Office Bullying and Harassment Policy Volume Nov 2013 | Page 38

Men and women may
describe similar experiences
in different words.
In a review of WorkSafeBC
claims for compensation
resulting from bullying and
harassment, men more often
used the word “harassment,”
while women tended to use
the term “bullying.”

Information for targets

Who are the targets?
There is no single profile for someone who is bullied. Anyone can be a target of bullying and harassing
behaviour.

Tips for targets
Find out about any existing workplace bullying and harassment policies and complaint
procedures
Employers in B.C. are required to have a workplace bullying and harassment policy statement
and related procedures. Targets can review their workplace policy statement to identify if the
behaviour meets the definition of bullying and harassment.
Keep records
Targets should keep a detailed record of what happened — places, dates, times, people involved,
witnesses, and what was said or done. This information may be useful during an investigation. If
targets experience cyber-bullying and receive harassing electronic messages, they should keep hard
copies for use in investigations.
Seek advice
If available, targets could seek advice from the contact person named in the workplace bullying and
harassment procedures, the Human Resources manager, or the union representative. Avoid making
allegations about bullying and harassment to people not involved in handling complaints.
Speak up
Sometimes a person who bullies others is unaware of the effects
of his or her actions. Choosing to speak up to someone who engages in bullying and harassing
behaviour can lead to a variety of outcomes: the behaviour might stop, escalate, or stop temporarily
before it gets worse.

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Toward a respectful workplace