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How to Deal with Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullying can have long lasting mental and physical effects on workers. Bullying can be anything from ostracizing victims to spreading rumours and betraying trust. But studies are showing that the younger generation of workers may be changing the attitudes towards workplace bullying.
Millennials (aka Generation Y) have grown up with anti-bullying campaigns in school. Because of this, they are more aware of what bullying is, its effects and how to prevent it from occurring.
“The younger generation is quite intolerant of bullying,” Dr. Gary Namie, a psychologist and co-founder of the Workplace Bullying Institute, told Forbes.com. “We’ve found they’re less likely to believe they have to continue to stay in that environment. Many know they’ll hold multiple jobs in their lifetime, so they’re quick to get out of a bad situation [compared to the older generations].”
In time, Namie says, the intolerance to bullying will trickle down to other generations as companies face employee turnover from it.
Dspite the rise of Internet trolling and reputation damage through social media, Dr. Namie says the internet has actually had a positive impact on the case against workplace bullying. Online forums dedicated to sharing stories have generally been supportive, he says. A whopping 72% of people surveyed had never heard of “workplace bullying” before reading the term online.
Employers have a duty to address bullying, preferably before it begins, with employee training.
“Employers have the power to nip bullying in the bud,” Namie said. “I’m always surprised when small companies don’t address a bully. If you have six employees and one is a bully, that’s a significant percentage of your workforce that’s unhappy. In a bigger company, one bully out of a hundred wouldn’t make as big a dent.”
A survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute found that only six per cent of businesses said their organizations had a defined policy enforceable against bullying.
The WBI offers these suggestions for addressing workplace bullying:
1.) Define what is workplace bullying at your company. Have a firm commitment that it is unacceptable. Use company-specific illustrations to define it. “Clearly state what it is and what it’s not,” says Dr. Namie.
2.) The target must show the consequences of the bullying. Work-related consequences of the bullying like absenteeism and drop in productivity are just as important and quantitative as impact on health.
3.) Enforce procedures to tackle it. An informal, pre-emptive measure could be to facilitate team training on anti-bullying. A formal procedure would be to insist on “restorative rather than punitive” action. “Even the bully should be treated with dignity as they get counseled,” says Dr. Namie.
4.) In other words: don’t have a zero-tolerance policy; find ways to create a culture of inclusion.
ILScorp offers two anti-bullying courses – one for employees, another for employers. These online workplace bullying courses can be an important part of your workplace bullying policy. Visit www.ilscorp.com for more info or call us at 1-800-404-2211 to get started.
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Financial Tips for Couples
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, MetLife has released a top 10 list of financial tips designed to assist couples in achieving their financial goals. Given the significant role that financial matters play in couples’ lives—with the average couple discussing money 20 times a year—the tips provide a blueprint that will help couples avoid common mistakes and manage their finances in a way that suits both partners.
“As every couple knows, it’s important to be on the same page when it comes to money,” said Jeff Tulloch, vice president at MetLife Premier Client Group. “With Valentine’s Day approaching, we wanted to share some simple tips that can help contribute to a sound financial future for couples—and a sound relationship.”
The list of tips comes from a “Love and Money” workshop that is part of MetLife’s workplace-based PlanSmart® Financial Education series. Launched in 2008, the series offers a selection of workshops relevant to employees of varying ages and career stages. The workshops fulfill employees’ interest in financial education and planning help in the workplace, and address a variety of topics such as Investing 101, planning for college, and estate and retirement planning.
