Simple strategies to recognize prevent and resolve workplace bullying

Recognize, Prevent and resolve workplace bullying

This is my 3^rd article on workplace. In first 2 articles we saw how to impress your boss with good quality.

November 17 to the 23 is Bullying Awareness Week. On this occasion I want to write article on stopping Workplace bullying.

What is workplace bullying?

Bullying is usually seen as acts or verbal comments that could 'mentally' hurt or isolate a person in the workplace. Sometimes, bullying can involve negative physical contact as well. Bullying usually involves repeated incidents or a pattern of behaviour that is intended to intimidate, offend, degrade or humiliate a particular person or group of people. It has also been described as the assertion of power through aggression

What are good examples of bullying?

While bullying is a form of aggression, the actions can be both obvious and subtle. It is important to note that the following is not a checklist, nor does it mention all forms of bullying. This list is included as a way of showing some of the ways bullying may happen in a workplace. Also remember that bullying is usually considered to be a pattern of behaviour where one or more incidents will help show that bullying is taking place.

Examples include:

•spreading malicious rumours, gossip, or innuendo that is not true

•excluding or isolating someone socially

•intimidating a person

•undermining or deliberately impeding a person's work

•physically abusing or threatening abuse

•removing areas of responsibilities without cause

•constantly changing work guidelines

•establishing impossible deadlines that will set up the individual to fail

•withholding necessary information or purposefully giving the wrong information

•making jokes that are 'obviously offensive' by spoken word or e-mail

•intruding on a person's privacy by pestering, spying or stalking

•assigning unreasonable duties or workload which are unfavourable to one person (in a way that creates unnecessary pressure)

•underwork - creating a feeling of uselessness

•yelling or using profanity

•criticising a person persistently or constantly

•belittling a person's opinions

•unwarranted (or undeserved) punishment

•blocking applications for training, leave or promotion

•tampering with a person's personal belongings or work equipment.

It is sometimes hard to know if bullying is happening at the workplace. Many studies acknowledge that there is a "fine line" between strong management and bullying. Comments that are objective and are intended to provide constructive feedback are not usually considered bullying, but rather are intended to assist the employee with their work.

If you are not sure an action or statement could be considered bullying, you can use the "reasonable person" test. Would most people consider the action unacceptable?

How can bullying affect an individual?

People who are the targets of bullying may experience a range of effects. These reactions include:

•shock

•anger

•feelings of frustration and/or helplessness

•increased sense of vulnerability

•loss of confidence

•physical symptoms such as

◦inability to sleep

◦loss of appetite

•psychosomatic symptoms such as

◦stomach pains

◦headaches

•panic or anxiety, especially about going to work

•family tension and stress

•inability to concentrate, and

•low morale and productivity

How can bullying affect the workplace?

Bullying affects the overall "health" of an organization. An “unhealthy” workplace cans have many effects. In general these include:

•increased absenteeism

•increased turnover

•increased stress

•increased costs for employee assistance programs (EAPs), recruitment, etc.

•increased risk for accidents / incidents

•decreased productivity and motivation

•decreased morale

•reduced corporate image and customer confidence, and

•poorer customer service

Signs of workplace bullying

•Spreading malicious rumours or gossip

•Excluding a person from conversation or activities

•Withholding information that a person needs to do his/her work

•Belittling a person's opinions

•Talking behind people’s backs

These are all examples of bullying that can occur in a workplace.

Bullying usually involves repeated incidents or a pattern of behaviour that is intended to intimidate, offend, degrade or humiliate a particular person or group of people. It has been described as the assertion of power through aggression.

People who feel bullied at work may respond to these behaviours in many different ways, including:

•Feelings of frustration and/or helplessness

•Increased sense of vulnerability

•Loss of confidence

•Physical symptoms such as: Inability to sleep; Loss of appetite

•Inability to concentrate

•Panic or anxiety, especially about going to work

Strategies to prevent or resolve bullying

There are some basic actions available to help prevent or resolve incidents of bullying. Talking to the person who is bullying, expressing how you feel, or seeking help to do so are actions to be taken if you feel you are being bullied. You could choose to talk to your manager and seek his or her assistance.

Manager should know what is going on in their team, value and encourage respectful behaviours in the workplace and address disrespectful attitudes. At all times, it is important to not ignore potential problems or delay resolving potential incidents of bullying: act as soon as possible.

What can you do if you think you are being bullied?

If you feel that you are being bullied, discriminated against, victimized or subjected to any form of harassment:

DO

•FIRMLY tell the person that his or her behaviour is not acceptable and ask them to stop. You can ask a supervisor or union member to be with you when you approach the person.

•KEEP a factual journal or diary of daily events. Record:

◦The date, time and what happened in as much detail as possible

◦The names of witnesses.

◦The outcome of the event.

Remember, it is not just the character of the incidents, but the number, frequency, and especially the pattern that can reveal the bullying or harassment.

•KEEP copies of any letters, memos, e-mails, faxes, etc., received from the person.

•REPORT the harassment to the person identified in your workplace policy, your supervisor, or a delegated manager. If your concerns are minimized, proceed to the next level of management.

DO NOT

•DO NOT RETALIATE. You may end up looking like the perpetrator and will most certainly cause confusion for those responsible for evaluating and responding to the situation.

