Minimizing bullying and harassment
by Toronto Training and HR
September 2013
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CONTENTS5-6 Definitions7-8 What is not bullying? 9-11 Examples of bullying and harassment 12-14 What do mistreated employees do?15-18 Comparing good supervision to bullying19-21 Supervisor self-evaluation22-23 Better practices24-25 How do bullies get away with it?26-27 Bullying in reverse28-29 Preventative action30-31 Training32-33 Remedial action34-35 Dealing with a workplace bully36-39 Investigations40-41 What should employees do?42-45 Anti-harassment policies46-47 Drill48 Case study49-50 Conclusion and questions
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Introduction
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Introduction to Toronto Training and HR
Toronto Training and HR is a specialist training and human resources consultancy headed by Timothy Holden 10 years in banking10 years in training and human resourcesFreelance practitioner since 2006The core services provided by Toronto Training and HR are:
Training event designTraining event deliveryReducing costs, saving time plus improving employee engagement and moraleServices for job seekers
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Definitions
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Definitions• Bullying• Harassment
• First degree, second degree and third degree
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What is not bullying?
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What is not bullying?• Having high work
standards for everyone• Having high expectations
for everyone• Enforcing deadline
requirements for everyone• Keeping work and workers
on time, for everyone• Tracking attendance for
everyone• Enforcing the rules for
everyone
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Examples of bullying and harassment
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Examples of bullying and harassment 1 of 2
• Unwanted physical contact• Unwelcome remarks about a
person’s age, dress, appearance, race or marital status, jokes at personal expense, offensive language, gossip, slander, sectarian songs and letters
• Posters, graffiti, obscene gestures, flags, bunting and emblems
• Isolation or non-cooperation and exclusion from social activities
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Examples of bullying and harassment 2 of 2
• Coercion for sexual favours• Pressure to participate in
political/religious groups• Personal intrusion from
pestering, spying and stalking
• Failure to safeguard confidential information
• Shouting and bawling• Persistent unwarranted
criticism• Setting impossible deadlines• Personal insults
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What do mistreated employees do?
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What do mistreated employees do? 1 of 2
• Are more likely to quit jobs or take sick time or “mental health days”
• Have lower levels of job satisfaction
• Suffer reduced sense of wellbeing
• Suffer job related stress, anxiety, depression, headaches, exhaustion and poor concentration
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What do mistreated employees do? 2 of 2
• Become withdrawn • Turn to mood altering
substances• Suffer post-traumatic
stress disorders
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Comparing good supervision to bullying
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Comparing good supervision to bullying 1 of 3
GOOD SUPERVISION• Objective• Constructive• Focused on assisting
employees• Conduct motivated by
legitimate work concerns
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Comparing good supervision to bullying 2 of 3
IF INCIDENTS DO OCCUR• Respond promptly• Investigate all allegations• Do not require the
employees to fix the problem themselves
• Adopt a zero tolerance stand
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Comparing good supervision to bullying 3 of 3
BULLYING• Relying on rumours• Providing only negative
feedback• Having favourites• Making things so tough that
the employee quits• “My way or the highway”
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Supervisor self-evaluation
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Supervisor self-evaluation 1 of 2
DO YOU ENGAGE IN THESE BEHAVIOURS?• Public criticism of
performance• Blaming without
justification• Assigning menial tasks
below skill levels• Excluding or isolating• Excessive unwarranted
monitoring of performance, behaviour or breaks
• Allowing co-worker bullying to persist
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Supervisor self-evaluation 2 of 2
DO YOU ENGAGE IN THESE BEHAVIOURS? (CONT.)• Applying separate sets of
rules or standards or constantly changing them
• Setting impossible or unnecessary deadlines
• Withholding information• Setting an employee up to
fail• Blocking advancement• Tampering with belongings
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Better practices
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Better practices
• Better communication• Better motivation• Better discipline
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How do bullies get away with it?
How do bullies get away with it?
• The organization is complicit or clueless
• The organization or its managers are fearful
• They have a sponsor or protector
• Targets don’t complain• Institutional rewards
support bullying
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Bullying in reverse
Bullying in reverse
• Power by position• Power through group
dynamic or collective behaviour
• Power by workplace regulation
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Preventative action
Preventative action
• Develop a policy• Affirmatively raise the
subject• Express strong disapproval
of bullying• Develop appropriate
sanctions to use in discipline
• Inform the employee of the right to raise and how to raise the issue
• Develop methods to sensitize the workforcePage 29
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Training
Training
• Legal • Communicative• Disciplinary• Cultural
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Remedial action
Remedial action• Investigate promptly and
thoroughly• Take immediate and
appropriate corrective action
• Take steps calculated to end the harassment or misconduct
• Take steps necessary to make the victim whole
• Take steps necessary to ensure misconduct is not repeated
• Do not make the victim responsible for the remedy
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Dealing with a workplace bully
Dealing with a workplace bully• Keep your cool• If you are threatened, walk
away• Tell the bully to stop
treating you disrespectfully• Report what happened• Provide the employer with
any notes, emails, copes of text messages and other evidence
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Investigations
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Investigations 1 of 3
WHAT SHOULD AN INVESTIGATION INCLUDE?• A prompt, thorough and
impartial response• Taking evidence from
witnesses• Listening to both the harasser
and the complainant’s version of events
• A time-scale for resolving the problem
• Confidentiality in the majority of cases
Investigations 2 of 3
AREAS THAT CAN TAINT HARASSMENT INVESTIGATIONS • Rushing to judgement before
the investigation is done• Letting employees define
harassment for themselves• Waiting too long to investigate• Using a biased investigator• Not letting the accused
confront the accusations
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Investigations 3 of 3
AREAS THAT CAN TAINT HARASSMENT INVESTIGATIONS (CONT.)• Not interviewing third parties• Asking leading questions• Interviewing witnesses in front
of each other• Not following the
organization’s investigation procedures
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What should employees do?
What should employees do?• Be made aware - through
onboarding, training and other processes - about their rights and personal responsibilities under the policy and understand the organization’s commitment to deal with harassment
• Know who to contact if they want to discuss their experiences in order to decide what steps to take
• Understand how to take a complaint forward and the timescales for formal procedures
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Anti-harassment policies
Anti-harassment policies 1 of 3• Make clear that harassment
is strictly prohibited• Define harassment broadly• Provide a detailed
description of the conduct prohibited
• Inform employees of the procedures for reporting harassment
• Identify whom employees should contact if they are subjected to harassment
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Anti-harassment policies 2 of 3• Permit reporting through a
range of channels including any manager, HR representative or anonymous telephone service
• Permit both informal and formal complaints of harassment to be made
• Require employees to report any incident of harassment, even if it is not directed at them, and regardless of whether they think the employer is aware of it or another employee has reported it
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Anti-harassment policies 3 of 3• Provide that the employer
will investigate and take appropriate preventative and corrective action
• Describe the disciplinary measures that the organization may use in a harassment case
• Make clear that employees will not be subjected to retaliation for complaining about harassment
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Drill
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Drill
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Shah v Xerox Canada
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Conclusion and questions
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Conclusion and questions
SummaryVideosQuestions