Bullying and Harassment Manager Awareness
The manager’s role in dealing with and preventing bullying and harassment in the workplace is an essential element of any strategy and cultural change.
As a manager, you are in an excellent position to keep the issue of appropriate and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace on the agenda and create a culture where issues are dealt with swiftly and informally.
The responsibilities of managers within bullying and harassment policies tend to include the following:
- Implement the bullying and harassment policy.
- Ensure that employees are aware of their responsibilities.
- Treat complaints of harassment seriously, sensitively and confidentially.
- Ensure that the work environment is non-threatening and supportive.
- Create a culture where issues can be raised.
A further responsibility for managers is to keep up to date with training and development to allow time to review your own management style, practices and approach within a supportive environment. Your management style and ability to deal with such issues is instrumental to this subject. Within the Managing Conflict at Work 2004 survey of the UK and Ireland, conducted by CIPD, 39% of those who felt that they had been bullied within the workplace felt that the ranked success factor in tackling bullying and harassment at work was down to line manager behaviour. However, only 2% went on to rate their line managers' effectiveness at informally resolving issues as excellent, with 57% rated as average and 14% seen as poor. Click the link below for the survey.
Managing Conflict at WorkRegularly reviewing your management style and its effectiveness, knowing your team and the relationships that are held, and setting clear standards regarding behaviour are key steps that you can take in order to tackle bullying and harassment.
The one-day Manager’s Role in Dealing with Bullying and Harassment programme will allow you to examine the issues of bullying and harassment within your team and provide the opportunity to discuss with managers how you can approach the subject and define working standards. Click the link below for an example programme.
Bullying Harassment Awareness ProgrammeFor further information regarding the role and responsibilities of managers, click the ACAS link below.
ACAS Employers' ResponsibilitiesIf you would like to run this course in-house please contact Diana Ravenscroft, Learning & Development Assistant on 0161 214 7104 or click the link below to e-mail Diana. In addition, check our Events & Consultancy section.
Diana Ravenscroft