Is It Workplace Banter or Bullying?

Banter in the right setting, in the right tone, and on an appropriate subject can actually be healthy in the workplace. A bit of banter can certainly help to break up a day and raise a few smiles or laughs along the way.

But not all banter is healthy. And this is where it can be tricky for a manager. There’s no way that a manager can predict what an employee is going to say during the course of a day. That’s impossible.

However, it is possible to educate a workforce about the difference between friendly banter and unwanted banter that can actually cause someone harm.

What is Workplace Banter?

The dictionary definition of banter is ‘a playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks.’ To banter with someone is to tease them or joke with them in an amusing way.

When banter is appreciated by others, it’s a witty form of workplace jesting. But when the ‘teasing’ element causes offence, then the line has been well and truly crossed and it’s no longer just banter, it’s something a lot more serious.

What is Workplace Bullying?

The UK government describes workplace bullying and harassment as ‘behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated or offended.’

When verbal jokes and teasing cause upset, then this can be deemed as bullying or harassment.

Other forms of bullying include threats, acts of physical violence, and being treated unfairly.

Is Bullying at Work Different from Harassment?

There’s no formal definition of what constitutes bullying, which isn’t helpful for managers, but we do know that it is caused as a result of unwanted behaviours and actions towards an individual or group of individuals.

Examples of bullying in the workplace include receiving a bigger workload than others unfairly, having your authority undermined by your peers, or having a rumour started about you.

Should someone feel like they cannot continue to work for a particular organisation due to bullying they can make a claim for unfair dismissal.

Harassment is unwanted behaviour aimed at the nine protected characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010. These are:

• Age

• Sex

• Disability

• Gender reassignment

• Marriage and civil partnership

• Maternity and pregnancy

• Race

• Religion or belief

• Sexual orientation

Your Responsibility as an Employer Regarding Bullying & Harassment

As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to protect your staff and will be liable if an employee makes a claim of harassment.

Creating a robust bullying and harassment policy is crucial to help prevent any unwanted behaviour. But there’s a lot more you can do to create a standout workplace culture that is based on respect.

Ongoing Education

Simply running a one-off session on what constitutes banter and what constitutes bullying or harassment is not enough. Training programmes must be present at the onboarding process, and be repeated throughout the year for all staff as there will always be a risk of some employees slipping back into old habits.

Here are our recommendations for positive repeated messages:

• The difference between banter, bullying and harassment.

• A run down of the nine protected characteristics and what they mean.

• To make it clear that offensive, threatening, and abuse language is always unacceptable.

• The risk of a word or phrase meaning something different in another language or culture.

• Should someone use a word to describe themselves, it still may not be OK for someone else to repeat it.

• Encourage questions. It’s ok to ask someone how they want to be addressed by others.

• Think about how others may interpret a joke or banter.

• Tell your employees that they don’t have to ‘go along with it’. Laughing because others are laughing will give off the wrong signal and the person teasing will believe that everyone finds their remarks humorous. It can also muddy the water should an incident be reported by someone who appeared to not be offended at the time.

• It’s not appropriate to joke about groups of people who are not present as this creates hostile working environments.

• The actions to take if workplace banter has gone too far and caused offence.

• Make all staff aware of the relevant policies and what behaviour is expected of them.

• Raise awareness of the consequences of any breach.

What to do when an incident has been reported

It’s important to take all reports seriously and to act swiftly.

Foster a culture where employees feel confident to come forward as this will help you to understand what is going on in your workplace and create effective solutions.

But we also understand why an individual may want to sort it out without manager intervention – for instance, a friend at work has said something without realising that it’s caused offence resulting in an apology and a promise to be more careful. While this causes minimal fuss, it doesn’t help you to establish if there are any underlying issues within your culture.

These are the steps to take when a claim of bullying or harassment has been made:

• Start your disciplinary procedure.

• Investigate and speak to all parties involved.

• Ensure all parties are aware of the relevant policy and understand why the claim has been made.

• If a solution cannot be reached, it’s best to get expert HR advice on how to continue.

Role Models at Work

Employees will look to their manager and senior leadership team to learn what acceptable behaviour is.

It’s absolutely imperative that all senior figures behave in the correct way and demonstrate healthy behaviours. 

How we can help you

If you’d like to discuss any of the issues detailed in this blog, get in touch with us today on 0161 941 2426. We’re here to help.