Chapter 5: Equity and diversity

Abbreviations

A list of the abbreviations used in this report is available in the Glossary

Bullying, harassment and discrimination

One element of the Code of Conduct as set out in the Public Service Act 1999 is the requirement that APS employees, when acting in the course of APS employment, treat everyone with respect and courtesy and without harassment.²⁸ This requirement is closely linked to valuing and encouraging diversity in the workplace, which needs to be based on respect for differences between employees. It operates in tandem with protections for employees under federal anti-discrimination legislation, and relevant State legislation, where federal anti-discrimination legislation does not apply.

A detailed analysis of discrimination²⁹ and bullying and harassment³⁰ was undertaken in the State of the Service Report 2003–04, which found that employees were more likely to report that they had experienced bullying or harassment than discrimination. The 2006 employee survey did not ask about discrimination, but asked employees whether they had experienced bullying or harassment during the last 12 months.

The incidence of bullying and harassment reported in the employee survey has been very consistent. During the last 12 months 16% of employees believed that they had been subjected to bullying or harassment in the workplace. This result is similar to the 17% of employees in 2005 and 15% of employees in 2004 that indicated that they had experienced bullying and harassment.

Rates of perceived bullying and harassment tend to be slightly lower in the APS than in other jurisdictions. In 2005, just over one-quarter (26%) of Tasmanian respondents, 21% of Victorian respondents and in 2006, 21% of Western Australian respondents indicated that they had experienced bullying or harassment.³¹ The differences may reflect differences in the nature of the State and Australian Government public services.

Women continue to be more likely to believe that they have experienced bullying and harassment than men (19% compared to 12%). Employees with disability were also more likely (24%) than those without disability (15%) to believe that they have experienced bullying or harassment. There was no significant difference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and employees from non-English speaking backgrounds in this year’s survey. However, given the small number of Indigenous respondents, the result for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees should be treated with caution. The 2005 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee census survey found that 23% of Indigenous employees believed they had experienced bullying and harassment.³²

Classification level continued to be relevant to perceptions of bullying or harassment, with perceptions decreasing as classification increases (see Figure 5.18).

Figure 5.18: Proportion of employees indicating they had experienced bullying or harassment, byclassification, 2003–04 to 2005–06

Figure 5.18 shows the proportion of employees indicating they had experienced bullying or harassment, by classification from 2003–04 to 2005–06. Classification continues to be relevant to perceptions of bullying or harassment with perceptions decreasing as classification increases. Click to download Figure 5.18 as an MS Excel file

Source: Employee survey

The range of employees believing that they had experienced bullying and harassment in large agencies was from 10% to 24%. The ABS and ATO had rates significantly below the APS average (a good result).

Just over one-fifth of employees (22%) believed that they had witnessed bullying or harassment in the last 12 months. Of these, over half (57%) also believed that they had experienced bullying or harassment. Women were more likely than men to believe that they have witnessed bullying or harassment; there were no other statistically significant differences based on EEO group. There were some differences based on classification—APS 1–6 level employees (23%) were more likely than EL or SES employees (18% and 15% respectively) to indicate that they had witnessed bullying or harassment.

The range of employees believing that they had witnessed bullying and harassment in large agencies was from 10% to 41%. ABS had rates significantly below the APS average.

Rates of formally reporting bullying and harassment among those who had experienced it were relatively low. Employees who believed that they had experienced bullying or harassment were very unlikely to report it (28%). When employees who had believed they had witnessed bullying or harassment in the last 12 months are included, two out of five (42%) reported it. Employees who believed that they had, both experienced and witnessed bullying or harassment were more likely to report it, than those that had only witnessed or experienced such behaviour.

Employees that did not report the bullying or harassment were asked to outline the reasons why they chose not to report it. Three key themes emerged as to the reasons why employees choose not to report the incident:

a fear of negative repercussions associated with a formal report or complaint (such as a negative effect on career or possible isolation)
informally dealing with the issue, either personally or through the assistance of a manager
a perception that it was easier not to formally address the issue, not worth the effort and that there was little likelihood of positive improvement if reported.

Less commonly, employees referred to nepotism amongst those in positions of power, and the perceivedprotection of key individuals from bullying or harassment claims.

Agencies need to be proactive in creating and promoting a workplace culture which is free from bullyingand harassment. They also need to make sure they have the mechanisms in place to support employees who have experienced or observed bullying or harassment. Education is an important part of this process, and to assist agencies in this area the Commission will be releasing a practical guide titled Respect: A Good Practice Guide to Promoting a Culture Free from Bullying and Harassment in the Australian Public Service in late 2006.

PS Act, s. 13(3).
For the purpose of the employee survey, discrimination was defined as any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin or other attributes that removes equality of opportunity of treatment in employment. It does not include any distinction, exclusion or preference in respect of a particular job based on the inherent requirementsof the job or any distinction, exclusion or preference which is a special measure to eliminate employment related disadvantage of a particular group.
For the purpose of the employee survey workplace harassment was defined as entailing offensive, belittling or threatening behaviour directed at an individual or group of APS employees. The behaviour was described as unwelcome, unsolicited, usually unreciprocated and usually (but not always) repeated. The survey noted that there is no standard definition of workplace bullying, but stated that it is generally used to describe repeated workplace behaviour that could reasonably be considered to be humiliating, intimidating, threatening or demeaning to an individual or group of individuals. It also stated that it can be covert or overt.
The jurisdictional comparison data from surveys conducted in 2004–05 and 2005–06 was provided to the Commission by the State Services Authority, Victoria (People Matter Survey 2005); the Office of the State Service Commissioner, Tasmania (State Service Employee Survey 2005); and the Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner, Western Australia (Climate Survey 2005–06). While the Victorian and Tasmanian surveys covered the jurisdiction, the Victorian jurisdictional comparison data was based on web-based responses only. The Western Australian Climate Survey involved 14 agencies—each year 10–15 agencies are surveyed with each agency being surveyed approximately once every 5 years.
Further information on the results from the Census Survey can be found in the 2005 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander APS Employees Census Report, <www.apsc.gov.au>

Next page: Safe workplaces