Reference no: EM133438388

Case Study - Workplace Bullying and Harassment

A forty-three-year-old woman, Ms X, was working in customer service at a petrol station in Central Queensland. Over a period of two years, a male co-worker subjected her to bullying and persistent sexual harassment. Constant sexual innuendo, offensive jokes and remarks about the woman's appearance were the norm. The woman put up with it for a few months before finally having the courage to report it to management. Her greatest fears began to materialise. Management failed to act and ignored the complaint as a bit of harmless fun. They assured the woman they would speak to the male co-worker and put him on notice.

Whatever they did had no impact on the man's behaviour and the bullying and offensive actions continued, almost unabated. The woman was in a bind - she needed the money and she needed the job. It had taken her a long time to secure employment in the small coastal town and apart from this one person, her job was otherwise fine. She tried as hard as she could to block the offensive behaviour out, but over time, the inevitable happened - she gradually developed a psychological condition. She became agitated at the thought of work and began to develop conditions typically seen by domestic violence victims.

Because she was still working with her perpetrator, she experienced high amounts of stress, fear and anxiety. Depression began to set in as she was made to feel guilty for 'provoking' the abuse and was constantly subjected to intense criticism by her co-worker(s) for being a 'whinger'. She began to 'slide' into that unfortunate group of the population that has a greatly increased risk of suicidality. Ms X, was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is the most commonly referenced psychological effect of workplace bullying.

PTSD (as experienced by Ms X) was characterised by flashbacks, intrusive images, exaggerated startle response, nightmares and avoidance of triggers that are associated with the abuse. As a result of her psychological injuries, she was unable to return to her employment and was forced to find another job. However, her symptoms were experienced for a long span of time after Ms X left her job at the petrol station. It was determined by an independent psychiatrist that her injury would have a significant negative affect on her future employment prospects. At 43 years old, her life was a mess.

Through the recommendation of a friend, Ms X contacted a workers compensation specialist lawyer to get adequate compensation so that she could get the medical treatment she deserved.

After many months of negotiations and the gathering of medical evidence and psychiatric reports, the lawyers filed their full negligence claim. Compensation was claimed for pain and suffering, economic loss (both past and future) and out-of-pocket expenses (both past and present). Thankfully, the matter was resolved out of court and Ms X did not have to face her aggressor in a courtroom. The matter finally settled for a significant sum.

Sexual innuendo - implying sexual terminology through replacing it with other words or sentence structures designed to give the same impression.

Put him on notice - to warn someone of the consequences especially in a formal manner.

Unabated - without any reduction in intensity or strength.

Inevitable - certain to happen; unavoidable.

Perpetrator - someone who has committed a crime - or at least done something pretty bad.

Whinger - someone who complains or protests, especially in an annoying or persistent manner.

Out-of-pocket expenses - an expense incurred and paid for by an individual for personal use, or relating to one's employment or business.

Question 1: What type of bullying and sexual harassment was Ms X subjected to, by a male worker, over a period of two years?

Question 2: What happened when Ms X reported the situation to management?

Question 3: Ms X was eventually diagnosed with which psychological effect due to the bullying? What kinds of experiences characterised her condition?

Question 4: After finding a new job, did her symptoms continue?

Question 5: What happened after Ms X contacted a workers' compensation specialist lawyer?