Canadian Employment Law Today

CELT July 24 2013:celt 467.qxd 13-07-09 2:44 PM Page 5 CANADIAN EMPLOYMENT LAW TODAY CASE IN POINT: WORKPLACE BULLYING Management must be committed to anti-bullying efforts ...continued from page 4 climb up the corporate ladder. Unhealthy competition can, in other words, breed toxic workplace environments rife with bullying. Struggling businesses are another ripe breeding ground for bullies. Cashstrapped businesses with limited budgets and a scarcity of resources often foster cultures where employees are pitted against each other for control of those limited resources. So, too, are workplaces with lacklustre leadership. Where leadership is weak or complicit, the ability to build collaborative, respectful, and dignified workplaces becomes hindered. In many cases, bullying isn't discouraged, so it flourishes. Lastly, bullying sometimes occurs because it's simply part of a workplace's well-established culture. In organizations where people turn a blind eye to seeing colleagues harshly criticized, made fun of or yelled at, be on the receiving end of offensive language, or intentionally setting colleagues up for failure, bullying is just part of a day at the office. It needn't be. Workplace bullying can be curbed, but it takes a determined effort on the part of management and employees to define the type of workplace culture they want to build and maintain, followed by the implementation of proactive HR policies designed to enact and enforce real change. It's not a simple process, but it can produce dramatic business results and create the kind of workplace that attracts, engages, and retains employees and managers in remarkable ways. Here are four tactics to help bullyproof a workplace once and for all: Create and enforce anti-bullying policies and programs. Your organization can leverage applicable provincial legislation — such as Ontario's Bill 168, the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act (Violence and Harassment in the Workplace) — to build out an effective anti-bullying program. Bill 168 defines workplace harassment as "Engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonable to be known to be unwelcome." This provides a good starting point to define what bullying means in your workplace before designing HR policies and programs to support the initiative. Remember to ensure the policy is clear in mentioning workplace bullying as a component of harassment. An effective anti-bullying policy should include: •A zero-tolerance commitment statement from the organization's leadership team •Clauses outlining the policy's applicability to management, employees, clients and other third-party vendors •A clear definition of workplace bullying and examples of unacceptable behaviour •A clear process for employees to follow when reporting incidents •A clear outline of your organization's workplace investigation process •An outline of steps the organization will follow to take corrective action when a bullying incident is confirmed •A commitment to confidentiality and discretion •A no-reprisal and non-retaliation statement. Build a positive and collaborative culture. This means putting an end to office gossip and rumour mill-mongering, all of which breeds exclusionary behaviour. It also means creating an environment where differing perspectives are valued, where people can speak their minds without fear of being teased or criticized. A positive workplace atmosphere is one where creative energies and innovative minds are allowed to develop and grow and where collaboration happens organically because everyone is working towards a common goal. In this sort of workplace, employees aren't pitted against one another, but are driven to compete as a team with a laser sharp focus on ensuring the success of their organization. Building this type of culture isn't simply about creating policy; it requires a strong recruitment and candi- date screening process, strong leadership, and supportive teams. A strong culture will grow organically, but only after a solid foundation has been laid to help foster its development. Train and educate managers and staff. This is a crucial step many organizations fail to take. Anti-bullying training should start with the executive team, then be allowed to trickle down through the organization using a blended-learning approach that allows employees to recognize and help eliminate bullying before it can spread. That involves assigning accountability and creating a foundational learning process based on case studies where employees have the opportunity to walk through a bullying scenario and how they would manage the incident as a team. Have employees spread across the globe or work virtually? Not a problem. Training should be experiential and can be carried out online, through in-class facilitation, or a combination of both using pre- and postwork to aid in transferring and sustaining learning. Training sessions also provide a great opportunity to review policy and ensure organization-wide alignment and buy-in. Build awareness and take a stand against bullying. Ensure management and HR stage activities throughout the year and take the time to speak out against bullying in the workplace, then build the expectation employees will be held accountable and should work together to stand up to bullying when they see it. CELT ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jodi Zigelstein-Yip Jodi-Zigelstein-Yip is the president of the York Region chapter of the Human Resources Professionals Association and Director, HR Consulting Services at Williams HR Consulting in Toronto. Published by Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2013 5

• Cover