The posts below have been retained for historical purposes. From today we will just use our Facebook page for these info posts.
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Your Human Resources Partner
The posts below have been retained for historical purposes. From today we will just use our Facebook page for these info posts.
Go to our Facebook page and follow us.
Aboto has teamed up with Employment Law Matters and Adventedge to lead a masterclass on Preventing and Managing Sexual Harassment. The masterclass will be lead by Dr Moira Jenkins, Director, Aboto Psychology and Workplace Conflict Management Services.
Preventing and addressing sexual harassment in the modern day workplace can be a challenging task. This full day masterclass aims to guide HR practitioners and managers through the process of preventing sexual harassment, as well as intervening without breaching the rights of the parties involved.
Dr Jenkins uses relevant cases and case law to illustrate an evidence-based risk management approach to the prevention and intervention of sexual harassment complaints, and her workshops are known for being interactive, interesting, and relevant in nature.
The event will take place in Australia and New Zealand between February and April in 2018 (see below).
PERTH Monday 26th February 2018
MELBOURNE Wednesday 28th February
ADELAIDE Friday 2nd March
BRISBANE Monday 5th March
SYDNEY Wednesday 7th March
WELLINGTON Tuesday 10th April
AUCKLAND Thursday 12th April
Learn more about the masterclass and register with the brochure.
I’m back with renewed energy and motivation after a wonderful week in NZ where I caught up with family and also attended the 2016 International Workplace
Bullying Conference. The conference was a great combination of researchers and practitioners discussing the individual and collective efforts to combat toxic workplace problems such as bullying and harassment, and promote healthy and sustainable environments. The importance of psychologically healthy workplaces and evidence based prevention and management of conflict, bullying and harassment at work, can not be underestimated. Having a workplace culture that promotes good mental health and takes practical and evidence based measures to prevents toxic behaviours such as bullying and harassment, not only supports the workers, but are crucial to productive and sustainable workplaces.
The conference was organised in close collaboration with The New Zealand Work Research Institute, AUT University and The Healthy Work Group, Massey University. There were many researchers from Australia and New Zealand as well as England, Denmark, Germany and other European countries and Asia as well. It was interesting to hear about some of the emerging economies starting to recognise and tackle bullying and harassment at work.
We were reminded at the beginning of the conference of a Maori proverb that was very applicable to the workplace, and the work that we all do:
He aha te mea nui o te ao?
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.
Bevin Clatley from Massey University (New Zealand) talked about this Maori proverb, reminding us “that organisations are more than just a collection of inputs and processes producing goods and services – they are fundamentally about people and relationships. Healthy, positive and sustainable workplace relationships would seem crucial to key organisational processes” Yet despite knowing this, we need to ask ourselves, why do so many employers allow psychosocial hazards such as bullying and harassment to impact negatively on the health of individuals workers, knowing that this contributes to inefficient teams and departments and on the productivity of the organisation as a whole.
Prior to the conference I attended the Risk Management ‘Special Interest Group’ workshops, chaired by the marvellous Dr Carlo Caponecchia from University of NSW. This group has grown over the years and we had representatives from a number of large organisations including NZ Defence, Emergency Services from Canada, private consultants, Universities in Australia, NZ, and Europe, and many Work Health and Safety specialists. I’m pleased that the Risk Management approach to prevention of bullying is gaining more evidence as the best way to approach this problem. The Workshop highlighted the importance of interventions extending from the individuals involved, to addressing the organisational culture, identified risks and broader issues that allowed the behaviour to emerge. This is the type of work I do, and love – working with organisations around identifying the risks, and addressing them from this multi-layered perspective rather than just focusing on the behaviour of individuals. Some of the more common risks that can lead to poor behaviours include:
Moira Jenkins is running another two of the highly successful Mediating Workplace Bullying Complaints workshops, in conjunction with the Resolution Institute (Formally LEADR). The two new workshops have been scheduled for 27 May in Sydney and 24 June in Melbourne.
Mediating workplace bullying complaints needs to take into account more factors than might be involved in a normal mediation. Moira, argues that mediation is appropriate to deal with many mild workplace bullying allegations as long as the power dynamics are addressed and a risk management approach is used. Her paper Mediating Bullying Complaints: taking an occupational health and safety approach explains this in more detail.
