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I’ve facilitated many sessions on workplace violence and harassment, so Lauren Bernardi’s session, “Bully or Effective Leader? When Supervisors Go Too Far” at the HRPA 2012 Conference was of interest. Lauren mentioned that employees are less likely to bring bullying complaints against a supervisor or manager because of the fear of being fired. She also noted that:

Words hurt more. Emotional abuse takes longer 2 heal than broken bones. Verbal harassment destroys a person & is a big deal #HRPA2012 #in

— Joanne Royce (@JoanneRoyce) February 1, 2012

Often bullying behaviour moves behind closed doors. Is private humiliation behind closed doors acceptable? I think not. The point is that bullying behaviour, whether in public or in private is not to be tolerated. The definition of harassment under Bill 168 legislation on workplace violence and harassment is:

“workplace harassment means engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome”

It should be noted that giving someone the silent treatment and ignoring or ostracizing a team member are forms of bullying. It is also important to understand what does not constitute workplace harassment.  Enforcing rules or policies, like a dress code policy, and asking someone not to wear wear flip flops to work, is not harassment, if the policy is consistently applied.

So why does bullying happen in the workplace?  Lauren suggests that bullying happens when leadership is too autocratic OR too easy going.  Leaders who are visible and understand the dynamics of bullying are best at creating a workplace with zero tolerance for bullying.  A “No Bullying” workplace comes from respect at upper levels and positive attitudes being encouraged.

Early in my career, I worked at a great organization, but there were bully managers there too. A VP broke a pencil, and then threw it at me. I knew that behaviour wasn’t right. I went back to speak to him later and while shaking in my 20ish year old shoes, I told him that his behaviour was not appropriate and I did not deserve to be treated that way. He apologized and said he was “stressed.” Being “stressed” does not give someone the right to throw a pencil, or to bully and intimidate someone. In fact, if that pencil had hit me (like in the eye), it could have hurt me. His action today would be construed as “workplace violence,” based on the definition in Bill 168 legislation:

“workplace violence” means,

(a) the exercise of physical force by a person against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker,
(b) an attempt to exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker,
(c) a statement or behaviour that it is reasonable for a worker to interpret as a threat to exercise physical force against the worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker. 

I’m glad my 20ish year old self spoke up and thankfully, he never threw another pencil at me again.  I learned that speaking up is the first line of defense to stopping bullying behaviour. Of course, if an individual doesn’t feel comfortable speaking up they should bring their concerns forward to HR. Unfortunately, Lauren Bernardi notes that statistics show that people go right to the top to lodge complaints rather than going through HR. Why is that? HR needs to step it up and show that action will be taken with respect to bullying, harassment or violence, so that employees feel they can take complaints and concerns to HR and action will be taken.

Everyone deserves to feel safe at work. No one deserves to be bullied or harassed. We can all do our part in making sure our workplaces are free of bullying and harassment. What can you do now to make sure your workplace is bully free?

Posted by Joanne Royce

 This is Part 2 of my blog post series about the HRPA 2012 Conference -2012 and Beyond: Inventing the Future. I Tweeted throughout the conference and I’ll share some of the key highlights from the conference through my Tweets and the application Storify.

The Opening Keynote was Marshall Goldsmith talking about his book What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There.  The highlights of his presentation are listed below. This time, I’ve included my thoughts and commentary after each Tweet.  I hope you enjoy the summary.

Inspired, Joanne Royce

The HRPA2012 Conference was held last week. The Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA2012) Conference is held every year. I thought last year’s conference was fantastic, but this year it was even better.

The theme of the conference was “2012 and Beyond: Inventing the Future” and the keynotes and presenters were awesome. I Tweeted throughout the conference and over the next few blog posts, I’ll share some of the key highlights from the conference through my Tweets.

The early bird session I attended on the first day of the conference was “UnHuman Resources: Navigating the Social Media Minefield” with Scott Stratten (@unmarketing).

The key learning from this session is expressed in my last Tweet of the session.

• Let your employees be awesome.
• Let them be seen and heard.
• Guide (don’t police) them.
• Help them understand they are the company brand and their actions matter (at work and on social media).

For more about the session, review my Tweets below, compiled through Storify. Please excuse grammar and typos as I was Tweeting on my iphone.

