Workplace Bullying in Construction and Why It Has to Stop

August is Tradies National Health Month. A time to focus on the health of the people who keep this country's construction sector running. This blog turns to one of the most reported and most damaging psychosocial hazards in construction: workplace bullying.

Workplace bullying is also one of the most misunderstood hazards. In a sector where thick skin has long been treated as a professional requirement, the line between culture and harm has been deliberately blurred. This blog draws that line clearly.

What bullying is — and what it isn't

Safe Work Australia defines workplace bullying as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety. Both elements matter.

Repeated means it is not a single incident. A one-off act of aggression or an isolated poor decision by a manager may be misconduct, but it is not bullying under the WHS definition. Bullying is a pattern.

Unreasonable means behaviour that a reasonable person, having regard to all the circumstances, would see as victimising, humiliating, intimidating, or threatening.

It is worth being equally clear about what bullying is not. Reasonable management action such as, respectfully giving feedback, directing work, managing performance, making operational decisions, is not bullying, even if the worker finds it uncomfortable. The distinction matters because confusing the two makes it harder to name and act on what is actually happening.

"Repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker that creates a risk to health and safety." — Safe Work Australia definition of workplace bullying

The numbers in construction

33.2%  Of all mental stress serious claims in Australian workplaces are caused by harassment and workplace bullying. It is the single most common driver of mental stress claims nationally.

27%  Of Queensland construction apprentices reported experiencing workplace bullying, according to recent research by BMC Public Health.

30%  Of Queensland construction apprentices reported having had suicidal thoughts in the previous 12 months.

A mental health workers' compensation claim results in an average of 30.7 weeks off work. This is nearly five times longer than a physical injury claim. Bullying-related claims sit at the serious end of that spectrum.

How bullying shows up on site

Construction has specific cultural features that shape how bullying occurs and how it gets rationalised. The industry has a well-documented tradition of hazing new workers and apprentices framed as 'initiation', 'banter', or 'how it's always been done'. The physical hierarchy of site, foremen, subbies, labourers, apprentices, creates power structures that can be exploited.

Bullying in construction commonly takes the form of:

•      Verbal abuse, put-downs, or public humiliation, particularly targeting younger or less experienced workers

•      Exclusion,  being deliberately left out of briefings, team decisions, or informal networks

•      Undermining someone's work in front of others or sabotaging their tools or materials

•      Excessive scrutiny or setting impossible standards designed to make someone fail

•      Threats, explicit or implied, about employment, references, or future work

•      Using the subcontracting structure to isolate or pressure workers who raise concerns

•      Online or text-based abuse, which increasingly extends bullying beyond the workday

Apprentices and young workers are disproportionately at risk. They are dependent on the people above them for skills, references, and future employment. That dependency creates conditions where bullying is easy to perpetrate and hard to report.

The 'banter' defence

The most common defence for bullying behaviour in construction is that it is banter. Implying that the target is too sensitive, can't take a joke, or doesn't understand the culture. This framing puts the problem with the person being harmed rather than the person causing harm.

The WHS framework does not accept this framing. The test is not whether the perpetrator intended to cause harm, or whether they would personally find the behaviour offensive. The test is whether the behaviour is unreasonable and creates a risk to health and safety. Intent is irrelevant to liability.

This matters in practice. A foreperson who says 'it's just a joke' is not protected from a WHS investigation or a workers' compensation claim. The impact is what counts.

What the law requires

Under the model WHS laws and Vics OHS laws, PCBUs and employers must eliminate or minimise the risk of workplace bullying so far as is reasonably practicable. Bullying is explicitly named in Safe Work Australia's Model Code of Practice on Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work.

This means:

•      Having a clear anti-bullying policy that is actually communicated and enforced

•      Providing training to workers and supervisors on what bullying is, how to report it, and how to manage a report

•      Establishing a reporting mechanism that workers can access without fear of retaliation

•      Investigating reports promptly, confidentially, and fairly

•      Taking action when bullying is substantiated, including disciplinary action if warranted

•      Monitoring the effectiveness of controls, including consulting with workers about whether the measures are working

A reminder: a PCBU or employer can also be liable for bullying by one worker against another if it knew or ought reasonably to have known about the risk and did not act. Inaction is not a neutral position.

If you're being bullied on site

If you are experiencing bullying, you have options.

•      Document what is happening: dates, times, what was said or done, and any witnesses. This is important if you make a formal report.

•      Report it internally if you feel safe to do so, to a supervisor, manager, or WHS representative who is not involved in the situation.

•      If internal channels are not safe or available, you can make an application to the Fair Work Commission to stop bullying at work.

•      Talk to someone you trust, a colleague, family member, or one of the services listed below. You do not have to manage this alone.

•      If you are a health and safety representative (HSR), you have specific rights to raise psychosocial hazards including bullying on behalf of your work group.

It should not take courage to report bullying. But in construction, it still does. National Tradies Month is a moment to change that and to build workplaces where speaking up is safer than staying silent.

If you're an employer or supervisor

The data on apprentices should be a serious prompt for anyone managing people on a construction site. If nearly one in three young workers are having suicidal thoughts, the culture on site is a contributing factor and the law says it is your responsibility to address it.

Beyond compliance:

•      Model the behaviour you want. How supervisors treat workers sets the tone for how workers treat each other.

•      Act on what you see. Bystander inaction is read by the perpetrator as endorsement and by the target as abandonment.

•      Check in with apprentices specifically. They are the most vulnerable and the least likely to volunteer that something is wrong.

•      Treat a bullying report as a WHS matter, not an HR inconvenience. The same rigour you apply to a near-miss investigation should apply here.

Resources

•      Safe Work Australia — Bullying: safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/hazards/workplace-bullying

•      Fair Work Commission — Stop Bullying Applications: fwc.gov.au/issues-we-help-with/workplace-bullying

•      MATES in Construction: matesinconstruction.com.au  |  1300 642 111

•      Lifeline: 13 11 14

•      Beyond Blue: beyondblue.org.au  |  1300 22 4636

•      1800RESPECT (for workplace sexual harassment): 1800 737 732

Clear Boundaries  |  info@clearboundaries.com.au  |  clearboundaries.com.au