The workshop content is currently being updated to reflect the latest in bullying research, legal cases and ADR issues that relate to workplace bullying, and Moira will be able to add more to this content when she returns from the International Workplace Bullying and Harassment Conference which will be held in NZ in April.
If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, you can register your interest through the Australian and NZ Resolution Institute, and be forewarned, last year workshops filled up very fast.
For the last couple of years Moira Jenkins has run workshops for LEADR titled Mediating Workplace Bullying Complaints. These workshops examine how to conduct mediation from within an occupational health and safety framework and have been extremely well received.
Moira and LEADR are running more of these workshops on the following dates:
These workshops are extremely useful for both mediators and managers and registration can be made through LEADR. See the flyer for details.
After the excellent feedback we received from our Train the Trainer Workshops in 2013 we will be running them again in 2014. See the Train the Trainer flier.
In Adelaide we will be partnering with ASC Training and running a workshop on April 16 2014. Please book this workshop through the ASC website.
In Sydney we will be running the course on June 5 2014.
In Melbourne we will be running an Introductory Train the Trainer half day workshop at the Work Place Bullying Conference. Please book through the Conference website.
We know from the research that long term severe bullying results in the target often having to leave the workplace. Often this is because of the mental health (or physical) impact of the behaviour they have been subjected to.
People who have been seriously bullied, and are now out of work, face a number of hurdles returning to the workforce. Poor mental health is often compounded by lack of confidence, isolation from family and friends, lack of daily routine and ruminating about their bullying experiences. Family and friends while usually helpful, can actually hinder someone’s motivation to return to the workforce by becoming too protective and getting in the way of their loved one facing their demons, getting through the anxious period that often accompanies getting back to work. Union and industrial advocates can sometimes also unwittingly keep people in a sick role by being too protective and not allowing the client to ‘get back on the horse’ so to speak. While it may not be appropriate for a bullied target to return to the same place they were bullied, the best place for them is often back in the workforce at another job where they are earning money, socialising, developing a healthy routine and can re-build their confidence.
Feedback from the focus groups I conducted suggested that unemployment due to bullying was something many participants tried to hide from friends, and this served to further isolate them from friends and extended family. Low income and a reliance on unemployment benefits also meant that many unemployed participants could not afford to socialise, or participate in previously enjoyable activities that required regular income. Gym memberships may be scrapped, socialising diminished, and social withdrawal become a financial necessity. Other participants reported that their age was a barrier to future employment. They felt they were either too old to employ, or younger participants who had left their first job due to bullying, were unable to obtain a reference to assist with future employment. The stress of being on WorkCover also contributed to and added to anxiety and depression.
Most of the participants in our study were, or had been seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist as a result of the mental health concerns they faced as a result of the bullying they had been exposed to. However, unless people were involved in the WorkCover system, therapy often occurred in a vacuum or a silo, and didn’t address returning to work, or how to better manage these symptoms of anxiety in the workplace. It was uncommon for some therapists to utilise ‘exposure’ type therapies, and assist participants back into the workplace through systematic exposure to volunteering or job related activities. This is despite exposure therapies in combination with cognitive behaviour therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment therapies being best practice for both anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress disorders.
The aim of the group return to work program that I am developing is not to replace participants’ psychological therapy, but to bridge the gap between individual psychotherapy and return to work. Participants will be encouraged to continue consulting their therapist and to discuss, practice and expand on the RTW sessions with their therapist. The 8 week RTW program will be facilitated by both a psychologist and a return to work specialist, who will work with the participants after the formal 8 week RTW program is completed. Participants are encouraged to manage their symptoms while thinking about, and then slowly returning to the workplace. They will be encouraged thought an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy model to pursue their values and accept the things they are unable to change. The therapeutic and rehabilitative components of the RTW program are designed to complement each other, as it is recognised that returning to the workforce following severe bullying requires a multi-level approach, with support prior to, during and after return to work. So stay tuned, and I will let you know where the program is up to.
As we develop the program (Oh I wish I had more time!!!) I will keep you in the loop.
Moira Jenkins conducts one-day workshops in conjunction with LEADR on mediating workplace bullying complaints.
These workshops examine the OHS model of workplace bullying and the types of bullying complaints appropriate for mediation as well as how to conduct mediation from within an occupational health and safety framework. See the LEADR website for more details.
The 2014 dates for these workshops and booking instructions can be found on the LEADR website.