Canadian Safety Reporter

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2015 mental stress. As a result, the nurse challenged the decision in an appeal to the WSIAT arguing her equality rights had been violated under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. e WSIAT ruled the Worker's Safety and Insurance Board's criteria un- constitutional on the grounds that psychological injuries can occur over time and needn't be "sudden and unexpected." e WSIAT declined to apply this provision, and granted the nurse entitlement to benefi ts for mental stress. e repercussions from the ruling remain to be seen — WSIAT decisions are only binding on parties to the ap- peal — but its direction could shape formal policy or lead to legislative changes across On- tario and other provinces in the years ahead. It appears this ap- proach to entitlement for men- tal stress has already gained a fraction as it has recently been followed by the WSIAT in De- cision No. 1945/10, to grant a worker entitlement to benefi ts for mental stress. In tandem with legal de- velopments, there has been a growing body of guidelines and policies encouraging em- ployers to create psychologi- cally safe workplaces. One such guideline is the Canadian Stan- dards Association's "National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Work- place" (CSA standards), which proposes establishing and maintaining a psychological health and safety management system for the workplace. is includes the identifi cation and elimination of workplace haz- ards that pose a psychological risk, an assessment and control of workplace hazards, imple- menting practices that support a psychologically safe work- place, and creating a workplace culture that promotes psycho- logical health and safety. While these are voluntary standards, employers should note that the CSA standards build on exist- ing employer obligations un- der the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Specifi cally, an employer is required to take every precaution reasonable to protect employees, to inform employees of potential work- place hazards, and to identify, eliminate or reduce workplace risks. Employers are increasingly recognizing the potential im- pact of bullying and psycho- logical harassment on em- ployee engagement, employer brand and bottom-line per- formance. Also, in accordance with legislative requirements, employers are implementing comprehensive workplace vio- lence and harassment policies, which can be eff ective tools to address psychological harass- ment. But as we've witnessed in our daily interactions with organizations ranging in size from Fortune 500 companies to small and medium-sized businesses, harassment in all forms remains an ongoing threat to employee health and safety, and to the success of the organizations that employ them. Strategies to reduce risk With this in mind, here are four strategies employers can follow to help mitigate much of the risk posed by psychological harassment and bullying in the workplace: Develop an eff ective employ- ee policy manual. A comprehensive employee policy manual should include a code of conduct, which clearly defi nes acceptable behaviour in all realms — including the physical workplace and online with email and social media. A policy manual's anti-bullying measures should include: • A zero-tolerance commit- ment statement from the orga- nization's leadership team • Clauses outlining the policy's applicability to management, employees, clients, and other third-party vendors • A clear defi nition of work- place bullying and examples of unacceptable behaviour • A clear process for employees to follow when reporting inci- dents • A clear outline of the orga- nization's workplace investiga- tion process • An outline of steps the orga- nization will follow to take cor- rective action when a bullying incident is confi rmed • A commitment to confi denti- ality and discretion • A no-reprisal and non-retali- ation statement Provide management training. is is a glaring oversight for so many organizations that may be inclined to reward employees with promotion to managerial roles, but without properly assessing managerial competency or providing ad- equate management training. To avoid ongoing exposure to lawsuits or human rights com- plaints, any comprehensive management training program needs to cover psychological harassment and bullying. Man- agers should be coached on ev- erything from identifying bul- lying to managing complaints, then dealing with these often diffi cult situations in a way that ensures legislative compliance and minimizes the impact on employee productivity as well as workplace environment and culture. Investigate all harassment and bullying allegations. As I've noted in past articles, allegations of harassment must be properly investigated and documented. If not, an orga- nization could face lawsuits, human rights or Ministry of Labour complaints. If a com- pany lacks an HR team or staff member with investigation ex- perience, management should be prepared to outsource the task to a third party, such as an experienced employment law- yer. When conducted properly, the process should take time, will involve internal interviews to conduct fact-fi nding relating to the allegations, will provide the responding party with an opportunity to respond to alle- gations, and will include a thor- ough review of all information collected over the course of the investigation process. e parties should also be allowed to respond to any allegations made against them. Focus on cultural fi t during the hiring process. e best way to avoid hiring bullies is to ensure an employer's recruit- ment process involves some combination of psychometric testing, attitudinal assessment and a staged interview pro- cess. Many companies focus solely on skills or operational matches, but cultural fi t should be a major focus of the process. ere are times, however, when even the most comprehen- sive recruitment process fails to weed out potential bullies. In those cases, management should consider terminating the employment relationship with confi rmed off enders. Em- ployees who psychologically harass or bully their colleagues are a toxic workplace presence. e longer they're allowed to linger, the greater the risk and negative impact on workplace culture and employee engage- ment. For more information see: • Decision No. 1945/10, 2015 CarswellOnt 1801 (Ont. W.S.I.A.T.). Laura Williams is the found- er and principal of Williams HR Law, a human resources law fi rm in Markham, Ont., serving employers exclusively. She can be reached at (905) 205-0496 or lwilliams@wil- liamshrlaw.com. Guidelines for psychologically safe workplaces News | December 2015 | CSR The good fight < pg. 1 e new CSA's National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace proposes establishing and maintaining a psychological health and safety management system for the workplace.

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