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A Policy and Training Roadmap Checklist
5 STEPS TO PREVENT ABUSIVE CONDUCT & WORKPLACE BULLYING
FIVE STEPS 1. Review & Assess Your Policy & Training
2. Write a Comprehensive Abusive Conduct Policy
3. Develop Effective Anti-Bullying Prevention Training
4. Identify Personal and Enterprise Risks of Abusive Conduct
5. Know Special Requirements for Tennessee and California
1. FIRST STEPS
Review & Assess
Is it comprehensive? !
!
Rewrite policy to cover all bases or write a comprehensive
new policy.
Review exis3ng an3-‐bullying policy.
Is it effec3ve? !
!
Design new effec5ve training.
Assess effec3veness of current abusive conduct training.
2. Write a Comprehensive Abusive Conduct Policy
Define abusive conduct.
Here are three examples: California: “Conduct of an employer or employee in the workplace, with malice, that a reasonable person would find hos5le, offensive, and unrelated to an employer’s legi5mate business interests.” (AB 2053)
Tennessee: “Acts or omissions that would cause a reasonable person, based on the severity, nature, and frequency of the conduct, to believe that an employee was subject to an abusive work environment.” (SB 2226) (SB 2226)
Healthy Workplace Act bill’s defini3on from the Workplace Bullying Ins3tute: Repeated, health-‐harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators that is threatening, humilia5ng, or in5mida5ng, or work interference, sabotage, which prevents work from geOng done, or verbal abuse. (www.workplacebullying.org)
What do you mean by abusive conduct?
1. Repeated inflic5on of verbal abuse including derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets;
2. Verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, in3mida3ng, or humilia3ng; or the gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a person's work performance.
3. Give employees real life examples of behavior that will not be tolerated, such as an employee threatening to kick another employee’s buW.
4. Eight categories of behavior: Verbal Physical Visual Sabotage work Emo5onal manipula5on Cyber-‐bullying Mobbing Criminal harassment & stalking
A single act may not cons5tute abusive conduct, unless especially
severe and egregious.
*
Not in Defini3on: a requirement that the bullying be
linked to a protected category, so employers need to train and prevent any abusive conduct, regardless of mo5va5on.
Is In Defini3on: conduct must be objec5vely abusive, what
a “reasonable person” would find offensive, not an overly sensi5ve person, and conduct must be either pervasive (requiring mul5ple acts) or severe.
Be clear on what is not and what is in defini3on:
INTIMIDATION MISTREATMENT EMBARRASSING HARASSMENT SINGLING OUT SHUNNING PSYCHOLOGICAL HARASSMENT 'STATUS-‐BLIND' HARASSMENT MOBBING
Give Synonyms for Bullying/Abusive Conduct:
INCIVILITY DISRESPECT DIFFICULT PEOPLE
PERSONALITY CONFLICT NEGATIVE CONDUCT
ILL TREATMENT
Avoid euphemisms which trivialize bullying and its impact:
Address and clarify the differences and similari3es between bullying and unlawful harassment
A. Defini3on of Unlawful Harassment: 1. Verbal harassment, such as epithets, derogatory comments or slurs on a basis protected by law, such as race, religion or gender.
2. Physical harassment, such as assault, impeding or blocking movement or any physical interference with normal work or movement, when directed at an individual on a basis protected by law;
3. Visual harassment, such as derogatory posters, cartoons or drawings on a basis protected by law; or
4. Sexual favors, such as unwanted sexual advances which condi5on an employment benefit upon an exchange of sexual favors.
B. Differences between Unlawful Harassment and Abusive Conduct:
Abusive Conduct
Unlawful Harassment
Unlawful Mo3va3on +
1. Defini3on
2. Examples
3. A clear statement that behavior will not be tolerated & consequences for viola3ng policy.
4. Where the policy applies. Define the work environment, such as: Any loca5on, either permanent or temporary, where (employer) employees perform work for (employer), including buildings and the surrounding perimeters, parking lots, field loca5ons, travel between workplace loca5ons, and a_er hour situa5ons that affect the workplace such as a (employer) sponsored event or informal gatherings of (employer) employees. Employer would also be liable for conduct that occurs at any loca5on on a business trip, such as a hotel, or in a car.
Your policy should contain:
5. When the policy applies, such as when an employee uses his/her cell phone, iPad, computer or tablet in the work environment, when he/she sends and receives texts, links with images and tweets. Customize policy to address the nature and culture of your business.
