Workplace Bullying and Workplace Conflict: The Difference Matters!
??Linda Crockett?? Global Workplace Psychological Safety Expert
?? Multiple Award Winning - Helping Leaders, Individual Workers, Students, all Workplaces, Institutions, Communities, with a combination of Trauma-Informed Psychological Safety Specialized Services (14 yrs exp!)
This article highlights the significance of recognizing the difference between bullying and conflict, as each calls for a distinct course of action. If we can get this right, we can resolve millions of cases yearly! We can prevent it more efficiently, intervene more effectively, and expedite the restoration, repair, and recovery due to the validation and understanding this will bring.?
Conflict:
Bullying:
Conflict Resolution:?It's important to approach conflict resolution with a focus on healthy, positive communication and problem-solving between equal partners. It's also important for confident and skilled leadership to view conflicts as an opportunity to guide staff learning, including enhancing their self-awareness. This can help prevent conflicts from escalating to cases of bullying.
Bullying Behavior: Intervention is necessary in cases of bullying to protect the target and stop the harmful behavior. Messages should emphasize that bullying is against legislation and company policies and that it is unethical, unprofessional, and costly. The focus should be on eliminating bullying in the workplace and adhering to company policies to maintain a safe and respectful work environment for all employees.
Educating all employees, from top-down and bottom-up, on these distinctions is crucial to address conflicts and bullying appropriately and effectively. Our in-depth trauma-informed training is designed to equip employees with the necessary skills and knowledge to identify and respond to conflicts and bullying in a way that promotes a safe and healthy workplace culture. This training emphasizes the importance of being aware of the impact of trauma on individuals and provides practical strategies for addressing conflicts and bullying in a way that is sensitive and effective.
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Our training is comprehensive and includes addressing workplace bullying and harassment, as well as helping participants recognize the differences between the two. This approach supports a safer and more respectful environment in the workplace by providing employees with the knowledge and skills to recognize and respond to bullying and harassment effectively. By educating all employees on these topics, we can work together to create a workplace culture that values and promotes respect, inclusivity, and mutual understanding.
We must do all we can to prevent harm.
Linda Crockett
Training for all professions, industries, trades, and communities.
Founder and MD of Wellbeing Solutions Limited & Founder of HealthSafe
10 个月I recently spoke to a young lady who just before Christmas was let go from her role. What was very unique to this case was that it took her to leave to reflect on the last few years when she had a change in senior management that since that time gradually she had been victimised continually over a significant period and more so in the last few months leading up to her departure. Bullying, as we know it, can be more than continued peer pressure, increasing your workload outside your role profile or even indifferent communication from the rest of the team. I'd never seen or heard of this type of bullying before but it left her physically exhausted and doubting her capabilities in her role which obviously impacts her moving on. The smart thing she did was she recorded every email and documented every negative conversation and has pages of documented evidence. I simply asked her, what would she do if her child or best friend sat down with you and showed this to you. What do you think you would say and do? All of a sudden the lights went on and she realised there should be consequences for this and that is where I left it. Makes you think how many others are in the same boat... simply unaware they are being silently bullied.
Organizational Development Consultant
10 个月A big part of me thinks that conflict became bullying at a toxic workplace because I had a supervisor who was super uncomfortable with conflict. So he avoided it and even prevented his subordinates from engaging in it. So everything became gossip and backbiting, sabotage and undermining. I distinctly remember a couple minor disagreements in meetings that I was part of that had this boss convinced there was a problem between me and another person. However, the reality was that we had fantastic relationships and they wrote glowing references for me more than once. He couldn't understand that conflict could be part of a normal healthy work relationship. He chewed me out for the minor disagreements he witnessed.