fired off an angry email?

• Do you prefer to email colleagues about demanding situations, rather than discuss things face-to-face?

If you think you might be guilty of some of these traits, we have advice on How to be Assertive Without Being a Bully and How to Maintain Healthy Working Behaviour.

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