6. To whom the policy applies: all employees, volunteers, interns, third party contractors.
7. Responsibility of supervisor if observed bullying or receives a complaint. a) Establish clear procedure when supervisor or managers sees or is aware of abusive conduct including their responsibility to intervene, establish when to document and when to report to human resources.
b) Include in policy that retalia5on for repor5ng abusive conduct will not be tolerated.
8. Procedure to report conduct and to whom, including clear direc5ons to supervisors and managers about when to report to HR.
9. No retalia3on for repor5ng.
Your policy should contain:
If employers do not want employees using profanity in the workplace, put this prohibi5on in your abusive conduct policy and give all employees no5ce that
profanity will not be tolerated.
Profanity
HR should give copies of policy to all employees, requiring them to sign that they have received, read and understand policy.
Distribute
X
3. Develop Effective
Anti-Bullying Prevention Training
a. Supervisors, managers and employees all receive core training.
!
b. Plus, management learns resolu3on skills.
Whom to train
1. Introduce character, drama3ze prohibited behavior and ask a ques3on designed to clarify what is prohibited by your employer’s policy.
2. An3-‐bullying policy is integrated into the course as a ‘living’ vs. a ‘read only’ and or ‘generic’ document.
3. Plot thickens: Drama5ze escala5on of character’s prohibited behavior while linking it to the first drama5za5on to give more examples of abusive conduct.
4. Provide ambiguous examples of abusive conduct that may or may not be unlawful harassment.
What to train: a story-‐based approach
5. Introduce addi3onal character behavior, because a person who bullies seldom only harasses one person.
6. Introduce new and compelling characters to drama5ze a range of subtle and blatant behaviors prohibited by abusive conduct policy.
7. Drama3ze the impacts of bullying with a variety of scenarios.
8. Emphasize the difference between “intent” of bullying perpetrator versus “impact” on target.
What to train: a story-‐based approach
Employer’s abusive conduct policy places an expecta5on on managers and supervisors to prevent and stop prohibited behavior they observe.
Ask your managers to assess, based on their management and communica3on styles, which type of bullying employee is the most uncomfortable for them to talk with.
Emo3ons that hinder resolu3on
Training should include how to file a complaint with employer, including resolu3on skills for:
1. Employee being harassed -‐ how to talk with bully.
2. Coworker who observes harassment -‐ how to be an ally.
3. Supervisor -‐ how to intervene when observes, even if no complaint.
Effec3ve Resolu3on Skills
4. Identify Personal and
Enterprise Risks of Abusive Conduct
1. Personal risks to bully: a) Adversely affects how management, team members, clients, vendors and public perceives him.
b) Affects his career: promo5ons, invita5ons to events, collegial rela5onships with coworkers and management.
2. Enterprise risks: a) High workforce turnover
b) Decreased produc5vity and morale
c) Increased stress and depression
d) Increased li5ga5on
Iden3fy personal and enterprise risks of abusive conduct
5. Special Requirements in Tennessee and California
In May 2014, Tennessee became the first state to pass an3-‐
bullying legisla3on. This legisla5on requires the state to adopt a model
an3-‐bullying policy by March 1, 2015 and therea_er for state and local
government agencies (but not private employers) to adopt the policy.
Governmental employers who do adopt the model policy (or a substan5ally
similar policy) are therea_er immune from their employees' bullying
behavior in any lawsuit alleging negligent or inten5onal inflic5on of
emo5onal distress, although employees who bully may s5ll be
personally liable.
Tennessee Public Employers: Adopt a Model An3-‐Bullying Policy
Add abusive conduct training to your an3-‐harassment training in 2015. And in your training, include informa3on that: √ Unpaid interns and volunteers at the worksite are also protected against harassment
√ “Sexually harassing conduct” need not be mo5vated by sexual desire
√ “Military and veteran status” are now protected characteris5cs
California Employers Required to Provide AB 1825 Training
You learned the steps to… Writing a comprehensive abusive conduct policy and we walked you through the key elements of an effective, engaging and interactive story-based anti-bullying/abusive conduct prevention training course.
Important: Most of the policy and training checklists’ guidelines and suggestions also apply to writing a comprehensive anti-harassment policy and creating/vetting engaging and story-based harassment prevention and resolution training.
For an in depth explanation of our abusive conduct policy and training checklist (includes over 10 video and
live theater dramatizations) please view our webinar
“Preventing Abusive Conduct and Bullying in the Workplace: A Policy and Training Roadmap”
http://www.andersondavis.com/webinar-gateway
Stephen F. Anderson of Anderson-davis, Inc. Toll Free: (888) 789-7891 Direct: (310) 451-0636
Ann M. Noel, former executive officer of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Commission.
