November 19
How to avoid or reduce bullying, discrimination, harassment, violence at work?
Bullying, discrimination, harassment and violence are morally wrong. The very first thing is to ask is what is the corporate culture regarding these issues. It is the duty of the organisation to reduce, avoid and stop bullying and all the other injustices mentioned above. Another question to answer is “How ethical is your leadership?” These injustices could also come from a co-worker, a customer or a supplier.
Wikipedia notes the following: “Traditionally, the view of leadership has been that the main goal of leaders is to increase production and profits. The traditional view of leadership is slowly diminishing, as more theorists in the 21st century are asserting that leaders also have the responsibility for ensuring standards of moral and ethical conduct. Good leadership refers not only to competence, but to ethics and transforming people as well.”
What is the role of Human Resources in your office?
You need to speak to co-workers who know the system. They will quickly tell you if the following is applicable…”Around here the company is paying employees out when they have a complaint but they will not fire the managers and suppliers who are at the centre of complaints.” Whatever the answer is you must find out if HR is there only to protect the organisation against liability or if they will support the target of the negative behaviour. In our opinion it is either the one or the other, unless there is one person in HR dedicated to complaints of this nature. If you have such a person in your office, a face to face conversation would be better than a formal written complaint to start the discussion.
How to create a safe space and be assertive
- Speak up at an early stage. Don’t become a victim or a silent witness. You are entitled to dignity at work.
- Know your rights. See if you can find the boundaries for both you and your employer. Make sure you read all the documentation of your employer that is setting out procedures or guidelines of work.
- Check the information that you find here “what documents are important to know my and the employer’s boundaries”
- Know the difference between passive, assertive and aggressive behaviour. Behaviour check
- Make a list of all the indiscretions that took place. See if there is a trend. You will, over time be able to identify what is going on. Be aware of all that is going on in your workplace. Talk to co-workers. Find out if they have similar experiences.
- If you are unsure, contact us and book for either a workshop or a one on one consultation. It is better to contact us as soon as possible to help you help yourself.
- Make sure you are not enabling the bullying behaviour. A bully for example will tell you when you are assertive that you are aggressive. Check your conduct here and be prepared to defend your actions. There is a difference between being passive, assertive and aggressive.
- Keep your opinions to yourself and try to get on. Only you will know when it is no longer possible. Don’t ever react in anger, it will just come back and bite you when you least expect it.
Behaviour check
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