If someone asked “would your company would like to save several $100,000 a year?”
The answer would be, YES!
It was several years after being bullied, I discovered a business cost calculator where I learned my bulling incident, 6-month of it, cost the company $300,000.00! ( Dan Dana’s)
The financial cost of tolerating this behaviour stunned me.
As a business leader, I know people join teams because they have a talent needed to progress towards business goals. However, is it’s not a reason to allow them to harass other valuable staff into leaving a company frustrated and upset.
Dis-satisfied employees translate into bad advertising for corporate image, which is not our business goal.
The legal ramifications are also costly. In Canada several Supreme Court decisions awarded almost $1 million in judgments to employees who were being screamed at in the work place.
In the Sulz, 2006, case a police officer, won nearly $1 million from the RCMP. The ruling was the person in charge had a “duty to ensure she could work in a harassment-free environment,” British Columbia Supreme Court Judge Lamperson.
Similar judgments have been awarded in Ontario, because management allowed the behaviour to exist. In June 2010, the Ontario government added workplace harassment to the Ontario Health & Safety Act, increasing employers’ responsibility to ensure a harassment-free workplace.
How do you handle such an employee?
These steps are a good starting point:
- be an open and non-judgmental active listener,
- recognizing who’s causing the disturbance & monitor them,
- monitor day to day behaviours / events in the workplace,
- use assertive management techniques,
- protect the targets / witness’ from the aggressive / discordant behaviours.
There is no “quick fix”. Success depends on business leaders/managers being consist in their effort to monitor the work environment.
SAVE MONEY and INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY, with Business Genie!
Tamara Parris, Business Genie. Please twitter @business_genie or call 416-548-4237
Visit our website http://www.businessaccountability.com
