health & safety
Emotional Safety at Work
BULLYING AND ITS IMPACT ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
What are the telltale signs
of workplace bullying?
Examples include
behaviours such as spreading
rumours, undermining or understating
accomplishments, inappropriately taking
credit for work, setting people up to fail
and directly or indirectly ridiculing colleagues,
to name a few.
The International Labour Organization
indicated in 1999 that one of the most serious
problems facing companies in the
new millennium is workplace violence.
The gravity of this issue and the damaging
role that bullying plays is underlined by
a 2011 Canadian Safety Council report,
which states that within the spectrum of
workplace violence, the subset of bullying
is four times more common than sexual
harassment or workplace discrimination.
Effective June 15, 2010, through the
passage of Bill 168, the Occupational
Health and Safety Act mandates that
workplaces in Ontario are required to have
the necessary policies, programs, measures
and procedures in place to eliminate or appropriately
manage matters of workplace
harassment or violence.
As a result of this change, employers
have to provide workplaces that are safe
from all nature of harm for employees.
However, while many employers continue
to diligently monitor the areas in their
workplace that require a physical safety
check, some still turn a blind eye to
the bully down the hall that berates his
colleagues at every turn or the passive
aggressive executive who wants to retaliate
when she perceives that she has been
wronged.
These personality types and others that
create undue workplace stress need to be
pulled into check as diligently and with as
much effort as that which employers place
on physical safety, because their behaviour
is violent – not necessarily physically, but
emotionally. The legislation is meant to
protect employees from emotional trauma
as much as it is meant to protect employees
from physical harm.
With the focus of many employers
more concentrated on physical safety, employees
may afforded little protection for
their emotional wellbeing with the result
being – among other things – employee
disengagement, which erodes productivity.
ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM
What can be done to reduce workplace
bullying? A good starting point is to provide
anti-bullying training and make it
a requirement for employees at all levels.
Another important step is to establish a
process for employees who experience bullying
to anonymously provide information
to the company, because some employees
may not be comfortable reporting a bully,
particularly if that person is more senior
in the organization. Implementing and
nurturing a culture of respect in the organization
solidifies the context in which
anti-bullying interventions can flourish. ■
Caroline Cole Power is president of Canadian
HR Solutions.
By Caroline Cole Power
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HRPATODAY.CA ❚ SEPTEMBER 2016 ❚ 47