Bullying refers to uninvited behaviour by another employees that causes emotional or physical harm. In order for an action to qualify as harassment, the offensive behaviors need to be severe, or pervasive, or both. The behaviors themselves, however, can be anything from offensive jokes cracked in the office, to lewd pictures taped to someone’s desk, to mockery and put-downs in public, to threats of physical assault.

What are the different types of workplace harassment?

Psychological Harassment: Psychological harassment can be either subtle or overt. An example of this could be, coworkers (or managers) might exclude an employee from staff socials; or constantly put down the employee’s suggestions. Coworkers could also harass the employee by making him or her the victim of incessant pranks, or by leaving disturbing pictures or objects at the person’s desk or locker.

Abuse of Power: A manager can make demands that are not reasonable for an employee.This could include shifting deadlines on a project; imposing requirements the employee could never fulfill (say, asking the receptionist to do software coding); or imposing job duties that are demeaning and beneath an employee’s rank (telling the new vice president and deputy team leader to fetch coffee).