Next blog post: Thoughts about the Opening Keynote: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, with Marshall Goldsmith.

Inspired, Joanne Royce

Are you compliant?  Do you know the AODA implementation phases and deadlines?

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was passed on June 13, 2005. The basic purpose of the act is to break down the barriers faced by persons with disabilities. The aim is to make Ontario more accessible to persons with disabilities by 2025 when 1 in 5 Canadians will be over 65 years. (Statistics Canada)

In the report Disability in Canada (2006), 15.5% of Ontarians had a disability and 47.2% of Ontarians aged 65 or over had a disability. Making our workplaces more accessible benefits all of us and it is the right thing to do. The Royal Bank of Canada estimates that the spending power of people with disabilities is about $25 billion each year. So besides being the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense.

Organizations Ontarians that provide goods and services are required to remove barriers that prevent a person with a disability from fully participating in society with dignity, independence, integration, and equal opportunity, in the same way as a person without a disability.

This legislation is being implemented in five phases as follows:

1. Customer Services Standard

2. Communications and Technology

3. Employment

4. Transportation

5. Built-Environment

*Phases 2, 3, & 4 are called the Integrated Standards.

The schedule for compliance is as follows:

It makes sense to be proactive and learn what you need to do to meet the deadlines. And if you’ve missed the Customer Service deadline, it’s never too late to become compliant and help make Ontario accessible by 2025. We provide one-to-one coaching to help create policies, procedures, and practices and training programs suitable for your organization. Contact us if you need help.

Best regards, Joanne Royce

Royce & Associates
A Human Resources and Training Solutions company
Creating Happy, Healthy, & Productive Workplaces

The first #HRBookChat took place this week to discuss Drive by Daniel Pink. It was a great discussion made even better with the participation of the author @DanielPink and participants from around the world.

The HR book chat idea started in another chat held on Twitter on November 21, 2011 via #TEPHR.  The Engagement Project in HR originates with Bonni Titgemeyer, an HR professional with experience in Canada and the USA. Her aim is to encourage HR discussions on an international basis. The #TEPHR chat was like a great big brainstorming session and the idea of #HRBookChat was incubated during that discussion.  Alyssa Burkus ran with the idea and made it real, and #HRBookChat was born.

So on Monday, January 9th, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. the first #HRBookChat took place.  According to Hash Tracking, there were 644 tweets, 130 tweeters, and 9.2 million impressions during the chat. Visit Hash Tracking, to view a permanent record of the chat, stats, Top 10 List, and transcript. 

I learned about Storify when Larry Ferlazzo (http://bit.ly/AvvvOD)  And Marissa Brassfield  (http://sfy.co/Tvz)  posted highlights after the book chat, including my Tweet about Trust. The storify highlights and chat transcript are kind of like a book review in 140 character Tweets.

And of course the HR people involved in the chat loved the book, including me as shown by the many sticky notes in my book. Time for an IPad, Kobo, or Kindle!

But now, the hard part starts – implementing the concepts in the workplace. A paradigm shift needs to happen moving away from the carrot and stick approach or punishment and reward, to creating a culture that supports the 3rd drive that allows for engagement through Purpose, Autonomy, and Mastery in the workplace. It starts with a tiny ripple that spreads.

Happy HRBookChatterer, Joanne

P.S. Oh, and my Tweet about Trust was Retweeted by Daniel Pink and many other people. That Tweet must have resonated with people, and it was kind of neat to see it spread across the world getting Retweeted. The Power of Twitter and Twitter Chats!

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.

At the Osgoode Employment Law Conference in December 2011, this is how lawyer Natalie MacDonald started her presentation on determining if a potential new hire is an employee or self-employed.

How do employers know the difference?

There are very good guidelines that help determine if an individual is an employee or self-employed. Sometimes companies pay employees on a short term contract without taking off any deductions. When  they ask a few questions, they find that the individual is really an employee and should have regular payroll deductions. Hopefully this type of situation is an oversight and not a standard process.  It puts the organization at risk for penalties and fines, but it costs the company so much more.

The Canadian Revenue Agency Guidelines  outline steps to determine if an individual is an employee or self-employed and a detailed account of the liability for not making deductions. Here is a quick check list to get you started:

Control – Does the boss direct the person and tell him/her what to do? If the person doesn’t have control over work hours, and work flow, he/she is likely an employee.

