Category Archives: International

Canada, Workplace Bullies, and The Law

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Wal Mart Canada CorpHere’s an article from the Canadian Workplace Legal Post which is a reminder to everyone involved in the U.S. workplace bullying movement that a variety of solutions can, and should, be embraced and supported. Canada has been  strengthening their Workers Comp and OSHA regulations to be effective tools that can protect their workers:

Big Jury Award Arising from Workplace Bullying

Appropriate conduct in the workplace is ever changing. The most recent shift concerns bullying in the workplace, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the stern, often aggressive management styles of yesteryear may no longer be appropriate in the Canadian workplace. In light of this change in attitudes, employers must take note or suffer what may be very serious consequences, which are perhaps no better evidenced than the recent jury ruling by the Ontario High Court of Justice, which awarded 1.46 million dollars to an employee who claimed her manager bullied her. Continue reading →

Australia Releases Report On Workplace Bullying

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Workplace Relation’s Minister Bill Shorten was interviewed on ABC TV about the results of Australia’s exhaustive parliamentary inquiry into workplace bullying  Calling it a scourge that runs into billions of dollars and more importantly takes a human toll, Shorten called for “zero tolerance.”  An article in News.com.au says the inquiries report, “Workplace Bullying: We Just Want It To Stop,” recommends “strengthening existing laws and clearly definingwhat workplace bullying is.”  America, are you listening? Continue reading →

Increase In Workplace Bullying Policies Not Stopping Abuse

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Workplace bullying is a hot media topic and a growing number of organizations, cities, and communities have folded bullying into existing harassment policies.  But, independent surveys keep reflecting a rise in abusive work relationships.  Why?  A survey conducted by Leadership, Employment and Direction (L.E.A.D) may shed some light on what’s going on here in the U.S.   Here’s an excerpt from an article in Hospitality Magazine on the survey’s result: Continue reading →

When Bosses Are Bullied

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We all know it exists.  The co-worker that just makes their boss’ life miserable and meetings are power struggles that hinge on games meant to humiliate the manager and make them look foolish.  Or the employee refuses to provide important information or perform a task on time in order to sabotage their Boss and make them look inept to their superiors.   Maybe the employee’s ideas weren’t implemented or they don’t like the performance review they received.  Maybe they don’t like authority.   Groundbreaking research in this area shows that the impact is the same.  The study below found that: “Over half of the interviewees (including most of the managers who experienced an experience of upwards bullying) reported an increase in stress, along with anxiety symptoms such as shaking and sleeplessness. Interviewees also reported experiencing anxiety attacks and clinical depression.” Continue reading →

Workplace Bullying: Is there a solution?

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So, here we are again.  It’s 2012 and we’re coming to the end of yet another legislative session.   Massachusetts still holds great promise in being the first state to pass the Healthy Workplace Bill even as a rapidly approaching deadline, July 31st, ticks closer.  I spoke with the office of Ellen Story, the HWB’s sponsor, and they told me that they really want to pass some form of legislation on this issue.  Originally they tried to pass a study bill but it died.  So when the HWB became available they grabbed it.  Yes, it’s written in a way that greatly favors the employer more so than the person seeking damages but at least the victim/target can get unemployment.  That’s what they told me.  But, the real question is can the HWB or any other legislation fix workplace bullying?  Here’s an article written by an Australian researcher who’s dedicated over 10 years trying to figure out what can.  Her findings are sobering.  Whatever state legislators accomplish it is time for the Obama Administration and the Department of Labor to bring clarity to this issue on a national level: Continue reading →

Cultural differences in workplaces…

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I was up early this morning using the web to research a topic when I happened to find this Korean article advising Korean workers how to understand the style of their Americans and Europeans  co-workers.   I met a Korean workplace bullying expert/researcher while I was filming at the 2008 International Conference on Workplace Bullying & Harassment.  She said that they were having difficulty developing a way to gauge harassment because the cultural differences were so great.  This article gives some insight into what she meant…  Continue reading →