Adult bullying in the workplace is usually an act of abuse of power. This ‘power’ can be derived from position, length of service, or social networks. Adult bullying in the workplace can take many forms, including verbal abuse, psychological abuse, sexual harassment, physical abuse, or coercion control as in domestic violence at work. It can also include offensive remarks, actions, or behaviours due to an employee's race, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation. Adult bullying in the workplace can seriously affect an employee's mental and physical health.

Affirmative action is a set of policies that aim to create equal opportunity for members of an underrepresented group. The goals of affirmative action policies are to reduce inequities in employment, education and income between demographic groups and to promote diversity in the workplace. Affirmative action laws vary widely by region and remain a subject of legal and political controversy.

Ageism, or age discrimination, is the practice of unfairly treating a person based on age. In the workplace, this might take the form of someone being overlooked for a job or promotion, denied benefits, or having their employment terminated prematurely. Ageist attitudes can be detrimental to a target’s health and lead to the marginalisation of people within their communities.

Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. 2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. 3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. 4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

The bullying continuum is a WorkRight23 evidence-based tool to determine the type of bullying experienced by a target. The continuum maps the incident intensity with frequency over time with the resulting graph depicting the type of bullying. Understanding the type of bullying will facilitate finding a resolution.

Housed within the WorkRight23 Platform, case management allows a target to open a case and document incidents as they happened. These are date and time stamped for future reference. Targets decide what steps, if any, they might like to take next. Using this tool can assist targets in processing through trauma and can serve as a reference to share what happened with the organisation, lawyer, law enforcement, therapist, friend, (now or in the future).

Conflict management is the use of techniques to resolve disagreements or manage the level of discord. Conflict resolution techniques may include facilitating meetings for the conflicting parties to identify the problem, discuss resolutions and create goals that require cooperation from conflicting parties.

A conflict of interest is an incompatibility or disparity between the internal or private interests and the official responsibilities of an enterprise or person in a position of trust.

Consent on WorkRight23 means you are always in control of your information and your choices. You decide what to share, with whom, and when. Your records, including sensitive or sexual harm data, are stored securely and will never be shared without your clear permission unless required by law to prevent serious harm. You may also choose to give your General Practitioner (GP) consent to refer you to the platform. Consent must be informed, voluntary, and ongoing; you can change or withdraw it at any time. Consent in sexual activity means an active, verbal “yes.” Sexual activity without consent is sexual Read More

Constructive dismissal is a situation in which an employee is forced to resign because of the employer’s conduct. This can include situations in which the employer makes the work environment intolerable, reduces the employee’s pay or hours, or demotes the employee. Constructive dismissal can also occur when the employer fires the employee for a reason that is not allowed by law, such as discrimination or retaliation. If an employee is forced to resign because of the employer’s conduct, the employee may have a claim for wrongful termination.

A disciplinary procedure is a system an employer uses to manage employee performance issues. The employer can choose to issue warnings, suspensions and terminations for repeated or severe violations of company policy.

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is a function of an organization or a subfunction within the HR function. The purpose of D&I functions is to ensure that the organization is comprised of diverse individuals (based on individual characteristics, values, beliefs, and backgrounds) and to foster a work environment in which all employees feel respected, accepted, supported and valued. Organizations may refer to this function by different names, such as: Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) Inclusion and diversity (I&D) Diversity, inclusion and belonging (DI&B)  

Family and domestic violence can become a work health and safety (WSH) issue if the perpetrator makes threats, intimidates or carries out violence on a partner or family member at the workplace, including if working from home. Targets of domestic violence can open a case and document incidents of bullying for use now or in the future.

An employee assistance program (EAP) is a benefit program that assists employees with personal or work-related problems that may impact their job performance, health and general well-being. EAPs usually offer free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals and follow-up services for employees. EAPs provide support to employees experiencing various issues, which often include substance abuse, emotional distress, major life events (births, accidents and death), occupational stress, financial or healthcare concerns, and family/personal relationship issues.

The Employee Hierarchy of Needs looks at the dynamics between employees and the organisation. It is an evidence-based tool used to determine the level of employee ‘need’ satisfaction. There are five levels beginning with Safety & Security (physical and psychological) followed by Rewards (tangible and intangible), Affiliation, Growth and finally Work/Life Balance. As each need is met, the employee moves up to the next level. After determining the level of engagement of employees the organisation can then determine the optimal investment levers for each level and quantify the ROI to the bottom line.

A grievance is a complaint filed by an employee with the employer to correct an error, problem or injustice that occurred in the workplace.

A hostile work environment is created when harassing or discriminatory conduct is so severe and pervasive it interferes with an individual's ability to perform their job; creates an intimidating, offensive, threatening or humiliating work environment; or causes a situation where a person's psychological well-being is adversely affected.

