Comments on: Workplace bullying submissions show industry misses the whole point

By: No code of practice for workplace bullying but hope remains « SafetyAtWorkBlog

Tue, 15 Oct 2013 20:30:52 +0000

[…] 2013 but it may be that the, supposedly, increased flexibility lobbied for by groups such as the Australian Mines and Metals Association has been accepted by the government. Let’s hope it is not the flexibility to ignore the […]

By: Mark Cody

Mark Cody — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:20:17 +0000

Isnt the workplace one aspect of life and like life itself will never be perfect. Everybody at some point experiences bullying and it is how the person reacts to it that is crucial. Everybody has heated arguments and to believe we can eliminate them is a waste of time and effort. Bullying needs to be tackled when it becomes a problem.

By: Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 02:20:31 +0000

Mark, I am not so critical of the HR professionals as I know many who are just as committed to OHS improvements as are OHS professionals but I do think that both areas of personnel management are shown as lacking in the dealing with psychosocial hazards.

Perhaps what is behind many of the critics of the Bullying Code is that the code seems to be written for the OHS world and not the HR or IR worlds.

By: Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 02:18:05 +0000

Fergus, I think that was also the point being made in Michael Costello\’s submission. That bullying may be institutionalised in some industry sectors does not mean that the situation cannot be changed and improved. This was part of my disappointment in reading several of the submissions by industry representatives.

By: Mark Lapworth

Mark Lapworth — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 02:10:34 +0000

Yes Fergus, in many companies I have worked with or in over the decades in various capacities, the Human Resources Department was privately known by terms such as \’the Anti-Personnel Department\’. Said it all, really.

By: Fergus Robinson

Fergus Robinson — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 00:13:45 +0000

The problem with the whole issue of bullying is that the focus of concern is on the obvious examples of the mistreatment of people in the workplace. This is the \”thin edge of the wedge\” .

Bullying is institutionalised,refined and disguised in the practices of Human Resources management.

It is a systemic problem which can only be solved by an ethical commitment to industrial relations law and by employers who embrace human compassion as a sincere and strongly adhered to, component of their Mission Statement.