Manitoba recently updated workplace safety and health regulations to address psychological harassment such as intimidation, bullying and humiliation that often occur in the workplace. It has been noted that approximately 40% of workers reported that they have been subject to harassment or bullying. Since the new regulations came into effect many employers have diligently prepared new policies or amended their old ones to include the prevention of psychological harassment or bullying.

The new regulations were careful to make it clear that harassing, bullying or intimidating behaviour by any person in the workplace must stop. They were also clear to note that the appropriate exercise of managerial and supervisory duties and authority in the workplace is not harassment.

What is NOT Considered Harassment

The regulations note that reasonable actions by managers or supervisors to help manage, guide or direct workers or the workplace are not harassment. Appropriate employee performance reviews, counseling or discipline by a supervisor or manager is not harassment under the regulations. This means that managers and supervisors are fully able to:

-    Provide effective and appropriate supervision
-    Monitor day to day actions and activities in the workplace
-    Guide or direct workers or others in the workplace
-    Coach employees and conduct performance reviews
-    Council or discipline
-    Hire and fire

In short, supervisors and managers are still free to do their jobs and to promote and ensure the safe and effective operation of the workplace. In fact they are obligated to do so.

Key Changes to the Harassment Regulations

In the clearest terms, “what” supervisors and managers do or their fundamental role is essentially unchanged. What has dramatically changed is the way in which managers and supervisors must go about performing their duties and responsibilities. The “how” has changed while the “what” remains largely the same. Confused? Let me offer a few examples.

In some workplaces the following sorts of behaviours may have been common: yelling or shouting at workers, use of profanity, coercive threats, belittling, intimidating, use of inappropriate gestures, inappropriate depictions or displays, inappropriate disciplinary actions or termination, improper use of authority. The list of such forms of improper behaviour is lengthy but I think you get the point.

There are a few simple but important steps your organization can take to ensure that supervisors and members of the leadership team are well prepared and equipped to prevent harassment and bullying in your workplace.

Five Easy Steps to Help Ensure Compliance

Step One - Ensure that members of the supervisory and the leadership team participate in thorough training on the prevention of harassment and bullying in the workplace. Supervisors and leaders must understand their duties and responsibilities and conduct themselves appropriately.

Step Two - Ensure that supervisors and the leadership team participate in detailed training on the organization’s respectful workplace policies and procedures.

Step Three - Carefully examine the communication and problem solving skills of supervisory and leadership teams. Your organization can take steps to ensure that individuals in these roles receive proper training on how to effectively address performance problems without resorting to behaviours or methods that could be considered harassment or bullying.

Step Four - Ensure that when assessing the performance of supervisors and the leadership team, the organization looks at both “what” was achieved and “how” it was achieved. Looking at performance in this way can help ensure that organizations reward both the performance and the appropriate behaviours demonstrated.

Step Five - This step is often missed but crucial. Insist that supervisors and members of the leadership team “walk the talk”. If the supervisors and leaders exhibit a “do like I say, not like I do” attitude or behaviour towards harassment and bullying in the workplace, the employees in your workplace will quickly identify this inconsistency. They will disengage and become cynical very quickly.

As workplace regulations change, it is up to managers, supervisors and leaders to set the example – walk the talk if you will. It can be a thin line between fair discipline and what may be deemed harassment, so working hard as an organization to focus on communication and best practices is essential.