Things took a turn about a year before Emily* left her company. Colleagues were generally amiable and she had enjoyed their company for the past five years.

But she started hearing false rumours about herself from friends within the company and the industry. Meetings were peppered with snide comments. When there was a complication during a company event, Emily said she was blamed even though the problem was caused by an external factor.

Her morale took a dive and she eventually quit her job in October last year.

Cases like Emily’s are more common than one might imagine, according to a recent survey conducted by data and consulting firm Kantar released on Tuesday.

The report ranked Singapore as the second-worst performing country for workplace inclusivity among the 14 countries and 18,000 people polled.

The Kantar Inclusion Index, which ranked Singapore as the second-worst country for workplace inclusivity out of 14 countries. Graphic from Kantar.

Among the 1,050 Singaporeans who responded, 24% of them said that they have been bullied in the past year, and 32% of them were made to feel uncomfortable by their employers.

This compared to the global average, which found that 15% of employees felt that they have been bullied within their organisation in the past 12 months, and 25% of them were made to feel uncomfortable in their work environment.

“We were not made to be pushovers”

In light of the findings, Salt&Light spoke to some experts and found out that bullying often takes place in more subtle forms such as being micromanaged or forced to do overtime work.

However, reported cases are rare, said Jane Tan, a HR director in a financial services company. In these incidents, there must be evidence of the victim being made to feel helpless and unable to retaliate, or singled out from other teammates, or being verbally abused, she explained.

Usually, the organisation would then form a disciplinary committee to ensure that both parties are heard fairly, and the person who complained is protected during the process.

Often, Christians might choose to endure bullying in light of scriptural teachings such as turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-40) and loving our enemies (Matthew 5:44).

But Kirby Chua, the counselling supervisor and coordinator of Grace Counselling Centre, said that giving in to wrong behaviour is unrighteous as it reinforces the perpetrator’s behaviour.

“We were not made to be pushovers,” he pointed out. “We have not been given the spirit of timidity, but of power (2 Timothy 1:7).”

Tan added that the only way to break the pattern of bullying and harassment is to respond to the bully, either by “building (your) internal resilience” or confronting him/her.

“Don’t allow yourself to reach a point of… feeling a complete loss of control,” she said. Instead, seek advice from friends, or reach out to the senior management team or the HR department.

Senior enough? Change the culture

Using overtime work as an example of bullying – say your boss punishes you if you don’t stay beyond your shift – Chua said that working more than the stipulated hours is “not as holy as it sounds” as legal restrictions were set in place for our benefit (Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13-14).

Yet employees should also feel free to go beyond 40 hours a week, he added, if they understand the reasons behind their choice – for their career’s sake, for example – and accept the consequences. 

Tan agreed, noting that people should see their work as “a job, not a life”. Leave if you can no longer tolerate the situation as, ultimately, being subjected to prolonged bullying will “eat into the individual’s performance”.

An office this rough is “not the right environment to grow” in, she added. But stay if you believe the pros outweigh the cons.

As for those who are in the position to change the organisation’s culture like those in senior management, Tan has three pieces of advice:

1. Learn to understand what’s on the ground
2. Create an environment where you listen
3. Treat every complaint very seriously

She surmised: “People do watch over the little things you do… make sure you walk the talk.”

*Name changed to protect her identity.

Ask Salt&Light: Should I leave a job that is making me unhappy?