Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008 - (Page 17)

Women tend to be less physically aggressive and engage in more subtle forms of bullying. ity and legal costs incurred to defend legal actions. However, bullying often leads to both physical and mental illnesses. These illnesses would most likely be considered disabilities under the Code, thereby triggering the employer’s duty to accommodate the employee. Accommodation might include a transfer away from the bully or modified duties to allow the employee to cope with the effects of his or her illnesses. Legal Obligations To date, only Quebec has codified protections for employees that specifically address workplace bullying. The Saskatchewan government has recently announced that it is expanding the definition of harassment under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 to include personal harassment, such as abuse of power and bullying. likely be disciplined or fired. But subtle psychological abuse can be just as damaging to an individual’s mental and physical health and yet it is still largely tolerated. Although subtle tactics are equally as damaging to victims as more blatant types, because of its subtle nature, female bullying is also often dismissed as a personality conf lict between women (“why ca n’t women get along?”). At other times the bully, who can be quite adept at charming senior management, simply alleges that the target is incompetent or insubordinate and senior management accepts this characterization without question. Constructive Dismissal In some cases, bullying has been held to constitute constructive dismissal. The courts have stated that it is an “implied term of the employment contract that the employee [must] be treated with civility, decency, respect and dignity”.2 If that term is breached because the employee is being bullied at work, he or she can quit and sue for wrongful dismissal. Human Rights Complaints For behaviours that fall within the protected grounds of discrimination under the Human Rights Code (the “Code”) such as race, religion, sex, family status, sexual orientation etc., employees can file a human rights complaint. If the bullying behaviour is not related to a protected ground, the Code does not apply. It could be argued that because female bullies tend to target other women, it constitutes same sex harassment. This type of legal argument has yet to be fully explored and, given the subtleties at play, might be hard to prove. Infliction of Nervous Shock Targets of bullying may be able to sue their employers for what is called negligent or intentional infliction of nervous shock. What it means is that you either negligently or intentionally caused harm to the employee and he or she suffers some form of illness as a result. This type of claim can be brought in addition to any claim for wrongful dismissal. In fact, it is not uncommon to see nervous shock claims included in wrongful dismissal actions. Impact of Workplace Bullying Bullying has the same impact on targets as racial, sexual or other forms of discriminatory harassment. For example, targets of bullying may blame themselves and doubt their self-worth; be seen as weaker or less competent by their co-workers; be less productive; suffer from stress-related illnesses including headaches, inability to concentrate, sleeping and eating disorders, depression, muscle pain and panic attacks; be at greater risk of alcoholism or suicide; feel the effects in their home lives as the stress is carried over; and be fired, miss out on a promotion, or quit their jobs without having a new job in place. W hen the bullying is subtle, employees are more likely to feel uncertain that, in fact, they are being bullied and tend to internalize the experience. For the employer, allowing bullying behaviour in the workplace can lead to higher turnover and absenteeism, decreased morale, losses in productivMarch/April 2008 What Should Employers Do? Of paramount importance is to take all bullying seriously and not dismiss it as a personality conflict or aggressive management style. This is particularly true with female bullying, which is rarely taken seriously. You can demonstrate your commitment to eradicating workplace bullying by creating a comprehensive policy that prohibits psychological harassment/bullying. The policy should provide examples of bullying municipal MONITOR • 17

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008

Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008 Contents President's Message: Stress and Change Viewpoint: Much Ado About Nothing? Covering the Cost: Tapping into Safe, Sustainable Water and Sewage Services Closed Session Investigations: What Do They Mean for Your Municipality? Subtle Sabotage: Female Bullying Trends in the Workplace Water Under the Bridge Municipal Memos Index to Advertisers

Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008

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