Bullying in the workplace-ever happened to you??

Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace:

      What's it like working in a provincial civil service?

We should first define our terms.

Bullying is a pernicious form of harassment and can be:

• covert
• overt
• belittling
• defaming
• and is a direct assault on a person's dignity and psychological well-being.

Typically, Canadian unions have a good information for their members. The one union I prefer is CUPE (Just a personal preference). Go to their site to get their handbook at:

http://cupe.ca/stop-harassment-guide-cupe-locals

In any case, how do you know if you are being bullied?

Well, here are some markers.

• malicious rumours, gossip or innuendo is spread about you
• your supervisor persistently criticizes yo, demeans you or ridicules you (either privately-tough to prove, therefore; or publicly-not so tough unless your co-workers are afraid of her/him)
• is your work continually undermined or deliberately impeded?
• are you excluded or isolated (as in from meetings, office social events, educational opportunities)?
• are you subjected to threats or verbal abuse?
• have these threats turned physical?
• have you been called derogatory names?
• are you being incessantly teased or are you the butt of jokes?
• are you subjected to hazing?
• do co-workers-or does your supervisor-make threatening or aggressive gestures?
• are you subjected to public ridicule or discipline
• have your applications for vacation, leaves, educational opportunities, training been unduly refused?

At first, you can't believe that this is happening to you. Then, you descend into a sort of fog and then you get sick and your sick time starts to increase .

You are not alone.

Some indicators that there are problems in the workplace include:

• high staff turnover
• poor productivity
• high sick time

20% of sick time is as a consequence of bad management and

20% of sick time is due to mental illness caused by

bad management.

What are some specifics?

More on this in a few days