We asked this question on LinkedIn, and here were some of our favorite answers...
I think the definition of this phrase is probably as diverse as the collection of individuals in the workplace being discussed... for me personally, it's a place where I am trusted and respected, where my professional growth is supported, and where I have the opportunity to act in kind towards my colleagues.
Community, fun, respect, supportive, flexible, inspiring. I start with community b/c if employees describe their work space as having a sense of community, they feel a sense of belonging, and that triggers engagement and loyalty.
Open-minded, people take and give responsibility, fair, fun, reliable, where your competence is needed and developed
A"no idiots" policy.
New ideas welcome, resources shared according to need, all roles respected (not just your own tribe's!), flexibility based on trust.
Creativity, open communication, friendliness, flexible work hours, intolerance of cattiness.
Open to ideas, trusting, energetic, light 'n airy workspaces, respectful of human beings (not cogs in a machine) coming together to tackle projects, warm, mentoring, see work as a journey toward a goal that makes a difference; work is more than just work... It should be a fun 'n exciting where we r in the zone n in our element, like children with crayons having such a fun day, bright, open, curious n embracing all that's on offer
Respectful, fun, compassionate
'I would like to come back here again and again'
I love coming to work everyday.
You must have freedom to fail to be able to innovate and grow
No egotistical, abusive managers who are protected by upper management and the lawyers in HR (does that sound bitter? :)
Challenges, growth, engaging, stimulating
Optimism, stimulating, open, compassionate, creative, fun, engaging, growth
Invigorating, energizing
Feeling supported by co-workers in a fun, collaborative environment.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Psychologically Healthy Workplace Conference 2010: Building the Business Case for Employee Well-Being
Up until last week, although compelling evidence was already available, I had to agree that “more research is needed” before we can be fully confident that wellness in the workplace pays off as much in numerical terms as it does in human terms.
But not anymore. The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Conference held in Washington, DC last weekend gave everyone concrete and reliable evidence to make the topic a priority.
The greater focus, persistence, proactivity, enthusiasm and adaptability of the engaged employees leads to significant financial consequences. A 2005 study of 96 companies showed that firms whose score was in the top 25% for engagement enjoyed returns on assets (ROA) 12% higher and profitability 11% higher than firms that scored in the bottom 25% on engagement.
Employees in healthy workplaces miss on average 1.8 fewer days of work each year. If you have 100 employees, 1.8 fewer sick days per employee translates to 180 extra workdays per year, or the equivalent of 36 weeks of work! Few investments will ever give you that kind of return!
Click here to read the rest of the article from Positive Psychology News Daily.
This article is © 2010 PositivePsychologyNews.com. The original article was authored by Marie-Josee Salvas Shaar on March 15, 2010, and can be seen here. Marie-Josee Salvas Shaar, MAPP '07, founded Smarts and Stamina (SaS) to help organizations implement healthy living as part of their business strategy. She combines positive psychology with fitness and nutrition to accelerate personal and professional health and growth.
But not anymore. The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Conference held in Washington, DC last weekend gave everyone concrete and reliable evidence to make the topic a priority.
The greater focus, persistence, proactivity, enthusiasm and adaptability of the engaged employees leads to significant financial consequences. A 2005 study of 96 companies showed that firms whose score was in the top 25% for engagement enjoyed returns on assets (ROA) 12% higher and profitability 11% higher than firms that scored in the bottom 25% on engagement.
Employees in healthy workplaces miss on average 1.8 fewer days of work each year. If you have 100 employees, 1.8 fewer sick days per employee translates to 180 extra workdays per year, or the equivalent of 36 weeks of work! Few investments will ever give you that kind of return!
Click here to read the rest of the article from Positive Psychology News Daily.
This article is © 2010 PositivePsychologyNews.com. The original article was authored by Marie-Josee Salvas Shaar on March 15, 2010, and can be seen here. Marie-Josee Salvas Shaar, MAPP '07, founded Smarts and Stamina (SaS) to help organizations implement healthy living as part of their business strategy. She combines positive psychology with fitness and nutrition to accelerate personal and professional health and growth.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Teacher writes 'loser' on assignments
The mother of a sixth-grader says her daughter's teacher is bullying the girl with his notes...
http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/teacher-writes-loser-on-child-s-assignments-18593231
http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/teacher-writes-loser-on-child-s-assignments-18593231
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Here There be Monsters
Very moving. Take 10 minutes out of your busy day to read...
by William Rivers Pitt, truthout
I have a livid scar in the center of the back of my right hand. It is clearly visible, so I see it every day, and every time I see it, I am reminded of how I got it. One day, several boys in my junior high school class grabbed me and pinned me to the floor. They extended my right arm and held my hand flat to the floor. One of them took out a pencil and began violently rubbing it against the skin of that hand, until the skin broke, until little balls of my flesh stuck to the eraser, until the blood poured.
