Hi Renata – “For a long time now myself and other staff have been experiencing unacceptable and disrespectful behaviour from a colleague. Management has had meetings with them, provided guidance and offered to reduce their stress load, but there has been no change in behaviour. Their actions are inappropriate, unprofessional and damaging to the mental health of the employees around them. What can we do? We have already complained to management and there is no change.”
It sounds like your employer is not adequately managing the behaviour of the individual and following through with meaningful changes to make the workplace less toxic for everyone else.
Performance management itself may not be an OHS matter, but the impact of this situation on you and other employees can definitely present a psychosocial hazard – specifically, the hazard presented by poor workplace relationships – and that is an OHS matter that you as HSR can push to be resolved. Research into this type of issue indicates that the best way to address this type of issue to prevent reoccurrences is to treat it as a systems, rather than an individual, issue. The OHSReps pages linked above offer some great examples of control measures and risk management strategies that your employer can implement - and also strategies that you, as an HSR, can use to address this hazard.
Using your HSR powers and rights you can consult with affected DWG members and use HSR tools (such as anonymous surveys etc.) to gather data about the issues your DWG members are experiencing. Consult with your DWG members and the HSRs of other affected DWGs – it is important that everyone is on the same page with regard to what outcomes you want. When going in to discuss such issues with management it is good to know that your DWG and other HSRs are presenting a united stance.
Be sure that the identified incidents have been reported using your workplace hazard reporting system – without the hazard reports your employer may feel no compulsion to act. Once the hazard is reported, raise it for issue resolution with your employer – review your workplace OHS Issue Resolution procedure if you need to refresh your memory on the process.
Your employer has a duty to consult with affected employees and/or their HSRs about this matter. Obviously, this may be a sensitive issue as the hazard involves the behaviour of an employee and management’s handling of it, rather than a physical hazard. In the interests of maintaining a sound working relationship with management you and other HSRs may have to be a little diplomatic about how you approach the topic of their management processes, whilst not backing off on your expectation that all employees have a right to feel safe in the workplace.
WorkSafe Victoria have a number of publications to guide employers in the management of psychosocial hazards – this Work-related Stress page and the related guide for employers is a good example. You can refer your employer to these resources.
There is some good news on the horizon for workplaces experiencing psychosocial hazards – The Victorian Government has finally given a date for the implementation of the new Psychosocial Regulations. These regulations were announced four years ago and have been meandering their way through the parliamentary process for far too long, but we now have an anticipated release date of 1 December this year. Along with the new regulations we will also get a Psychological Hazards Compliance Code to help employers with details about how to adequately comply with their duty to proactively manage psychological hazards in their workplace.
