In the past week, our headlines have been dominated by the Snook vs Sherlock saga. If you are unaware of what’s happened, we’ve included the video (which has gone viral) of the incident at the bottom of the article. Whilst the video itself should not have been leaked, there is no question that what we witnessed, the way Amber Sherlock behaved towards Julie Snook in the video should never happen to anyone.

What the leaked video has taught us

We do not know in its entirety how the management at Channel 9 have approached and dealt with this matter with the two stars, but there are some serious repercussions for the management at Channel 9 if Sherlock’s behaviour is not properly addressed. This leaked video has also taught us as a thing or two about how we should be speaking with our colleagues and workplace etiquette about what we should do if we were a witness to aggressive behaviour in the workplace.

How should we speak to our colleagues?

Jenna Price penned an article in the Sydney Morning Herald which was published earlier today which talked about how we should be interacting with our co-workers and about being bullied at work. Spoiler alert – we should always be polite and professional with our colleagues, not selfish and aggressive-like towards them. Price writes that “dressing down a colleague in front of others is completely inappropriate; and [no one should] certainly [not] be giving [anyone] a leave pass because of either [their] gender or [their] industry. ” Price goes on to write that if you gave someone “the licence to behave this way … you give everyone permission to behave badly.”

How are you meant to give feedback?

John Shields, a Professor of human resources, management and organisational studies at University of Sydney Business School, makes it perfectly clear that that’s not how you manage people. He comments that if you want to give someone negative feedback, you should do it in private. Whether it be between colleagues, or between someone more senior and someone more junior in the organisation, negative feedback should always be given in private, and following the correct organisational policy on providing feedback.

Why are so many employees disgruntled?

We have heard (and some of us have even witnessed) so many instances of people being talked down to by their bosses, managers, or senior colleagues. Why is this happening? Shouldn’t we all know better?

A poll commissioned by the Open University last week found that nearly 60% of those surveyed want to change roles this year. The main reason for this is because of disgruntlement. And many of these disgruntled employees, are disgruntled at their bosses or managers – mainly because of the lack of leadership qualities they see in their bosses or managers.

What can we do to change?

What can we do to combat this commonplace challenge? If we’re one of the ones contributing to this problem, a good place to start is by re-evaluating ourselves and question why are we behaving in such a manner. Are we unhappy with our roles? Are we frustrated with upper management or with the organisational policies and processes? What is causing this unruly behaviour? Check what our intentions are and what our purpose is in our roles. Take charge of ourselves to be better. Whether it be through undertaking professional development courses or further education to help us embetter our leadership and management skills, or finding a mentor who can help us work through our own challenges. It could also be that the role that we are in is no longer suitable for us.

Write down your thoughts and feelings in order to visualize and be clear about yourself and your circumstances. Sometimes, all it takes is a hit on the refresh button and by writing all this down, it could help you become not just better at your role at work, but also a better person.

If you are interested in developing and focusing on your leadership and management skills, we offer a Diploma of Leadership and Management course that is nationally recognised and accredited. Alternatively, we have a wide array of short courses to help you hone your business acumen, create innovative business strategies, and refine your leadership and management skills. You can find more information about them here.

Seek help

If you are experiencing constant aggressive and discriminatory behaviours at work by the same person or people, you might be getting bullied. If this is happening, speak to someone you trust at work and find out what your Human Resources department can do for you. Some types of workplace bullying are criminal offences. If you have experienced violence, assault and stalking you should report it directly to the police. Safe Work Australia has come up with a very useful guide to help you if you are being bullied at work. You can access the guide here. The Fairwork Ombudsman also has some information on bullying and harassment in the workplace. You can read more about it here.

If you need to speak to someone independently, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Their phone counsellors are available 24/7 or you can chat with them online here between 7pm – 4am AEST everyday.