Issuu

HR INSIGHTS

SPRING 2022

SARC’s Human Resources and Labour Relations Newsletter

#15 WORKPLACE CULTURE

In this issue, consultants from SARC and MLT Aikins discuss workplace culture, how to identify toxic work environments, and what to do to promote the psychological health and safety of your staff.

Contents Is Your Workplace Toxic?

Adam Leung When a workplace is truly toxic, employees may feel disengaged, disconnected, or belitted, resulting in an aura of hostility, and employees in hostile work environments feel psychologically unsafe. In this article, SARC HR Consultant, Adam Leung, discusses what a toxic workplace means and how to take steps to deal with toxicity.

How to Create and Maintain a Respectful Workplace Marrion Wolff A respectful workplace culture may not always be easy to attain, but with focus and hard work, it’s achievable.

In this article, SARC LR Consultant, Marrion Wolff, breaks down steps each organization must take to introduce a respectful work environment.

Tips for Navigating Harassment and Preventing a Toxic Workplace Amy Gibson Employers have a duty to provide a safe work environment for their employees, but even the best workplaces are not immune to toxicity.

Lawyer with MLT Aikins, Amy Gibson, discusses workplace harassment and what employers must do, should they be faced with a claim.

About the consultants

About Marrion Marrion can assist SARC’s Regular and Associate Members with a variety of LR/HR issues, including progressive discipline, performance management, and duty to accommodate for unionized and non-unionized organizations. She can also provide specific support in collective bargaining for unionized organizations. Accessing this service is free of charge and can minimize organizational risk. Having a quick check-in or a review done before decisions are made can save you time and money in the end. Marrion Wolff SARC Labour Relations Consultant

About Adam Adam is available to assist SARC’s Regular and Associate Members who would like to have additional expertise on a variety of HR topics. Whether you have an internal HR professional or not, organizations can contact Adam for best practices in the sector to strengthen your workforce. Areas of service include recruitment and retention, organizational structure analysis and workforce planning, job descriptions, HR policies and procedures, compensation and total rewards, and succession planning. Adamn Leung SARC Human Resources Consultant

About Amy

Amy Gibson L a w y e r , M LT A i k i n s

Amy Gibson carries on a general labour and employment law practice. She advises employers on a variety of labour issues, including union certification drives, collective agreement interpretation, labour disputes, workplace policies, discipline and discharge, employment contracts, OH&S, workers’ compensation, labour standards and human rights. She has experience with a variety of court and administrative proceedings as well as representing clients before the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board and in Canada Labour Code unjust dismissal adjudications.

IS YOUR WORKPLACE TOXIC? Adam Leung

SARC Human Resources Consultant

What is a toxic workplace? A workplace is truly toxic when dysfunction is the organizational norm and mean-spirited behaviour occurs regularly. It’s when the dominant daily emotion among employees is anxiety. Employees fear that they will be bullied, humiliated, and/or shamed into silent compliance with values they reject. There is an aura of hostility, and employees in hostile work environments feel psychologically unsafe.

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Signs & Symptoms Some major, common signs of a toxic workplace include (but are not limited to): •

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Harassment, bullying, and abuse – We often think of bullying as overt verbal or physical abuse, but it can also take covert forms such as nonverbal or psychological abuse that is just as destructive. Gossip and rumors – If your workplace is rampant with conversations going on that are persistently negative or gossipy in nature, it can lead to mistrust, hostility, and feeling unsafe. Manipulation and blame games – This takes many forms, including “gas lighting”. Staff may fear that

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their words will be “twisted” or what they say/do will be used against them. Speaking up and not being heard – If employees feel like sharing input but no one really cares or wants to action it, they may feel like there is no point and can become disengaged. Favouritism – Where it feels like rules and privileges only apply to some and not everyone. Narcissistic leadership – When managers and supervisors are self-interested, lack empathy, and lack self-awareness, they can be very difficult to work with. Disregard for employees’ personal lives (this especially applies to remote workers). Ongoing conflict or complaints – especially over things that are petty or inconsequential. Cliques Disrespect

behaviour in violation of workplace norms with ambiguous intent to harm the target. Examples of incivility include (but are not limited to): • • • • • • • • • • •