Keep reading...
by William Rivers Pitt, truthout
I have a livid scar in the center of the back of my right hand. It is clearly visible, so I see it every day, and every time I see it, I am reminded of how I got it. One day, several boys in my junior high school class grabbed me and pinned me to the floor. They extended my right arm and held my hand flat to the floor. One of them took out a pencil and began violently rubbing it against the skin of that hand, until the skin broke, until little balls of my flesh stuck to the eraser, until the blood poured.
Keep reading...
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Bullying fines deliver a stern message
Sydney Morning Herald
By PENNY STEVENS
February 9, 2010
A COURT decision yesterday to issue $335,000 in fines arising from workplace behaviour that resulted in a waitress committing suicide highlights the significant risks associated with bullying and harassment in the workplace.
The owner of Cafe Vamp in Hawthorn was one of four workers to plead guilty to failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of persons.
The owner and his one-man company also pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment.
The company was fined $220,000, and magistrate Peter Lauritsen said he would have doubled the penalties had the defendants not pleaded guilty to what he described as ''the most serious case of bullying''.
The decision demonstrates one of the many costs associated with failing to manage bullying and harassment in the workplace appropriately.
According to a recent draft report released by the Productivity Commission, ''psycho-social hazards'' such as bullying and harassment in the workplace tend to be more costly on average than claims for less serious physical injuries, both in relation to direct costs and time taken off work.
The report indicates that an estimated 2.5 million Australians experience some form of bullying over the course of their working lives.
It is reported that a high prevalence of stress (including that caused by bullying) translates into direct costs to employers in Australia of about $10 billion a year, and costs to the economy of about $14.8 billion a year.
Research shows these costs are due to increased absenteeism and the loss of productivity that occurs when employees are present at work but not fully functioning.
The figures do not include hidden costs associated with increased turnover of staff and recruitment and retraining costs, the costs of management dealing with internal complaints, and intangible costs associated with decreased trust, loyalty and staff morale.
Workplace bullying and harassment are not given the same attention in occupational health and safety legislation as managing physical hazards - such as manual handling, working at heights and dangerous substances - and this has led to additional uncertainty being placed on businesses about the extent of their duty of care and how to tackle such hazards.
Eliminating workplace bullying and harassment is an integral part of any employer's organisational OH&S commitments.
The Cafe Vamp decision sends a clear message to employers, company directors and employees that allowing or participating in workplace bullying can lead to tragic results and to criminal charges that carry significant penalties.
Penny Stevens is a partner, specialising in occupational health and safety, with lawyers Hall & Wilcox.
For help or information, visit beyondblue.org.au, or call Suicide Helpline Victoria on 1300 651 251 or Lifeline on 131 114.
Source: The Age
By PENNY STEVENS
February 9, 2010
A COURT decision yesterday to issue $335,000 in fines arising from workplace behaviour that resulted in a waitress committing suicide highlights the significant risks associated with bullying and harassment in the workplace.
The owner of Cafe Vamp in Hawthorn was one of four workers to plead guilty to failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of persons.
The owner and his one-man company also pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment.
The company was fined $220,000, and magistrate Peter Lauritsen said he would have doubled the penalties had the defendants not pleaded guilty to what he described as ''the most serious case of bullying''.
The decision demonstrates one of the many costs associated with failing to manage bullying and harassment in the workplace appropriately.
According to a recent draft report released by the Productivity Commission, ''psycho-social hazards'' such as bullying and harassment in the workplace tend to be more costly on average than claims for less serious physical injuries, both in relation to direct costs and time taken off work.
The report indicates that an estimated 2.5 million Australians experience some form of bullying over the course of their working lives.
It is reported that a high prevalence of stress (including that caused by bullying) translates into direct costs to employers in Australia of about $10 billion a year, and costs to the economy of about $14.8 billion a year.
Research shows these costs are due to increased absenteeism and the loss of productivity that occurs when employees are present at work but not fully functioning.
The figures do not include hidden costs associated with increased turnover of staff and recruitment and retraining costs, the costs of management dealing with internal complaints, and intangible costs associated with decreased trust, loyalty and staff morale.
Workplace bullying and harassment are not given the same attention in occupational health and safety legislation as managing physical hazards - such as manual handling, working at heights and dangerous substances - and this has led to additional uncertainty being placed on businesses about the extent of their duty of care and how to tackle such hazards.