Human capital management (HCM) is a set of practices related to people resource management. These practices are focused on the organizational need to provide specific competencies and are implemented in three categories: workforce acquisition, workforce management and workforce optimization. The applications that help to enable human capital management include: Core administrative support: Personnel administration Benefits administration Payroll Portal/employee self-service Service center Strategic HCM support: Workforce planning Competency management Performance management Compensation planning and strategy Time and expense management Learning (education and training) Recruitment (hiring and recruitment) Onboarding Contingent workforce management Organization visualization Other HCM: Reporting and analytics (workforce analytics) Workflow

An independent contractor is a person or entity hired to provide goods or services on an as-needed basis. They are also known as freelancers. Because independent contractors are not employees, the hiring business generally does not have to withhold or pay any taxes on payments made to independent contractors.

A job description includes an overview, role summary, catalogue of responsibilities, and the qualifications and experience required for a particular role. It also defines the soft skills and business skills required for success in the role. Job descriptions should be fine-tuned and reviewed with stakeholders, such as senior management, to gain consensus on the requirements of a specific position to support a company’s work, behavioural and business requirements.

Housed in the WorkRight23 Platform, our proprietary Matching System, which utilizes cryptography to provide a private alternative to a “whisper network” to ascertain if other targets were harmed by the same perpetrator.

Micromanagement Micromanagement is a pattern of manager behaviour marked by excessive supervision and control of employees’ work and processes, as well as limited delegation of tasks or decisions to staff. Signs of micromanagement can include the following: • The manager constantly interrupts employees to give them instructions. • The manager closely monitors employees’ work and provides feedback on a constant basis. • The manager assigns employees very specific tasks and does not allow them to deviate from these tasks. • The manager closely monitors employees’ use of time and resources. • The manager requires employees to report back to them Read More

Occupational Stress Occupational stress is a type of stress that can occur when people are placed in demanding work situations. In some cases, this type of stress can lead to physical and emotional health problems. Occupational stress can be caused by a number of factors, including: • The nature of the work itself • The work environment • The demands of the job • The way the job is organized • The level of control people have over their work • The relationships they have with their co-workers • The way work is balanced with the rest of their lives.

An Options Advocate is a lawyer, who is notified when a perpetrator match is found in the WorkRight23 platform’s Matching System. As the Advocate is a lawyer, client privilege is protected. When a match is made, the Options Advocate is provided a key to access the encrypted information regarding the match(s). The Option Advocate will then contact each target to discuss the options that are now open to them. The service is provided Pro bono to members of WorkRight23. As always, the target decides which path they will pursue for their personal healing and justice.

A performance improvement plan, or PIP, is a tool used by employers to help employees improve their job performance. A PIP usually includes a list of specific goals or objectives that the employee is expected to achieve, along with a timeline for completion. The employee may also be given a plan for improvement, which may include specific steps the employee can take to improve their performance. A PIP is typically used when an employee’s job performance is below expectations and the employee is not meeting the organization’s standards. It can also be used to help employees who are struggling to Read More

A perpetrator is a person (or group of people) whose actions, behaviours, or decisions cause harm to another person in the workplace. This may include bullying, harassment, discrimination, sexual harassment or assault, abuse of power, or any behaviour that creates psychosocial harm. On the WorkRight23 platform, the word perpetrator is used in a neutral, factual sense to identify the source of harmful behaviour in an incident report. It does not imply legal guilt but records who the target identifies as responsible for the behaviour. Patterns of reported behaviour are used to help organisations understand risks, identify root causes, and take Read More

Psychological safety is an environment that encourages, recognizes and rewards individuals for their contributions and ideas by making individuals feel safe when taking interpersonal risks. A lack of psychological safety at work can inhibit team learning and lead to in-groups, groupthink and blind spots.

Psychosocial hazard Psychosocial hazards are aspects of work which have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm. There are several types of hazards: • Job demands • Low job control • Poor support • Lack of role clarity • Poor organisational change management • Inadequate reward and recognition • Poor organisational justice • Traumatic events or materials • Remote or isolated work • Poor physical environment • Violence and aggression • Bullying • Systemic discrimination

Quid pro quo is a type of sexual harassment in which an employee is offered benefits or rewards in exchange for sexual favors. This type of discrimination is particularly harmful to women, who are often the victims of sexual advances from their superiors in the workplace. Victims of quid pro quo discrimination may feel that they have to give in to their superiour’s demands in order to keep their job or receive favorable treatment. They may also be afraid to report the harassment, for fear of retaliation. Quid pro quo can also occur between co-workers, when one person offers benefits Read More

Quiet quitting is when employees meet role requirements and work their scheduled hours but do not go above and beyond what their employers might expect of them. Quiet quitters express a desire for fair rewards and recognition, better work-life balance, and well-being in their careers.