Malta’s only anti-bullying NGO has issued a call for tenders for a research study to focus on bullying and ostracism at workplaces in the country.
The project, backed by European Union funds, will study the phenomenon of bullying in the local workplace, develop a toolkit for Maltese employers and hold an awareness campaign.
It is being led by bBrave, the first anti-bullying NGO in Malta which aims to continue educating more about bullying and its effects.
Now in its fifth year, the organisation plans to be more actively involved in assisting individuals suffering from bullying by providing them with the right support system.
During the launching, bBrave president Greta Antignolo explained that the project was the first of its kind and was made possible thanks to EU support under the European Social Fund, the support of the Planning and Priorities Coordination Division and the collaboration of Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta (SEM).
At least 12 stakeholders are collaborating on the project, many of them national entities that each day have a significant impact on society. The initiative is intended to give a ray of hope to persons suffering from bullying at the workplace.
Bullying leaves a negative effect on the person experiencing it but also on the ones displaying bullying behaviour, Antignolo said.
It also leaves a negative effect on the work environment, which needs to be serene for all workers. Bullying can even lead to the drop in productivity.
Laws on employment and industrial relations already protect those suffering from harassment. Persons bullying at workplaces act in various ways to hit their targets, such as excessive criticism and engaging co-workers to target others in a negative ‘campaign’ against them.
According to the organisation, one of the most common and most hurtful consequences of bullying at the workplace is that it often leads to the target’s social exclusion.
In fact, the link between workplace bullying and social exclusion has been well-documented abroad. Ostracism is an insidious form of workplace bullying that causes immediate and long-term psychological injury to the recipient.
No detailed study has ever been conducted here to determine the causes and consequences of workplace bullying.
The research and tools which will be developed aim to determine the extent and causes of the workplace bullying problem nationally in order to effectively address them.
The Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) is also a partner in the project.