Eliminating workplace bullying and harassment is an integral part of any employer's organisational OH&S commitments.
The Cafe Vamp decision sends a clear message to employers, company directors and employees that allowing or participating in workplace bullying can lead to tragic results and to criminal charges that carry significant penalties.
Penny Stevens is a partner, specialising in occupational health and safety, with lawyers Hall & Wilcox.
For help or information, visit beyondblue.org.au, or call Suicide Helpline Victoria on 1300 651 251 or Lifeline on 131 114.
Source: The Age
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Programming Healthy Habits of Today for Tomorrow
Dr. Daniel Scott, Author of Verbal Self Defense in the Workplace, wrote this article just for us.
As children we learn new behaviors easily and effortlessly because there is a constant stream of feedback from parents,teachers, friends and family which motivate us to act in a certain way. How it works is quite simple- good feedback makes good feelings and we unconsciously seek to have those feelings more, so we repeat the behavior. Bad feedback makes us feel bad and subsequently we avoid doing that behavior again with the goal of avoiding those bad feelings. Just because we’re adults doesn’t mean our learning patterns change all that much -- we still require positive reinforcement to develop habitual, unconscious behavior patterns.
What does this mean for targets of workplace bullying? As you develop communication skills (both internally; talking to yourself -- and externally; talking to bullies) and learn to handle bullies in ways that work best for you, it’s critical that you follow up any of the new, useful behaviors with positive reinforcement to turn those skills into unconscious habits. One effective way to do that is through “future pacing” using visualization.
Future Pacing
Future pacing means taking the positive experience (or skill) and fully imagining (visualize) yourself doing it in the future. To be as effective as possible in programming your unconscious behavioral patterns, let’s start by having you remember a one-time event where you effectively handled a workplace bullying situation. This event can be one small component (ex. you maintained eye contact) or it can be more general (ex. you easily and effortlessly explained yourself in a calm, controlled manner). Whatever behavior you want to replicate, simply find a one time event when you did it in your past -- preferably in the recent past -- and get a clear picture of it in your mind.
Begin by re-experiencing the event through your own senses -- what did you say, do, feel, etc., when you used that behavior? Imagine going through it all again and, if you want to, add extra components to the visualization that make it even more powerful. An example would be to add in the sound of cheering and applause, or a friend giving you thumbs up, in the background. When you have it the way you want it, stop and really notice your success … specifically, feel it and say something to yourself which confirms that you did good.
Having that feeling in mind, imagine a time in the near future -- like a week from now -- and, this time, see yourself from outside your body doing the behavior in a different situation where you’re dealing with a bully. You are now a witness to the event; really focus on noticing the “you” in the imagined future event doing the behavior and then feeling that awareness of success immediately afterwards (go ahead and put that cheering section in again!). As soon as you’ve done that, go further into the future -- imagine a time a few months from now -- and see yourself doing it again in a different situation. Watch as you successfully use the behavior and feel good about it. Finally, do it again even further in the future -- next year perhaps. Watch yourself easily and effortlessly do the behavior automatically in response to bullying and see yourself feeling great about it!
Click here to keep reading...
As children we learn new behaviors easily and effortlessly because there is a constant stream of feedback from parents,teachers, friends and family which motivate us to act in a certain way. How it works is quite simple- good feedback makes good feelings and we unconsciously seek to have those feelings more, so we repeat the behavior. Bad feedback makes us feel bad and subsequently we avoid doing that behavior again with the goal of avoiding those bad feelings. Just because we’re adults doesn’t mean our learning patterns change all that much -- we still require positive reinforcement to develop habitual, unconscious behavior patterns.
What does this mean for targets of workplace bullying? As you develop communication skills (both internally; talking to yourself -- and externally; talking to bullies) and learn to handle bullies in ways that work best for you, it’s critical that you follow up any of the new, useful behaviors with positive reinforcement to turn those skills into unconscious habits. One effective way to do that is through “future pacing” using visualization.
Future Pacing
Future pacing means taking the positive experience (or skill) and fully imagining (visualize) yourself doing it in the future. To be as effective as possible in programming your unconscious behavioral patterns, let’s start by having you remember a one-time event where you effectively handled a workplace bullying situation. This event can be one small component (ex. you maintained eye contact) or it can be more general (ex. you easily and effortlessly explained yourself in a calm, controlled manner). Whatever behavior you want to replicate, simply find a one time event when you did it in your past -- preferably in the recent past -- and get a clear picture of it in your mind.