MetLife PlanSmart Top 10 Financial Tips for Couples
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Learn about your partner’s financial situation before committing to a long-term relationship. Talk to them about their credit score, debt, and how you will handle larger financial issues as a couple. |
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Adopt the “yours, mine, and ours” approach to joint accounts. Set up a joint account to manage your money collaboratively, with monthly payments directed to individual accounts that allow each person to spend some money as they choose. |
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Determine who will be responsible for paying bills, balancing the checking account, and researching large purchases, based on each of your talents and needs. It’s okay to make changes as you go along if one person becomes too busy or isn’t doing a good job. |
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Establish shared financial goals for both the short and long term, and how you will work together as a couple to achieve them. If you need to, seek the advice of a financial professional to help you set your priorities. |
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Create a budget that allows you to track how you spend money as a couple and reflects your individual spending habits. Don’t use the budget to force your own habits onto your partner or to blame your partner for spending too much. |
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Work together to pay off existing debt, and understand the difference between good and bad debt. Be careful that you don’t take on too much debt, good or bad, as too much of either kind still hurts your financial security. |
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Discuss your individual levels of risk tolerance and identify a level that you are both comfortable with. Make sure to take the time horizon for your investments into account. |
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Avoid keeping financial secrets from your partner, which can create feelings of distrust and betrayal. Honest and open communication about financial matters is best. |
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Be a team player. If you and your partner earn different salaries, don’t point out your partner’s lack of income or brag about your paycheck. Look at other contributions the lower-earning partner makes to the household. |
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Carve out a dedicated time to have specific discussions about your financial situation and how to improve it at least four times a year. |
FPSC Approved CE Courses for Financial Planners and FPSC Level 1 Certificants
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Why complete your CE requirements with an ILScorp CE Course Subscription?
Quick, easy sign up: registering for online courses takes less than 4 minutes. One word: simple!
Cost effective, saves time: no commute needed and no travel or printing costs means we can offer low cost online training.
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Study at your own pace: our online courses can be studied at a pace that is right for you.
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With ILScorp’s CE Course Subscriptions, get access to hundreds of hours of provincially accredited insurance training online courses in both text and streaming video formats. CE Course Subscriptions are your best value, you save money compared to purchasing individual courses! Save time and money by completing your continuing education requirements entirely online, no paperwork or commute.
Great reasons to choose ILScorp’s online CE course subscriptions:
- Quick, easy sign up: registering for online courses takes less than 4 minutes. One word: simple!
- Cost effective, saves time: no commute needed and no travel or printing costs means we can offer low cost online training.
- Study anytime, anywhere: our online courses can be studied at any time of the day and anywhere you have an internet connection.
- Easy to prove your course completion: this can be essential for industries that require mandatory training, and law compliance.
- Engaging and dare we say FUN: a mix of activities, quizzes and games ensures our online training is both fun and interactive.
- Study at your own pace: our online courses can be studied at a pace that is right for you.
AODA Compliance in 2015: Are You Up to Date?
AODA Compliance Update: January 1, 2015, Requirements
Adding to those AODA requirements under the Customer Service and general requirements under Integrated Accessibility Standards that are already in force, effective January 1, 2015, a number of additional requirements came into force.
- By January 1, 2015, all employees and others providing services on behalf of a large organization must receive training on the Human Rights Code as it pertains to persons with disabilities and the Integrated Standards.
- By January 1, 2015, large organizations must ensure that their feedback processes can be administered in accessible formats and with communication supports, upon request.
- By January 1, 2015, small organizations must ensure have developed and implemented accessibility policies describing how the organization will achieve accessibility and compliance with the Integrated Standards. These policies do not have to be in writing, however, how are you going to communicate these policies to the public or employees if they are not in writing? Something to think about!
- By January 1, 2015, small organizations must have regard to accessibility issues when designing, procuring or acquiring self-service kiosk.
- Producers (publishers) and educational libraries must under the Information and Communication standard that is part of the Integrated Standard, whether large or small must make conversion ready educational textbooks. Exceptions do apply.
Organizations including law firms are cautioned to comply with AODA and its regulations as significant penalties can be imposed for non-compliance.
Get compliance with ILScorp’s online AODA course. Our AODA course provides information on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), that became law on June 13, 2005, as well as the January 1, 2015 additional requirements that are now in force
Complete the AODA compliance training program entirely online, for a one-time fee of just $40 per person.
Print your certificate of completion immediately!
Electronic records are kept by ILScorp in case of an audit, plus the ILScorp AODA course has been accredited from RIBO for 1 hour in the Management Category. It is the law! Ontario companies must be AODA compliant!
