Harmful Behaviours in the Workplace: A Literature Review

Harmful behaviours are widespread and destructive in workplaces, eroding organisational culture and safety. They include a range of behaviours e.g. incivility, bullying, harassment, discrimination, and violence. Harmful behaviours vary in intensity, duration, and frequency and initiators may be a manager, supervisor, colleague, customer, consumer of a service, or an opportunist external to the workplace seeking advantage or revenge. In this review, we define workplace harmful behaviours as a range of negative interpersonal
behaviours targeting others, arising from, or at work. The behaviours have the purpose of gaining advantage and/or harming the target by undermining, excluding, humiliating, harassing or assaulting them, and/or by withholding necessary resources. Workplace harmful behaviours do not include self-harm, which may be an outcome of exposure for targets and/or initiators.

This literature review summarises literature published between 2014 and 2024. Earlier papers have been included where they have made significant contributions to defining, measuring and understanding the mechanisms of harmful behaviours in the workplace. The review aims to provide a comprehensive, evidence-based summary of the literature to inform workplace practice in managing these behaviours. Australian work health and safety (WHS) laws require persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) to protect the psychological and physical health and safety of workers (Safe Work Australia, 2023a Div. 2, S.19) by eliminating risks, or minimising risks (so far as is reasonably practicable). Harmful behaviours are examples of psychosocial hazards, and PCBUs must identify the hazardous behaviours, assess the risks, and implement and review control
measures, considering how harmful behaviours present (duration, frequency, severity) and interact with worker characteristics, work design, work organisation, and physical workplace conditions.