Rudeness Lack of courtesy Ignoring or avoiding someone Derogatory remarks Unprofessional voice mails or emails Shutting someone out of a team or network Belittling the efforts of others Setting others up to fail Withholding information Throwing temper tantrums Snide, sarcastic, or passiveaggressive gestures, actions, or comments

Workplace Bullying – Often referred to as psychological harassment, workplace bullying • can be defined as behaviour that • is intended to intimidate, offend, degrade, or humiliate a particular Disrespect in the workplace person or group of people. Some takes many forms. For our examples of workplace bullying purposes, we will discuss two types of include (but are not limited to): disrespect – incivility and Workplace • Spreading malicious rumors, Bullying. These types can really set gossip, or innuendo the “tone” for a workplace to be toxic. • Excluding or isolating someone Incivility - Workplace incivility can be socially defined as low-intensity disrespectful •

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Undermining or deliberately impeding a person’s work. Removing areas of responsibilities without cause Imposing unrealistic workloads or deadlines that set up an individual to fail. Withholding necessary information or purposefully giving the wrong information. Making jokes that are obviously offensive by spoken word or email. Intruding on a person’s privacy by pestering, spying, or stalking. Yelling or using profanity. Criticizing and/or belittling a person persistently. Unwarranted or undeserved punishment. Disciplining an employee in the presence of other staff. Tampering with someone’s personal belongings or work equipment. Cyberbullying.

Coping With Disrespect The big problem with disrespect in a toxic workplace culture is that it has become normalized. However, silence is never the answer. Silence is a sign of agreement and acceptance, which supports the toxic culture. So, how can one address those who are disrespectful?

Show respect – Two wrongs never make a right. It is

easy and tempting to respond to disrespect with more disrespect or even hostility, but you are not helping yourself or the situation. Instead, be the better person by showing them the respect, class, and professionalism they fail to show you.

Be objective – Try to separate your emotions from the

situation. Ask yourself, “What’s really going on here?” and “Why would any reasonable person behave like this?” Doing so will help you manage your own emotions and increase your capacity to respond professionally; in turn, it will help you work towards a productive outcome.

Reach out – Seek advice from a trusted colleague,

friend, or your supervisor. Having someone you feel safe to confide in can help immensely. It will allow you to vent, but also help manage your emotions. Further, it may give you some valuable insight and perspective on how you can address the behaviour(s).

DO NOT let it fester – Never let the behaviour(s) go

unaddressed. If you don’t confront the individual(s), you are basically giving them a “license” to continue. Set up a meeting with the individual(s) to address the issue. Try to present your concerns in a calm, concise, and objective manner, and then give the other party a chance to respond. Be sincere and listen diligently with an open mind.

Own up – Sometimes we are a part of the problem but may not realize it. This weighs especially heavy on managers and supervisors. After listening to the other party, take responsibility if you have been a part of the problem(s). If you find your actions (or lack of) are in fact contributing, you need to own it. Doing so DOES NOT excuse disrespectful behaviour nor shift the guilt on to you; rather, it validates their experience, which can work towards reconciliation. Dealing with toxicity in the work environment and improving workplace culture is not easy, but it can be done. It takes acknowledgment, commitment, and open communication by all – healthy workplaces are everyone’s responsibility, with organizational leadership working to inspire meaningful change.

HOW TO CREATE AND MAINTAIN A RESPECTFUL WORKPLACE Marrion Wolff

SARC Labour Relations Consultant

the foundation for making employees aware of the behaviour expected and also provides a reference for when employees need to be coached and improvement or change is needed.

s employers we know the type of workplace atmosphere and culture we wish to see in our organization. Ideally it will be a respectful, professional, caring and free from harassment atmosphere where every person feels appreciated for their contributions. But how do we make this happen? Simply wishing it were so is not enough, and we need to create a foundation for respectful behaviour that includes consistent measures to create the work culture we desire. Some of the ground work that can set the stage for a respectful workplace would be a review of current policies, procedures and other workplace documents. For example:

Job Descriptions: Have we included references to the type of attitude and behaviour we require from our staff? Often job descriptions will contain such points as these taken from the sample Direct Support Professional job description, which can be found in SARC’s online Manager Resource Area: •

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Consistently demonstrates dignity and respect when interacting with others. Demonstrates cooperation, teamwork, energy, and optimism. Demonstrates flexibility, ability to adjust to new jobs, tasks or events

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Conducts duties in a fair, consistent, and caring manner. Accepts responsibility for actions.

