Knowledge Exchange

Respectful Workplace Program

Contact Information

Nancy Coish
Employee & Family Assistance Coordinator
Central Health
Employee Wellness/Health & Safety
Health Region
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador
nancy.coish@centralhealth.nl.ca

When was your practice implemented?
September 2010

Describe the issue that prompted the implementation of your practice:
There is growing recognition that ?violence? goes far beyond the reach of physical behavior and includes various forms of psychological violence such as bullying. Research by the Canadian Initiative on Workplace Violence suggests that the majority of Canadian workers feel that workplace violence is increasing. Recognizing that workplace violence affects the safety and well-being of every employee, Central Health established a Workplace Violence Prevention Committee in 2007. The Committee supported that all employees have a right to work in an environment, which is free from violence, harassment and discrimination. They also acknowledged that a respectful workplace supports the physical, psychological and social well-being of employees. Believing that building a respectful working environment can be the foundation for addressing workplace violence, the Committee decided to develop a Respectful Workplace Program as the first step in addressing the complex issue of workplace violence.

Describe your practice:
The purpose of the Respectful Workplace Program is to enhance the capacity of Central Health to promote, create and maintain a respectful workplace for all employees by;
* Ensuring all employees are aware of and understand that disrespectful behavior and/or conflict in the workplace are serious issues that can negatively affect employees and their work environments;
* Ensuring all employees are aware of policies and procedures to prevent and/or respond to disrespectful behavior and/or workplace conflicts;
* Ensuring that support is available and accessible to all employees directly affected by disrespectful behavior and/or conflict in the workplace;
* Providing education about effective ways to resolve issues when they first arise;
* Providing means through which employees can seek resolution to these issues;
* Providing avenues of recourse to employees if they are subjected to disrespectful behavior; workplace conflict; or bullying behavior.

Describe how your practice was implemented and the resources required (e.g. people, time, money):
Recognizing the obligation to provide a psychologically safe work environment, Central Health undertook an initiative to launch a respectful workplace program. Program Development began in January, 2009.
* A Respectful Workplace Coordinator was hired for a 6 month period to develop and implement policy and procedures to define disrespectful and bullying behaviors and outline the processes to address such behavior.
* Respectful Workplace Advisory Committee was established. Membership consisted of representation from unions, non-union, non-management, employee relations, EFAP, management.
* Development of an information session to be provided to all staff.
* Establishment of five volunteer Respectful Workplace Advisors.
* Formal workplace violence investigation training for five employees.

Explain the impact of your practice:
It has been just under six months since the Respectful Workplace Program was formally implemented in Central Health. There has not been any formal evaluation of the program to date. Central Health intends to reconvene the respectful Workplace Advisory Committee to oversee the implementation of the program and ensure that there are ongoing efforts to provide education about the program to all employees. A plan to evaluate the program will be explored. In addition, efforts are underway to develop larger workplace violence program that will address other forms of workplace violence such as physical and sexual abuse. This initiative will look at horizontal violence (between coworkers) as well as staff to client, client to staff violence. It is hoped that Central Health can create a culture where no form of violence is seen as acceptable.

How did it improve quality of worklife?
At this point, we have not evaluated what, if any, impact our new program has had on a building a culture of respect. It is felt that promoting respectful behavior is an important first step in addressing all forms of violence in the workplace. Central Health intends to review a process for formally evaluating the program.

How do you know? (e.g. surveys to staff, a formal evaluation process, specific outcomes, feedback)
Processes to review the Program will be explored in upcoming months.

What lessons learned and issues to consider are you able to share with colleagues?
Workplace bullying jeopardizes the health and safety of organizations and its employees. Bullying is defined as 'persistent, demeaning and downgrading behavior through vicious words and cruel acts such as belittling, coercion, threatening, intimidation, undermining staff or colleagues, blaming, fear and professional humiliation that gradually undermine confidence and self-esteem' (OSACH, 2008). According to Rowell (2005), bullying is increasing in the healthcare sector, and occurs four times more frequently than sexual harassment. There has been an increase in litigation involving employees seeking damages from employers who failed to provide a psychologically safe working environment. Canadian courts have awarded damages in excess of 1 million dollars. Workplace bullying is obviously a very serious health and safety issue and employers need to put programs in place that work towards creating a culture of respect and address all forms of violence, including psychological.