Presented by: Bevan Catley, Massey University at OHSIG 2014, Wednesday 10/9/14, NZI Room 5, 2.15pm

1. Getting the Most Out of WorkSafe
NZ’s Workplace Bullying Guidelines
Bevan Catley, David Tappin
Darryl Forsyth, Dianne Gardner
Healthy Work Group, Massey University
Tim Bentley
New Zealand Work Research Institute, AUT

2. The Problem of
Workplace Bullying
Prevalent
Bad for
Individuals
Preventable
Bad for
Business

3. WorkSafe New Zealand
Preventing and Responding to Workplace
Bullying
- What’s in the Guidelines?

4. Overview
 Free to use.
 Provides guidance to Employers and Employees.
 Provide employers and employees with examples
of how to prevent and manage workplace bullying.
 Practical tools to help with management.
 Emphasis on self-help and workplace based
solutions.

5. Contents
1. What is Workplace Bullying.
2. Advice to Employees.
3. Preventing Bullying.
4. Measuring Bullying.
5. Advice for Employers.
6. Roles and Responsibilities.
7. Tools.
8. Case Studies.

6. Definition
 “Workplace bullying is repeated and
unreasonable behaviour directed towards a
worker or group of workers that creates a risk to
health and safety” (WorkSafe NZ Guidelines, pg. 6).
 The behaviour is unwelcome.
 Workplace bullying is a hazard.
 Bullying behaviours task or person-related.

7. Key Advice
Employees
 Follow policy and
process
 Document everything
 Take action but don’t be
rash
 Try a low key solution
(page 20 -23).
Employers
 Take it seriously
 Follow policy and
process
 Act quickly but
thoroughly
 Support all parties
 Communicate
 Maintain confidentiality

8. Prevention
 Building healthy workplace relationships.
 Build managers who are leaders.
 Make behavioural expectations clear.
 Provide contact points.
 Invest in recruitment and selection.
 Assess, measure and review workplace culture.
 Collect and review bullying data.

9. Tools
 ‘Am I being Bullied?’
 Workplace assessment.
 Cost calculator.
 Prevention checklist.
 Complaint management flowchart.
 Sample bullying policy.

10. WorkSafe New Zealand
Preventing and Responding to Workplace
Bullying
- Our Thoughts

11. Strengths
 Provides a clear definition
 Good examples of situations and solutions.
 Reminder of importance of policy.
 Emphasis on need for support, advice and self-care.
 Emphasis on leadership, good interpersonal
relationships, and healthy work environment.
 Self assessment flowchart valuable.

12. Implementation
 Reflect on your organisations’ response and
compare with advice in guidelines.
 Borrow from the guidelines but customise.
 Vision, values, policies, procedures, practices and
behaviours need to be in alignment.
 Organisation of work, workplace culture and
leadership is vital.
 Collect data.
 Develop management competencies.

13. Sufficient?
Guidelines vs. Approved Code
Relevance Linked to legislation
Guidance Benchmark
Voluntary Inclusive
Commitment? Compliance?
Organic Relatively fixed
Relatively quick and cheap to
produce
Relatively resource intensive
to produce

14. 10th International Conference on
Workplace Bullying and
Harassment
20th – 22nd April 2016
Auckland

15. Healthy Work Group
Information Workshops | Policy Review | Applied Research
@He a l thyWo rkGrp