Evelyn Field: Respect and Resilience at Work

Session description:

Managing Workplace Bullying Workplace bullying is a serious issue for Australian organisations. Studies show that bullying costs Australian businesses more than $36 billion dollars. Although more than one in five employees experience bullying, recent American research suggests that it affects 55% of the workplace either directly or indirectly.

Consequences include high employee turnover, absenteeism, errors, fraud, increased insurance claims and premiums, litigation costs, negative publicity and low staff morale. On the other hand, when employees feel safe and respected they become more effective and productive, thereby reducing staffing costs while increasing profits.

Evelyn M. Field is an expert on bullying and the devastating effects it has on people and organizations. She has developed a unique approach to training senior management, team leaders, supervisors and staff about understanding and managing workplace bullying. Her approach is based upon respecting employees by changing dysfunctional work cultures, developing collaborative systems and reducing adversarial approaches. She employs her social and emotional resilience framework to empower employees to take greater responsibility for themselves by developing practical skills to block bullying behaviours and survive in difficult, stressful workplaces.

Topics:

Understanding bullying and harassment

• Identifying bullying behaviours
• Understanding the causes
• Personal injuries
• Organisational damage
• Legal implications

Strategies for Organisations

• Collaborative approach- Simple, fair and economical solutions
• Ten key strategies to eliminate bullying at work
• Skills for managers, mentors and other key staff
• Developing policies and mechanisms for responding to bullying, dispute resolution & grievances
• Provision of supervision and training around prevention of bullying
• Workshop workplace options

Taking Action for Employees

• Maintain personal and professional resilience
• Evaluate your options
• Role of bystanders
• Dealing with accusations

Develop social and emotional resilience – Employ ‘Bullying Blocking’ Strategies 1. Regulate anger and fear 2. Understand the reasons 3. Self-esteem for the bullied and bully 4. Utilise effective communication practices 5. Implement the bullying survival power pack 6. Build support networks