“Not that it is any of my concern”

About workplace bullying.

Produced for The Sector Work Environment Council for Service and Public Services 2015.

Concentrate on the observers rather than on the bully or the victim of bullying and prevent workplace bullying efficiently.

Bullying does not solely occur in the schoolyard, but also in the workplace. There can be many reasons: uncertainty about the future, a heavy workload, an authoritarian or absent leadership, unsolved conflicts, or – as is often the case – a combination of all of the above. When bullying occurs at work, focus is typically on the central characters: The bully and the victim of bullying. The role of the bystander is in turn easily overlooked, even though the observers actually play a vital role.

Bullying is a group dynamic form of “social exclusion” that to some extent does not take place without the group’s acceptance. Understanding the bystanders’ significance and opportunities to intervene is therefore important when you want to eliminate bullying in the workplace.

There are many ways to be a bystander. Some are active, some are passive, some are annoyed with the bully victim, and some have compassion for the bully victim. The most common is perhaps a confusing mix of all of the above.

In the movie “Not that it is any of my concern”, we meet the bystander Hans, who may well be annoyed with his bullied colleague Kirsten, but who also has compassion for her, and do not know whether he should remain indifferent to it all or rise to the occasion and attempt to defend her or mediate.

The film lasts 15 minutes and is intended as a discussion platform for a meeting based on well-being or bullying at the workplace. Consequently, we have prepared a presentation with links to films and 6 slides on bullying, which can be used as a basis to talk about topics such as:

“workplace bullying”
“examples of bullying”
“6 typical observer roles”
“sympathy and contempt”
“fear of being excluded”
“intervening as a bystander” and
“prevention of bullying”.

The movie can also be viewed individually and used as inspiration for both manager and employee.

“Not that it is any of my concern” – a film about being a bully bystander.

Featuring:

Hans: Bo Carlson; Camilla: Anya Sass; Mads: Mikkel Hansen; Kirsten: Marie Sandø; Birthe: Dorthe Bille.

Screenwriter: Dorthe Bille and Christopher Lund Christiansen.

Director: Dorthe Bille.

Duration: 15 minutes.

Hermed program til forebyggelse af mobning på arbejdspladsen.

“IKKE FORDI DET
  RAGER MIG

Film og diskussionsoplæg om mobning på arbejdspladsen