HEALTHY WORKPLACE with Koreen Kimakowich
DENIAL AND DISMISSAL B
Because of Bill 168, managers and supervisors no longer can sit idly by and ignore workplace harassment and violence
ill 168 is now several months old and since its entrance into law this past June, I’ve found myself writing policy as well as developing and conducting training for organizations endeavouring to become compliant with its contents. This new piece of legislation has cata- pulted Ontario organizations of all shapes and sizes into action regarding the busi- ness of ensuring their environments es- pouse a safe and healthy workplace. As a result, the training forum has been nothing short of abuzz as “workers,” in- clusive of supervisors and managers, at- tend mandatory training to learn how the key requirements of Bill 168 impact them. More and more people are starting to wake up to this training, resulting in what I’ve identified as a series of consistently asked questions that can be divided into three distinct categories: A Person With a History of Violence • What is the definition of a history of violence?
• What personal information does the employer have to divulge?
• How much personal information is too much or not enough? Domestic Violence • What is the definition of domestic vio- lence?
• If my colleague tells me of a domestic violence situation in confidence do I still have to tell my employer? Right to Refuse Work • What if my employer threatens to fire me if I refuse to work?
Some of these questions can be an- swered now, while many can’t as various parameters and definitions have not been laid out in the legislation. Time will only create more questions than answers as it relates to Bill 168; however, let’s try to tackle the following very important query at this point of time: what happens if/when an em- ployee reports an incident to a manager or supervisor and he/she either does not be- lieve the employee or does not do anything?
8 SECURITY MATTERS • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010
This is a telling question and it reveals past experiences of many workers who have sought the support and decisive ac- tion from their employer in the effort to end unwelcome behaviour in the workplace. While it may have many hurdles to over- come, Bill 168 is clear in its obligations to employers, supervisors and managers: there is no more tolerance for the denial/dismissal of, by definition, workplace harassment that all too often makes way for the escalation of the behaviour. In some cases escalation is experienced as a violent outburst either by the perpetrator who has been allowed to behave in an unwelcome manner or by the victim who, in his/her in- ability to tolerate the incessant harassing, demeaning and sometimes bullying be- haviour, lashes out at his/her colleagues. Where there may have been before, there is no more room for denial and dis- missal when organizations and their des- ignated managers and supervisors are informed of workplace harassment and/or
violence. From a human behaviour per- spective, managers and supervisors must be able to notice not only when they are doing that, but what their internal drivers are for responding to complaints from the perspective of denial and dismissal. Prevention of harassment and violence in the workplace starts one person at a time, creating a collective consciousness of respect. As has always been the case, “management” will be a critical factor in the efficacy of Bill 168 as it relates to pre- vention of and response to workplace ha- rassment and violence.
Koreen Kimakowich is a former police sergeant with the Ottawa Police Service. She is the founder of Awakening Wave, Organizational
Evolution (
www.awakeningwave.ca), spe- cializing in harassment/discrimination workshops and training programs.
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