10 April 2008

5 tips to combat adult bullying

Ideas of how they approach Bullying in Canada.......

1. Consider the situation. Kenneth Westhues, a sociology professor at the University of Waterloo, Ont., says it is easier to deal with a bully outside the workplace, where your livelihood isn’t threatened. Regardless of where you are bullied, though, you need to assess your resources in comparison to the bully’s and then decide how to proceed. If it’s at work, transferring to a new department may be the simplest solution.

2. Take notes. Karl Aquino, a management professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, suggests recording specific bullying instances. These notes can be useful if you need to bring the bullying to someone else’s attention. Writing down your experiences may have a positive effect on how you interpret and understand the situation.

3. Confront the bully. In some situations, simply asserting yourself could end the bullying behaviour. Confront an abusive boss, for example, and speak to her calmly, outlining your concerns and providing examples of her behaviour.

4. Provide consequences. If, after confronting the person, there is no response, Frema Engel, author of Taming the Beast: Getting Violence Out of the Workplace (Ashwell, 2004), suggests spelling out consequences, such as threatening to expose her behaviour. Keep in mind that it’s crucial to follow through, so be ready to act.

5. Report the behaviour.
If the bullying continues, report it to a trusted superior. If your superior is the problem, go to human resources. If the harassment occurs outside of the workplace, such as at a sports club, speak to the administration.

Legal avenues
Richard Hammond, a lawyer and counsel to Anonymousemployee.com, a Canadian Internet service, outlines your legal options when dealing with a workplace bully.

• A Supreme Court of Canada ruling states employers have a duty to treat employees fairly and reasonably. This expectation is enforced in many ways. In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act invites you to make a complaint to the Employment Standards Board; board personnel meet with you and your employer to resolve the situation.

• If the bullying takes place within a union environment, you are usually required to settle it through grievance arbitration as a first step.

• If the bullying takes the shape of any type of discrimination or develops into violent or sexual harassment, a lawsuit may be a better remedy, says Hammond, because it is unlikely you will want to return to that workplace.

• Before starting a lawsuit, consider informal mediation or submitting a formal, in-house complaint. “Typically, you don’t start a lawsuit until everything else has broken down and you’re no longer able to negotiate.”

Not ready to go public?
Anonymousemployee.com is a Canadian Internet service that allows employees to speak with supervisors about an issue without it being attributed to them.

HOW IT WORKS:
Much like online dating services, you send your employer an anonymous message about the problem you’re having and your employer can respond within the secure channel. Christopher Knott, president of the Toronto-based company, says that it’s a good way to test the waters.

Source : www.canadianliving.com by Sara Ditta

1 comment:

  1. Bullying is definitely a serious issue that, we have found in different field like office atmosphere, schools, colleges and many others. Most probably in the workplace, we have found serious kinds of bullying issues and to put a control over these issues, we need some strict action against bullying or we may start a campaign against bullying. Here also this article describes some good points on how to stop bullying and we should come forward to support this campaign to reduce the effects of bullying from the society.
    Workplace Bullying

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