Many workplace grievances submitted for investigation pertain to a belief that a person’s manager is bullying them and engaging in unreasonable behaviour. We all have different perceptions and therein often lies the problem. A person making a complaint can perceive a request or action to be unreasonable on the basis that they may; feel singled out, humiliated, dislike being questioned about their conduct or performance or view feedback as nit-picking.
A concept which is receiving an increasing amount of attention across many occupational areas is "Psychological Safety". This term can be defined as actions taken within an organisation to ensure the mental and emotional well-being of individuals within the work-group. Around Australia and New Zealand, Psychological Safety has great importance from OSH and "duty of care" perspectives. In the workplace there are a number of psychosocial hazards that can affect
When a Linfox employee made disparaging comments about company managers on his Facebook page, the company fired him for serious misconduct. The employee applied to Fair Work Australia for unfair dismissal. The Commissioner sided with the employee. Why? Because Linfox did not have a policy covering employee use of social media. In the complete absence of a policy defining appropriate conduct, the employee could not be guilty of any