Begin by re-experiencing the event through your own senses -- what did you say, do, feel, etc., when you used that behavior? Imagine going through it all again and, if you want to, add extra components to the visualization that make it even more powerful. An example would be to add in the sound of cheering and applause, or a friend giving you thumbs up, in the background. When you have it the way you want it, stop and really notice your success … specifically, feel it and say something to yourself which confirms that you did good.
Having that feeling in mind, imagine a time in the near future -- like a week from now -- and, this time, see yourself from outside your body doing the behavior in a different situation where you’re dealing with a bully. You are now a witness to the event; really focus on noticing the “you” in the imagined future event doing the behavior and then feeling that awareness of success immediately afterwards (go ahead and put that cheering section in again!). As soon as you’ve done that, go further into the future -- imagine a time a few months from now -- and see yourself doing it again in a different situation. Watch as you successfully use the behavior and feel good about it. Finally, do it again even further in the future -- next year perhaps. Watch yourself easily and effortlessly do the behavior automatically in response to bullying and see yourself feeling great about it!
Click here to keep reading...
Monday, December 28, 2009
Going to Battle with a Bully? Think Post Traumatic Growth
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is often associated with major life events such as going to war and domestic violence. It includes a list of feelings and behaviors such as high levels of insomnia, apathy, anxiety, depression, aggression, and lack of concentration, to name a few. Although perhaps lacking in the attention it deserves, targets of workplace bullies also experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (see Matthiesen & Einarsen, 2004 for more information).
With record numbers of Army soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from PTSD and committing suicide, Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum came up with an idea. She wanted to know the difference between a soldier who returns from war suffering from PTSD and one who returns stating they have better leadership and decision-making skills. According to Cornum the answer is Post Traumatic Growth (PTG). How you come out of an experience depends on how you go into it.
She figured the Army is sending its soldiers off to war physically prepared – handling a gun, physical fitness, etc. But, they aren’t being mentally prepared.
So with the help of Martin Seligman, the director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, the Army is rolling out a new program to build emotional strength. According to him, the difference between PTSD and PTG is optimism. Optimists see setbacks as temporary, and something they have the power to change.
Seligman is also an advocate for the concept of resiliency. Resilient individuals are optimistic and energetic, curious, and demonstrate positive emotionality. Resiliency is about being flexible in stressful experiences and bouncing back when they are over.
What does all this have to do with workplace bullying? Well, if the Army thinks they can help ward of PSTD with PSG, shouldn’t workplace bullying scholars be paying attention?
Ultimately, it's clear that people have very different reactions to workplace bullying. One person might perceive behaviors as bullying, while others are annoyed but do not find themselves so emotionally wrapped up in the aggression. What's the difference between these people? I'm thinking optimism and resiliency has something to do with it.
References:
Matthiesen, S.B., Einarsen,S. (2004). Psychiatric distress and symptoms of PTSD among victims of bullying at work. BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING, 32(3), 335-356.
New Army program aims for emotional fitness and 'post-traumatic growth', Retrieved December 28, 2009 from: http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/08/new_army_program_aims_for_post.php
With record numbers of Army soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from PTSD and committing suicide, Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum came up with an idea. She wanted to know the difference between a soldier who returns from war suffering from PTSD and one who returns stating they have better leadership and decision-making skills. According to Cornum the answer is Post Traumatic Growth (PTG). How you come out of an experience depends on how you go into it.
She figured the Army is sending its soldiers off to war physically prepared – handling a gun, physical fitness, etc. But, they aren’t being mentally prepared.
So with the help of Martin Seligman, the director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, the Army is rolling out a new program to build emotional strength. According to him, the difference between PTSD and PTG is optimism. Optimists see setbacks as temporary, and something they have the power to change.
Seligman is also an advocate for the concept of resiliency. Resilient individuals are optimistic and energetic, curious, and demonstrate positive emotionality. Resiliency is about being flexible in stressful experiences and bouncing back when they are over.
What does all this have to do with workplace bullying? Well, if the Army thinks they can help ward of PSTD with PSG, shouldn’t workplace bullying scholars be paying attention?
Ultimately, it's clear that people have very different reactions to workplace bullying. One person might perceive behaviors as bullying, while others are annoyed but do not find themselves so emotionally wrapped up in the aggression. What's the difference between these people? I'm thinking optimism and resiliency has something to do with it.
References:
Matthiesen, S.B., Einarsen,S. (2004). Psychiatric distress and symptoms of PTSD among victims of bullying at work. BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING, 32(3), 335-356.
New Army program aims for emotional fitness and 'post-traumatic growth', Retrieved December 28, 2009 from: http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/08/new_army_program_aims_for_post.php
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