Orientation information: New employees need to know the type of workplace culture the employer is striving for, and what their role will be in creating/maintaining that culture. Your orientation guide may contain components similar to the following, taken from the SARC Orientation and Onboarding Guide in the Manager Resource Area. It is important to keep the following principles in mind when implementing an orientation and onboarding system: • •

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Valuing respect, honesty, and integrity. Providing a safe, caring, and supportive environment for clients and employees. Coaching and guiding employees throughout their careers. Engaging and retaining enthusiastic, productive, and engaged employees in order to provide the highest quality of support for people experiencing disability.

Performance Feedback: The annual evaluation process is an opportunity to consider how well an employee has displayed the respectful behaviours and interactions we are looking for in their roles. Having clear job descriptions and applicable policies in place lays

Once we have the foundations in place we then want to promote and demonstrate the behaviours we have determined will provide the respectful workplace and ideal culture in our organization. The management team will be illustrating the respectful behaviours in their interactions with the rest of the employees and will be role models for them. They will need to be demonstrating in the day-to-day interactions with staff the qualities and standards that encourage a respectful workplace. The following is a list of some of the qualities to look for in a respectful employee: • Honesty and dependability. • Professional demeanour – not allowing their emotions to affect their behaviour. • Excellent communication skills. • The ability to admit where they are wrong. Finally, when creating and maintaining a respectful workplace we will likely face situations where an employee’s behaviours are disrespectful and need to be corrected. Dealing with these situations consistently and fairly will send the message that this behaviour will not be tolerated. Often, this behaviour results from employees not understanding what is expected of them, and they may need help in understanding exactly what respectful behaviour looks and sounds like. Staff meetings, communication books, and emails are all great tools for communicating our expectations to employees, and having your managers coach and provide verbal reminders to employees is also very effective.

TIPS FOR NAVIGATING HARASSMENT AND PREVENTING A TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENT Amy Gibson

Lawyer, MLT Aikins

ne of the biggest challenges facing employers is how to respond to harassment in the workplace. Workplace harassment demands strong condemnation, yet legal and ethical landmines are still present. As a result, employers must be aware of their obligations when it comes to managing potential issues relating to harassment in the workplace. Employers have a duty to provide a safe and respectful workplace free from discrimination and harassment. Employers are required to have a written harassment policy which complies with express requirements of the provincial legislation. The obligation to provide a harassment free workplace can extend beyond interactions between employees, and may include employee exchanges with family members of participants, board members and patrons to the agency’s operations. Unchecked harassment may result in a toxic work environment, creating further issues of employer liability, as well as undermining employee retention and engagement. The definition of harassment was recently updated in The Saskatchewan Employment Act (the “SEA”) and reads as follows (s.3-1(1)(l)): (l) “harassment” means: (i) any inappropriate conduct, comment, display, action or gesture by a person towards a worker: (A) that either: (I) is based on any prohibited ground as defined in The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code, 2018 or on physical size or weight; or (II) subject to subsections (4) and (5), adversely

affects the worker’s psychological or physical well-being and that the person knows or ought reasonably to know would cause the worker to be humiliated or intimidated; and (B) that constitutes a threat to the health or safety of the worker; or (ii) any conduct, comment, display, action or gesture by a person towards a worker that: (A) is of a sexual nature; and (B) the person knows or ought reasonably to know is unwelcome; The SEA broadly defines harassment to cover circumstances which harm the physical or psychological health or safety of a worker. It is the effect of the harassing conduct, and not the intention which makes conduct harassment. While the scope of harassment under the SEA is broad, it is clear that reasonable actions to manage and direct

workers are not harassment, even if a worker reacts negatively to those actions. Therefore, actions taken to assign work to employees, provide feedback or performance evaluations, or to discipline employees are not harassment if handled in a reasonable and professional manner.

their employment and allege that they were constructively dismissed, seeking damages equivalent to if they had been terminated without cause, and potential additional aggravated or punitive damages in relation to the employer’s conduct in addressing the situation or failing to provide a safe workplace.

