Managing workplace bullying and harassment in the Canadian work context: same old, same old

Abstract

Purpose

Canadian organizations started addressing workplace bullying and harassment in the 1990s. Proactive organizations have written policies, trained managers and employees, created a complaint process and conducted surveys. The objective of this study is to examine how effective these efforts by Canadian organizations have been.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this research were collected through a survey administered to employees in Canadian workplaces (n = 1,000), including managers (n = 461). A stratified sample was used to facilitate a good representation of region, age, gender, sector and occupational level of working Canadians.

Findings

The survey indicated that some Canadian organizations continue to be negligent in addressing workplace bullying and harassment and that the problem is particular to large organizations, young employees and the private sector.

Research limitations/implications

The survey identifies that some Canadian organizations are still negligent in addressing workplace bullying and harassment. The problem is particular to large organizations, young employees and the public sector.

Practical implications

Senior and middle-level managers need to be aware that workplace bullying and harassment continue to occur in their work environment. Further, given that managers at times defer excessively to authority, the human resource (HR) department has a vital role in addressing workplace bullying and harassment. HR needs to establish a reputation among employees that their complaints will be taken seriously, and corrective actions will be taken.

Originality/value

This study examined the nature of workplace bullying and harassment in the Canadian context. The study found that organizations are still neglecting issues of workplace bullying and harassment and that there is a disconnect between what employees are experiencing and what senior management is professing is the situation. This disconnect is a continued liability for organizations.