Issues
Dignity - what and why?
Risks of ignoring
bullying
Benefits of
tackling bullying
Implementing Dignity at
Work
Dignity - what and why?
What is the Dignity at Work Partnership?
Unite the union, Britain's largest union, is leading the Dignity at
Work partnership, possessing a strong track record of campaigning
against bullying over many years. Other launch partners
include:
- Connect: the Union for Professionals in
Communications
- Legal and General Insurance
- BAe Systems
- the Chemical Industries Association
- Remploy
- Royal Mail
- BT
Baroness Anne Gibson, who introduced a Dignity at Work Bill in
Parliament, chairs the steering group. Representatives from the
Health and Safety Executive, ACAS, the TUC and the BERR
complete the steering group. Leading academic and practitioner
experts on bullying and related issues act as advisers to the
group.
The Dignity at Work partnership provides advice and guidance for
anyone suffering from workplace bullying or harassment. We are also
looking to spur on cultural change, to develop a code of conduct
where respect for individuals is regarded as integral to the
behaviour of employees and managers.
There are thousands more organisations sharing our conviction
that things must change. If your organisation is one of them, why
not become a partner? That way you will gain the benefits of
support for anti-bullying policies in your organisation and the
valuable consultancy and training services we are designing.
Why Dignity at Work?
Giving employees dignity at work is likely to increase their
positive feelings about their employer and their jobs. This might
be expected to lead to greater willingness to accept change, learn
new skills, pursue high standards of quality through pride in work,
work as a team and so on.
Promoting dignity at work is likely to reduce stress and related
health problems and absenteeism among those who are both suffering
and close witnesses to bullying.
Time spent on the promotion of dignity at work policies is often
better in outcomes than time spent on dealing with individual
complaints of bullying and harassment.
Risks of ignoring bullying
Thanks to widespread publicity on bullying in the workplace, few
employers today are unaware of it. And, as innumerable court and
tribunal decisions demonstrate, no-one can afford to be. Costly
legal representation and compensation packages ram home the lesson
that there must be a better way. The experience is an ordeal for
workers too. Hearings are harrowing, they often fail and many
complaints never even get that far.
Organisations with a culture of bullying frequently suffer from
high employee turnover and absenteeism, not to mention the
possibility of legal actions for damages by employees made ill
through their working environment.
Bullying is recognised as a major cause of stress in the
workplace and by law, stress must be dealt with in the sane way as
any other health and safety hazard.
Despite all this, bullying remains part of the landscape in many
organisations. The Dignity at Work Partnership was established with
funding from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory
Reform to find ways of avoiding such problems.
Benefits of tackling bullying
Working Together for Dignity at Work - a sound business case for
challenging Bullying in the Workplace
Over the last decade, the acknowledgement that workplace
bullying is a major barrier to organisational growth and
effectiveness has prompted a rise in the commitment to eradicate
it.
But whilst the moral reasons for tackling unacceptable behaviour
in the workplace are obvious and fully recognised, some
organisations still ask the question - why should we invest in
strategies that prevent bullying from occurring, particularly when
there are no clear compliance guidelines?
The Dignity at Work Partnership Project exists not only to
campaign against workplace bullying; it will promote the premise
that there is a compelling business case for organisations to take
seriously and adopt anti-bullying strategies.
Enough evidence exists to demonstrate that bullying costs UK
industry. Research from the Dept of Health indicates that the
cost of sickness absence for stress is more than £5 billion a year;
bullying a major cause of stress, costs the UK economy £1.3 billion
a year (Cooper).
The effects of bullying behaviour
Organisations are constantly under pressure to transform and change
to meet global demands and society's differing needs. The
strain of downsizing, restructuring, increased productivity and
more competitive working climates generate negative consequences -
and bullying can often be a damaging consequence of these
changes.
The effects of bullying behaviour on the organisation and on
individuals are distressing, devastating and should not be
underestimated. They include:
- An increase in absenteeism and ill-health
- Escalated health and safety risks, and more accidents at
work
- Loss of trained, experience employees and an increase in
recruitment costs
- Ineffective management processes and an increase in poor
management styles
- Unhealthy working climate and elevated conflict in
teams
- Loss of management time
- Poor customer service
- Poor employment relations, leading to a rise industrial
action and tribunal claims
- Expensive compensatory payments and legal
costs
- Loss of public image and reputation damage
- Escalated risk of violence in the workplace
Organisations must uphold worker's dignity by confronting the issue
of bullying and facing the realities of the consequences of its
existence. This is best achieved by combining the ethical
case with the business case for avoiding its negative effects.
The business case for Dignity at Work
The Working Together for Dignity at Work Project can prove that
there are real benefits to be gained by both the organisation and
the individual through adopting and implementing best practice
policies and procedures that create a more effective working
environment. These benefits include:
- Improvement in working relationships and increased levels
of trust between employees and their employer
- Reduced employee turnover and higher retention
rates
- Higher quality productivity
- Ethical and socially responsible management
practices
- Improved customer loyalty
- Enhanced well-being of employees and healthier working
climates
Our commitment to promoting the business case for dignity at work
starts with the principle of partnership working. Through
collaboration between employers and employee representatives we
believe we can confidently address the pervasive nature of
bullying, and attain the benefits of a positive working
environment.
Involvement in the project is a tangible demonstration that your
organisation takes this issue seriously. For those of you who
are interested in joining us, we hope that you will be able to
recognise that in adopting anti-bullying strategies, there is value
in Working Together for Dignity at Work.
Implementing Dignity at Work
Ten steps to beating workplace bullying
1. Carry out an audit to analyse the extent to which bullying is
a concern, identifying any particular issues which may need to
addressed.
2. Draw up a bullying policy (preferably an extension of the main
equal opportunities, diversity or dignity at work policy)
3. Make bullying of any kind a disciplinary and grievance
offence.
4. Educate line managers and make them responsible for implementing
the policy.
5. Ensure that employees can make a complaint without fear of
reprisal or victimisation.
6. Set up an informal support system made up of independent
volunteers to assist employees complaining of bullying.
7. Communicate and publicise the organisation's stance on bullying,
and inform all staff of their rights and responsibilities.
Communicate that the policy applies to everyone - including
contractors and clients. 8. Provide awareness and skills training
on dealing with bullying.
9. Monitor and review the procedures and complaints system.
10. Where possible, provide independent, confidential counselling
for the target and witness, and coaching for the bully.
Adapted from: Harrassent, Bullying and Violence at Work: A
practical guide to combating employe abuse. Angela Ishmael
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