RESPECT IN THE WORKPLACE

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RESPECT IN THE WORKPLACE

• Introduction

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RESPECT IN THE WORKPLACE

• Dignity and respect requires an organisation to
  have and maintain a certain behavioural culture.

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Defining Workplace Bullying

• What constitutes bullying behaviour?

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Bullying Behaviours

• Being overloaded with work, or not being given
  enough work to do
• Being required to perform tasks without proper
  training or instruction, and which may place an
  employee at risk from injury
• Unreasonable overtime, unfair rostering,
  allocation of work or being asked to perform
  non-work related tasks
• Being excessively supervised or criticised
• Subjected to constant ridicule and being put down
  in front of co-employees
• Damage or interference with personal belongings,
  sabotage or undermining of work
• Being the victim of loud and abusive, threatening
  or derogatory language usually when co-employees
  are present
• Open or implied threat of the sack, or demotion
  or being pressured to resign

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Bullying Behaviours

• Creation of an oppressive and/or unhappy work
  environment to coerce or intimidate employees
• Intimidation or threats to employees not to
  report or complain about conditions, unacceptable
  behaviours or health, safety and welfare
• Leaving offensive messages on email or by
  telephone
• Maliciously excluding and isolating a person from
  workplace activities, and promotional
  opportunities
• Humiliating a person through gestures sarcastic,
  racist or derogatory comments, often in front of
  clients, management or co- employees
• Spreading gossip, false or malicious rumours
  about a person with intent to cause damage to a
  employees employment or reputation
• Inequitable use of performance management.

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Reasonable Managerial Action

• Legitimate managerial actions must be conducted
  in line with established policies.

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Reasonable managerial action

• Performance management processes
• Action taken to transfer, made redundant or
  terminate an employee in a fair and equitable
  manner
• Justified decisions not to promote Disciplinary
  procedures for proven misconduct or
• Managed business process, such as workplace
  change or restructuring conducted in consultation
  with employees and their representatives

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Single Incidents

• A single incident of
• harassing type behaviour
• may not be considered bullying.
• It should not be condoned or ignored.

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Workplace Bullying IS a Problem

• Workplace bullying not only creates risk to
  health and safety, but comes at a great cost to
  industry

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Costs of Workplace Bullying

• Workers Compensation Claims for Mental Disorders
  made up 6.4 of all claims for workplace
  injuries.
• This increased from 2.6 of all claims in 1995/96
  

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Industry Statistics

• Health 11.8 of all claims
• Education 25.6 of all claims
• Personal and other Services
• 12.2 of all claims
• Government Administration
• 9.7 of all claims

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Workplace Bullying IS a Problem

• Bullying behaviour may exist even if there are no
  reported incidents
• It is easier to prevent bullying than it is to
  intervene after an event or mediate during an
  established pattern of bullying.

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Workplace Bullying IS a Problem

• Each individual will react differently to
  bullying behaviour. The effects
• are many and varied.

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Workplace Bullying IS a Problem for Individuals

• High levels of stress
• Anxiety, panic attacks and depression
• Ill health, insomnia
• Loss of self esteem and confidence, feelings of
  social isolation
• Reduced work performance, incapacity to work
• Deteriorating relationships with family and
  friends
• Hostility, aggression
• Headaches, nausea
• Apathy, lethargy

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Workplace Bullying IS a Problem for Organisations

• High levels of absenteeism and staff turnover
• Breakdown of team and work relationships
• Poor public image in terms of becoming known as a
  difficult place to work
• Reduced efficiency, productivity and
  profitability
• Increased costs associated with counselling,
  mediation and compensation claims, recruitment
  and re-training of new staff
• Potential litigation

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Legislation

• There are several pieces of legislation under
  which bullying behaviours may fall

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NSW and Federal Legislation

• NSW Anti Discrimination Act 1977
• Federal Human Rights Equal Opportunities
  Commission Act 1986

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Legislation Policy Guidelines

• Key areas of the legislation
• NSW Occupational Health Safety Act 2000
• NSW Occupational Health Safety
• Regulation 2001

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PEO Policy Guidelines

• Dignity and Respect Policy and Guidelines on
  Preventing and Managing Workplace Bullying

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Prosecution

• The NSW Chief Industrial Magistrate has ruled
  that employers should not tolerate bullying.
• They should
• implement an anti-bullying policy and procedures
• train staff in working with policy and procedures
• establish a complaints mechanism
• continually monitor the effectiveness of these
  policies.

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Risk Management of Bullying Behaviour

• Module 2

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Identify Risk Factors

• I dentify
• A ssess
• C ontrol
• E liminate

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Identify Risk Factors

• High levels of absenteeism associated with
  particular shifts
• An increase in workplace grievances or complaints
• High levels of staff turnover
• Employees becoming withdrawn and isolated

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Identify Risk Factors

• Organisational change
• Workforce characteristics
• Workplace relationships
• Work systems

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Control the Risks
When a risk factor is identified, the employer
should take action to eliminate or reduce the
likelihood of bullying occurring in their
organisation.
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Control the Risks

• Consultation with health and safety
  representatives and the health and safety
  committee should precede all proposed
• action to reduce the risk
• of bullying.

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Reporting Bullying Behaviour

• Encouraging reporting can assist the employer to
• develop an accurate picture of the nature and
  extent of bullying
• take action to address the issues being reported
• assess whether prevention measures are working
• nip emerging issues in the bud
• provide prompt assistance and support to employees

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Dealing with Bullying Behaviour

• Everyone has a responsibility to ensure the
  workplace is a bully free zone.

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Complaints Procedures

• Informal processes
• Formal Procedures

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Addressing Bullying Behaviour

• The person who is alleged to have committed the
  bullying should be treated as innocent unless the
  allegations are proved to be true.

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Investigating Bullying Behaviour

• All formal complaints should be investigated
• Prompt and careful investigation can lead to
  quick resolution and will demonstrate to
  employees that bullying is taken seriously.

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5 steps to a bully free workplace

• Workplace Consultation
• Workplace Awareness Campaign
• Training and Development
• Complaints Procedures
• Consultation and Feedback

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Resolution

• Complaint resolution is a very important part of
  dealing with bullying in the workplace.

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Resolution

• Treat all matters seriously
• Act promptly
• Non-victimisation of person who reports
• Neutrality
• Communication of process
• Confidentiality
• Documentation
• Natural justice