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Preventing Workplace Bullying

Preventing Workplace Bullying: An evidence-based guide for managers and employees is a useful book for understanding the issues involved and helps give guidance about how to deal with it. While it is written with Australian workplaces in mind - using australian laws and cases - it has lots of useful insights that make it a useful for any workplace. It has 4 parts starting with
what is bullying and moving on to rights & responsibilities, taking action and moving beyond bullying.

What I immediately liked about the book was it positive approach by avoiding labelling and blaming. They talk about bullying behaviour and targets of bullying behaviour. It is important to recognise that what needs to be dealt with is inappropriate behaviours, not try and change personalities or identify "workplace psychopaths". This makes it somewhat easier to deal with as you can discuss what behaviour is not okay, rather than subjectively labelling "personality" issues.

The book covers the hazards, issues and risks from the prospective of employers, supervisors/managers and employees. It looks at the impacts on those that use bullying behaviour, those targeted by bullying behaviour, employers dealing with issues and the bystanders who witness bullying behaviour. It becomes clear that no one really wins from using bullying behaviour and so it is best to remove it from every workplace. There is a number of dangers of not dealing with it appropriately and there is good advice on how best to go about dealing with complaints.

I found Preventing Workplace Bullying both helpful and somewhat disheartening. Disheartening because it lays bear the difficulties that need to be overcome in reporting and dealing with any case of bullying behaviour. Helpful in that it offers a number of suggestions and idea's on how to take action. It also helps outline why the positive culture in a bullying behaviour free workplace will help improve productivity, staff retention & enjoyment. Recommended for anyone dealing with bullying behaviour and/or wanting to encourage appropriate behaviour in the workplace.

Preventing Workplace Bullying: An evidence-based guide for managers and employees by
Carlo Caponecchia & Anne Wyatt ISBN 9781742373461
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