Half day open training event held in Toronto, Ontario

1. Minimizing bullying and harassment
by Toronto Training and HR
September 2013

2. CONTENTS
5-6 Definitions
7-8 What is not bullying?
9-11 Examples of bullying and harassment
12-14 What do mistreated employees do?
15-18 Comparing good supervision to bullying
19-21 Supervisor self-evaluation
22-23 Better practices
24-25 How do bullies get away with it?
26-27 Bullying in reverse
28-29 Preventative action
30-31 Training
32-33 Remedial action
34-35 Dealing with a workplace bully
36-39 Investigations
40-41 What should employees do?
42-45 Anti-harassment policies
46-47 Drill
48 Case study
49-50 Conclusion and questions
Page 2

3. Page 3
Introduction

4. Page 4
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 banking
10 years in training and human resources
Freelance practitioner since 2006
The core services provided by Toronto Training and HR
are:
Training event design
Training event delivery
Reducing costs, saving time plus improving
employee engagement and morale
Services for job seekers

5. Page 5
Definitions

6. Definitions
• Bullying
• Harassment
• First degree, second degree
and third degree
Page 6

7. Page 7
What is not bullying?

8. 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
Page 8

9. Page 9
Examples of bullying and
harassment

10. 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
Page 10

11. 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
Page 11

12. Page 12
What do mistreated
employees do?

13. 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
Page 13

14. What do mistreated employees do?
2 of 2
• Become withdrawn
• Turn to mood altering
substances
• Suffer post-traumatic stress
disorders
Page 14

15. Page 15
Comparing good
supervision to bullying

16. Comparing good supervision to
bullying 1 of 3
GOOD SUPERVISION
• Objective
• Constructive
• Focused on assisting
employees
• Conduct motivated by
legitimate work concerns
Page 16

17. 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
Page 17

18. 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”
Page 18

19. Page 19
Supervisor self-evaluation

20. 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
Page 20

21. 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
Page 21

22. Page 22
Better practices

23. Better practices
• Better communication
• Better motivation
• Better discipline
Page 23

24. Page 24
How do bullies get away
with it?

25. 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
Page 25

26. Page 26
Bullying in reverse

27. Bullying in reverse
• Power by position
• Power through group dynamic
or collective behaviour
• Power by workplace regulation
Page 27

28. Page 28
Preventative action

29. 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 workforce
Page 29

30. Page 30
Training

31. Training
• Legal
• Communicative
• Disciplinary
• Cultural
Page 31

32. Page 32
Remedial action

33. 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
Page 33

34. Page 34
Dealing with a workplace
bully

35. 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
Page 35

36. Page 36
Investigations

37. 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
Page 37

38. 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
Page 38

39. 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
Page 39

40. Page 40
What should employees
do?

41. 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

42. Page 42
Anti-harassment policies

43. 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
Page 43

44. 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
Page 44

45. 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
Page 45

46. Page 46
Drill

47. Page 47
Drill

48. Page 48
Shah v Xerox Canada

49. Page 49
Conclusion and questions

50. Page 50
Conclusion and questions
Summary
Videos
Questions