In unionized operations, employees may grieve an employer’s failure to abide by its occupational health and safety requirements to provide a safe workplace free of harassment. Occupational Health and Safety Officers can also investigate employers to ensure compliance with their obligations under the SEA, including in relation to harassment. If any contravention is found, the employer will be ordered to take corrective action. Failure to comply with orders, or taking discriminatory action against a worker because they exercised occupational health and safety rights (such as making a harassment complaint), is an offence. An employer (or supervisor) convicted of such an offence could be fined $20,000 for a first offence (with a further $2,000 fine per day for continuing offences), and up to $40,000 for subsequent offences (with a further $4,000 fine per day for continuing offences). If any discriminatory action is taken against a worker for exercising occupational health and safety rights, an Occupational Health and Safety Officer can order the employee to receive back wages as compensation, and reinstate the employee to a former position.

An adjudicator recently heard an unjust dismissal complaint in Bai and Tsay Keh Dene Nation, Re where the complainant claimed that she was constructively dismissed due to bullying and harassment. The complainant was dismissed without cause, so was successful in her unjust dismissal complaint; however, the adjudicator addressed her constructive dismissal argument and held that, had she not been dismissed without cause, she was not constructively dismissed. The complainant argued that her manager created a toxic work environment, stating that her manager told her that she could give her a verbal warning but chose not to, was rude to her including in front of other members of the department within which she worked, wanted her to take over duties that were beneath her, gave her a written verbal warning that was not justified, took duties away from her, and documented certain things about her.

Unchecked harassment can also create potential risks of constructive dismissal claims by out-of-scope employees who endure the harassment, especially in circumstances where a toxic work environment is found. An employee who does not feel that an employer has adequately dealt with their concerns regarding harassment in the workplace may resign from

The adjudicator made the following comments in regards to the standard required for a finding that a workplace is so toxic or poisoned that an employee’s resignation is grounds for constructive dismissal: A workplace becomes toxic, or a poisoned workplace, for the purpose of constructive dismissal only where serious wrongful behaviour is demonstrated. [The complainant] bears the onus of establishing a claim of a poisoned workplace and the test is an objective one. An employee’s

subjective feelings or even genuinelyheld beliefs are insufficient to discharge this onus. There must be evidence that, to the objective reasonable bystander, would support the conclusion that a poisoned workplace environment had been created. Although employers cannot completely eliminate the risk of harassment in the workplace, undertaking proactive measures to reduce the risks of harassment can limit the extent of potential employer liability. These steps include establishing an organizational culture in which harassment is not acceptable, ensuring employees are aware of harassment policies (including both the consequences of breaching the policies and how to access complaint procedures), and being watchful for potential harassment even if a complaint has not been received. Employers are encouraged to seek legal advice to ensure that they have a solid foundation for addressing harassment complaints and issues in the workplace. Advanced preparation can help protect organizations against costly litigation and fines.

Register Now – SK 2021 Labour Update Tuesday, April 26 | 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. CST Thursday, May 5 | 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. CST Workplace rules and practices evolve continuously. As an employer you need to be aware of new developments in labour and employment law, regardless of how many employees you have. Effective human resource strategies depend on it. This webinar series will take place over two half-day morning sessions and will inform you of recent developments in the law and help you learn how to deal successfully with the issues they raise. The MLT Aikins Labour Update is designed for both unionized and non-unionized employers. We’ll get you up-to-date on changes to the rules and help you develop proactive human resources policies.

On the Agenda: Drafting Enforceable Employment Contracts COVID-19 Case Law Update Legal Considerations When Implementing Your Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy Accommodation Update Occupational Health and Safety Update Open Forum

Event Details: Cost: $427.50 + GST As a member of SARC, you can use the promo code SARC50 to get 50% off your registration fee. Registration deadline is April 14. This event has been pre-approved for 6 CPD hours by CPHR Saskatchewan. Space is limited. Only employers or their representatives are eligible to attend. We reserve the right to decline registrants.