Addressing Bullying and Addressing Bullying and Harassment in the Harassment in the

WorkplaceWorkplace

Karen McIvor Ph.D.Karen McIvor Ph.D.

copyright 2007 karen.mcivor@bullying999.co.ukcopyright 2007 karen.mcivor@bullying999.co.uk

Presentation for Capita Breakfast Briefing:Presentation for Capita Breakfast Briefing:Managing Stress in the Police Managing Stress in the Police

Wednesday 25Wednesday 25thth April, 2007April, 2007

Evidence of links to stress

• correlation between bullying/harassment and stress measures

• correlation between bullying/harassment and physiological stress response

• absence reports• case studies• HSE work

HSE stress indicator tool (Cousins et al, 2004)

• 12% of all police respondents had been bullied in the previous six months

• 29% of all police respondents had been bullied in the previous five years

• 45% of all police respondents had witnessed bullying in the past five years

‘‘Destructive Conflict and Bullying at Work’ Special version commissioned by Destructive Conflict and Bullying at Work’ Special version commissioned by Polfed. Hoel & Cooper (2001)Polfed. Hoel & Cooper (2001)

• 31% of resigning or transferring officers stated that bullying and / or discrimination was relevant to their decision to leave

(Cooper & Ingram, 2004)(Cooper & Ingram, 2004)

In a recent exit poll conducted across ten Forces

• 21% of police support staff reported they were currently being bullied UNISON, 2000UNISON, 2000

• Policing is in the top six occupations at risk of bullying Hoel & Cooper (2001)Hoel & Cooper (2001)

• 37% of police staff subjected to or witnessed racial harassment, homophobia or bullying UNISON (2003)UNISON (2003)

High staff turnover High absenteeism High sickness rates: regular/prolonged Low morale Loss of initiative Tense atmosphere

WORKING WORKING ENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENT

EMOTIONALEMOTIONAL

Depression Anxiety Loss of confidence Loss of self-esteem Lack of motivation Irritability/ aggression Anger Suicidal thoughts

PHYSICALPHYSICAL

Sleeplessness Sweating/shaking Palpitations Lethargy Skin complaints Stomach/bowel problem Headaches/ migraine Nausea Panic attacks Excessive tiredness

Taken from Police Federation in England & Wales policy document on bullying

Management Indicators of Bullying – Lots of Ideas

Event Hierarchy

Legal redress

Formal complaint

Informal complaint

Informal enquiry

Bad behaviour

PREVENTION

INTERVENTION

AMELIORATION

RESTORATION and LEARNING

after Rayner & McIvor (2006)

POLICIESPOLICIES

• Not all Forces have a specific policy addressing bullying and harassment

• The general thrust of policies is that bullying/harassment will not be tolerated

• Responsibility for carrying out any such policy is variously located in managers, supervisors and all members of the Service

Policy

• Policies are good because they give the individual confidence that the problem will be dealt with.

• if there aren’t procedures or policies then members of an organisation may think that they haven’t got a chance of talking about or dealing with bullying and harassment

Policy – not all positive…• Policies may be interpreted in

such a way that there is no room for manoeuvre. The policy is applied rigidly with no consideration of individual case requirements.

• Policies can be seen as hollow gestures giving the impression that the matter is taken seriously and that the organisation cares about its members, but actually there in order to tick boxes and to protect the organisation

Constructing a good policy1. Analyse requirements and

set criteria

2. Source the policy carefully

3. Development or adaptation through partnership

4. Short and simply written documentation

5. Communication with explanation

6. Evaluation and regular review

Communication, Awareness Raising, Training

• Policies by themselves are not much use if they sit on a shelf and nothing is done to draw attention to them.

Applying the policy

Even within highly controlled organisations, there are often slight differences in the way that the business of the day is conducted. Do not assume that all parts of the organisation will apply or disseminate the policies in the same way.

How are you going to evaluate your policy?

Tackling bullying and harassment requires a strategic approach

Policy is a good start, but it is not the full solution

Karen McIvor, Ph.D. Bullying999.co.uk Copyright Karen McIvor 2007