Many of us have come across a ‘Fred’ at work. (Made up name by the way and not intended to depict any Fred's I actually know! :-) )
'Fred' is grumpy, consistently rude, ignores greetings and is generally an unpleasant person to work with or be around.
Unfortunately, we cannot always ignore or avoid a ‘Fred’.
Quite often, a ‘Fred’ is part of our workday but we are told by managers to “ignore him” or "that's just the way he is", but it’s not always possible to do so.
The recent case law decision of Frost v Ambulance Victoria [2024] FWC 2237 (23 August 2024) in the Australian Fair Work Commission (FWC), concerns a Victorian Paramedic who took Ambulance Victoria to the FWC, appealing what he said was an unjust disciplinary sanction.
More important than the reason for the appeal or the sanction, is the commentary of the Commissioner who affirms that rude and poor behaviour is a risk to health and safety and is bullying.
For the psychosocial safety professionals reading this, the FWC Commissioner determined;
“I have concluded that Frost is generally “rude”, has “always been
like that” and “does not respect women very much” and the fact that he treats everybody in the same way he treats Gibson (a female worker who initially complained about Frost’s rude behaviour) does not excuse his conduct or behaviour, but rather is an indication of a person who is simply socially inept. I determined that Frost frequently ignores Gibson’s greetings, does not engage in conversation with her or acknowledge her work or exchange pleasantries with her. In my opinion such behaviour is unreasonable and creates a risk to health and safety.
In respect of Allegation 5, I am satisfied that in the period 2019 to 2021, Frost has failed to treat Gibson with courtesy, civility, respect and dignity, belittled her contributions and failed to create a safe, encouraging, supportive and respectful environment that is free of discrimination, harassment and bullying. I find this is bullying behaviour as defined.
I reject Frost’s denial. Having regard to the evidence and my findings in respect of
Allegations 4 and 5, I am satisfied that Frost has engaged in bullying and/or harassment of Gibson…”
Read the full case here Frost v Ambulance Victoria [2024] FWC 2237 (23 August 2024)
What does this mean for us?
I challenge all of us to reflect on your workplaces and find your ‘Fred’ and ask ourselves;
How many Fred’s do we have in the business and how do we start to deal with them?
Are we addressing Fred’s bad behaviour?
Have we considered this behaviour as a psychosocial risk?
A great way to start the process is to have a means for workers to raise issues, either in person or anonymously.
I use Skodel as a platform to start the psychosocial journey (for the sake of transpareny, I am the Chair of the Skodel Advisory Board and a fan of the technology and apporach!).
Skodel provides workers with an avenue to ventilate psychosocial risks, allows leaders to see the hazards in their workplace and use the data to manage risk. This is a great, cost effective platform to start your journey that consults workers, identifies risk, allows managers visibility of trends and helps to eliminate or mitigate risk.
Message me for help on taking the first step.
Please don't allow your Fred's to continue creating poor cultures and hurt other workers.
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