Tools and Equipment – Does the employer supply the person with a computer, and a phone at work to do his/her job? An employee is not responsible for bringing his/her own laptop to work.

Subcontracting and hiring assistants – Does the individual have the opportunity to hire or subcontract an assistant and pay them out of his/her own pocket? If not, the person is an employee.

Financial Risk – Does the individual have to pay for mistakes? If a mistake happens that has a negative financial impact, the self-employed contractor most likely will have to discount the project impacting his/her own bottomline, and an employee is not expected to reach into their pocket to pay for his/her mistake. 

Profit – Does the individual have the chance to profit?  An employee earns income and bonus as per the policies and parameters set by the company, but they don’t have potential for profit.

Responsibility for investment and management – Does the individual have a capital investment in the company and make management decisions freely? If not, he/she is an employee.

Some might weigh the chances that they won’t get caught. Some might argue that it’s easy to pay them as a self-employed professional.  But the risk is significant in more ways than one. Why? Because there is a risk to the organization of penalties, fines, and reimbursements as mentioned earlier. But there are other more intangible risks.

The deductions go to fund government programs that provide the Canadian identity of a more equal society. They help fund the Canadian Pension Fund and Employment Insurance when people need it most. What if every employer decided not to make deductions? Our way of living would be very different. And what is the risk of the most important intangible?

Actions speak louder than words. If it is okay for an employer to ignore the legislative criteria and requirements, is it okay for an employee to do the same with his employer?   I don’t think so.

So if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck! 

Best regards, Joanne Royce

Royce & Associates
A Human Resources and Training Solutions Company
Creating Happy, Healthy, and Productive Workplaces

Photo Credit: SXC, am y

Have you read The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom? I read it a number of years ago. It is a touching story that stays with me.

I thought about the book when I received an email from a public relations firm this week, looking to write a story about an entrepreneur for a major newspaper.  The story and “The angle is far more about you personally than it about the company you run — so if you live unusually, or on the edge, then you’re the ideal candidate.” Exciting examples included climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, and being personal friends with and playing bridge with Bill Gates. It made me think about the The Five People You Meet in Heaven.  Why?  

Because the book is about Eddie, a maintenance man in an amusement park; a man who feels that his “Days are a dull routine of work, loneliness, and regret.” How often do we hear that at work and in life? But are they? The book has a number of life lessons. Eddie may not have climbed the highest mountain on each of the seven continents or played bridge with Bill Gates but his life had meaning.

Lesson 1: We all have different perspectives on things; and there is no such thing as a random act; we are all interconnected. We can certainly see this in any workplace. Reflect on how someone’s bad (or good) mood or comments impact everyone around them.

Lesson 2: Sacrifice, whether big or small, is not something to regret. We are only passing something on. What a nice way of changing something that seems like a negative (giving something up), to something that is positive (passing a “gift” on)!

Lesson 3: Forgiveness and letting go of things lets you live life to the fullest. Hate is like a poison that eats you from the inside out. You can say that again – life is lighter when we let in the love!

Lesson 4: There are many types of love. Life has to end, but love doesn’t. A lost love is still love. Anyone who has lost a loved one knows this! Love goes on in the memories we cherish.

Lesson 5: Life has a purpose. No matter what you do in life, you are here for a reason. You may not even realize what your actions have meant to others. If someone does something special, don’t hesitate – tell them – make their day – you might even make their life!

Like Eddie “maintenance” man, who impacted many people by his seemingly mundane activities, we are all important. Our words, our actions, and our behaviour, do impact others. We can make a positive difference in this world by the little things we do!

Read the book. The movie, while a shortened version, is pretty good too. Think about the lessons and how they can be applied not only to your personal life but also to the workplace. You don’t need to live life on the edge, climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, or play bridge with Bill Gates, to live a life of meaning.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and productive New Year,

Joanne

Joanne Royce is the Founder of Royce & Associates, a Human Resources and Training Solutions company.
She is passionate about Creating Happy, Healthy and Productive Workplaces.
She continues to look for the good in people and in life.
Joanne originally published her review of the lessons and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, in the The Royce Formula Newsletter 2005.