Dr. Andrew Mohanraj

By Aneeta Sundararaj

Standfirst: Bullying in the workplace is on the verge of becoming the norm in many
institutions in Malaysia. It has led to many people suffering from mental health issues.
Professor Dato’ Dr. Andrew Mohanraj shares his ideas about this worrying trend and how we
can both avoid and manage the problem of workplace bullying.
Professor Dato’ Dr. Andrew Mohanraj is a Consultant Psychiatrist. He is a member of the
Mental Health Promotion Advisory Council to the Minister of Health, Malaysia, also the
President of the Malaysian Mental Health Association and Professor (Adjunct) of Psychiatry
at Taylor’s University, Malaysia.
***
A newly qualified lawyer, Sara is excited and eager to work at a city firm she’s joined.
Weeks later, she senses a pattern in the behaviour of some of the clerks. Whenever she hands
them a document to amend, they will share it among themselves and start talking in their
mother tongue. She knows she’s being excluded and asks them to speak in English so that she
can participate in the conversation. They brush her off and, with a smile, say that they’re
more comfortable speaking in their mother tongue.
One day, Sara secretly records what they’ve said and plays it back to a friend who knows this
language. She’s horrified to know that not only have the clerks given her a vulgar nickname,
they mercilessly mock her work. In time, Sara leaves the firm bitter and angry.
This, says, Professor Dato’ Dr. Andrew Mohanraj is a form of bullying in the workplace.
Bullying on its own, says the psychiatrist, happens because a person envies another for what
he has. By becoming a bully, he hides his insecurity. Today, such bullying can be magnified
by technology and this persists to the point where there is seldom any respite for the one
being bullied. When the setting for all this bullying happens in the workplace, the
ramifications can be devastating and prolonged.

INSTITUTIONAL BULLYING
Admitting that workplace bullying is evident in the medical profession, Dr. Andrew tells a
story about a trainee doctor (let’s call him Adam) who attends to a patient at 6 am to draw his
blood for necessary laboratory tests. They have a pleasant conversation. Two hours later,
Adam is accompanying a senior doctor on ward rounds. The senior doctor questions Adam
who gives answers to the best of his ability. The senior doctor berates and humiliates Adam,
all in the presence of the patient. It’s no surprise, says Dr. Andrew, that there’s a 30 per cent
drop-out rate in the medical profession.
The curious thing is that if you were to tell Sara and Adam that they were victims of
workplace bullying, they may look at you bewildered. As has been the case many times,
victims of workplace bullying aren’t even aware that they’ve been bullied.

There’s a hard edge to Dr. Andrew’s voice when he states, “Bullying has become
institutionalised.” In other words, institutional bullying exists when such bullying becomes
the norm in an organisation and it is accepted as part of the culture in the place of work.

Sometimes, workplace bullying happens in the aftermath of a failed case of sexual
harassment. When an employee doesn’t respond to a boss’s romantic advances, he or she then
becomes the victim of workplace bullying. This can take the form of spreading malicious
rumours about the victim, blocking their chances of progress within the organisation or
damaging their reputation altogether.
Other forms of workplace bullying include giving a person more work than is necessary,
often resulting in the employee having to stay back at work. An employee could also be
forced to do work outside his or her expertise, thereby setting up the employee to fail. With
the advent of the internet, it is possible for all these forms of workplace bullying to take place
online.
Other than leading to poor performance at work, the psychological distress on anyone being
bullied at work can be overwhelming. The person bullied is left feeling worthless and
unappreciated. Taken to extremes, it can lead to anxiety, depression, self-harm and, in some
cases, suicide.

“WHAT CAN I DO?”
How does one address such bullying in the workplace?
For a start, Dr. Andrew suggests that all employers put into place proper pathways for their
employees to report their grievances. For this, he advocates the implementation of something
called the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). The intention here is to help employees
deal with personal problems that may impact their work performance, health and well-being.
EAPs generally include assessment, short-term counselling and referral services for
employees and their immediate family.
“It allows the employee to seek help without worrying about how it’ll impact their job,”
elaborates Dr. Andrew.
Employees, on the other hand, must also play their part. They should be aware of the
boundaries between work and their personal life. Your boss is your boss. “He is not your
friend,” advises Dr Andrew. “So do not make friends with him on social media.”
Ultimately, the message that comes through loud and clear is this – both the employer and
employee must be aware of what workplace bullying means. Thereafter, there must be a
concerted effort on both parties to avoid such bullying ever taking place so that everyone can
enjoy being in a happy and productive workplace.
***
Aneeta Sundararaj trained as a lawyer and practised for five years before she decided to
pursue her dream of writing full-time. Her latest novel, The Age of Smiling Secrets, is a
contemporary Malaysian tale about a family torn apart when the husband converts to Islam
and, without the consent or knowledge of his wife, converts their child as well. Aneeta is also
the Head of Corporate Communications at 7C Life RealiZation Centre, an organisation that
helps people achieve clarity of mind and live successful lives by practising mindfulness. To
know more about Aneeta’s writing, visit the website she created and developed called ‘How
to Tell a Great Story’ (http://www.howtotellgreatstory.com), a resource for storytellers.