What can an employer do?

The most important component of any workplace prevention program is management commitment. Management commitment is best communicated in a written policy. Since bullying is a form of violence in the workplace, employers may wish to write a comprehensive policy that covers a range of incidents (from bullying and harassment to physical violence).

A workplace violence prevention program must:

•be developed by management and employee representatives.

•apply to management, employee's, clients, independent contractors and anyone who has a relationship with your company.

•define what you mean by workplace bullying (or harassment or violence) in precise, concrete language.

•provide clear examples of unacceptable behaviour and working conditions.

•state in clear terms your organization's view toward workplace bullying and its commitment to the prevention of workplace bullying.

•precisely state the consequences of making threats or committing acts.

•outline the process by which preventive measures will be developed.

•encourage reporting of all incidents of bullying or other forms of workplace violence.

•outline the confidential process by which employees can report incidents and to whom.

•assure no reprisals will be made against reporting employees.

•outline the procedures for investigating and resolving complaints.

•describe how information about potential risks of bullying/violence will be communicated to employees.

•make a commitment to provide support services to victims.

•offer a confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to allow employees with personal problems to seek help.

•make a commitment to fulfil the prevention training needs of different levels of personnel within the organization.

•make a commitment to monitor and regularly review the policy.

•state applicable regulatory requirements, where possible.

What are chances of improving IQ? (Scientifically speaking yes)

In this blog you will see the research result of improving IQ with simple brain using exercise.

What is IQ?

An intelligence quotient or IQ is a score derived from a set of standardized tests developed to measure a person's cognitive abilities ("intelligence") in relation to their age group.

An IQ test does not measure intelligence the way a ruler measures height (absolutely), but rather the way a race measures speed (relatively). Modern IQ tests produce scores for different areas (e.g., language fluency, three-dimensional thinking, etc.), with the summary score calculated from subtest scores.

The average score, according to the bell curve, is 100.

 

New Research-How to Improve IQ

 

A study at Michigan University led by Swiss postdoctoral fellows Susanne M. Jaeggi and Martin Buschkuehl has revealed that at least one aspect of the IQ - a person's fluid intelligence, which was usually considered to be fixed at birth, can actually be improved. "When it comes to improving intelligence, many researchers concluded that it was not possible. Our findings, however, clearly show that this is not the case. Our brain is more plastic than we think," lead researcher of the team, Susanne M. Jaeggi said.

According to the research team, most IQ tests attempt to measure two types of intelligence - crystallized and fluid. Crystallized intelligence relies on existing skills, knowledge and experience to solve problems by accessing information from long-term memory. Fluid intelligence, on the other hand, relies on the ability to understand relationships between various concepts to solve the problems. It is independent of any previous knowledge, skills or experience and accesses information from short-term memory or "working memory". The researchers concluded that this part of intelligence can be improved.

The researchers gathered four volunteering groups and trained their working memories using a complex training task termed as 'dual n-back training'. The volunteers were provided with auditory and visual cues that they were supposed to store and recall. The training session would be held for half an hour after a gap of several days. The researchers found that the volunteer's fluid intelligence would go up after every session.

The results of this study is highly significant for those people who were academically poor in their childhood and since then have been tagged as one with low IQ for the rest of their lives. It is now possible to improve your IQ. All you need to do is exercise your brain.

A very high IQ indicates that the brain has been utilized appropriately. IQ can be improved and a person who initially could not score well in an IQ test can do better next time after following certain brain exercises.

Here are some of these exercises. One doesn't need to do all of them at a single-go. You can take up as many according to your convenience and suitability. If you force these exercises upon you, it may well take a toll on you and render a negative effect.

How to improve IQ?

Solving Puzzles

 Solve as many crosswords and puzzles as you can. It keeps your brain sharp and boosts your learning capabilities.

 

 

Playing Competitive Games

 Games that involve a lot of competition and require strategies and thinking on your part are excellent ways to boost your logical skills.

Writing

Make a regular habit of writing down your thoughts. Writing is said to be the best machine of the "mental gym". It provides the perfect workouts for creativity, logic and focus.

Reading

Try to finish a book every week. Reading novels and books leads you to a world of imagination and provides a much-needed break to your mind and gray cells.

Watching Fiction

This may include watching television, drama, theatre and plays. A world of fiction makes you imagine yourself in that position and leads to a diversion of thoughts that otherwise just revolve around your basic needs in this capitalist world.

Changing Hobbies

Engage yourself in new activities on a regular basis. Don't limit yourself to a particular activity for a long time. This will improve your learning capability. However, you should also take care of the fact that you should not keep on changing your hobby just for the sake of it. You should develop some interest in it and your gray matter should participate fully in it.

Breaking Routines

 Don't stick to a particular routine. Try breaking your habits occasionally. For e.g. Take a different breakfast or the same breakfast at a different time; change your sleeping place etc.

Exchanging Cultural Views

Meeting people from different parts of the world or people of different race and origin and interaction with them lead to a healthy exchange of cultural information. This provides fresh vibes inside you and sharpens your perceptual skills.

Debating

Take part in friendly debates. This implies that you should discuss a certain topic; but not argue upon it. This will help you to examine your own opinions and will develop your reasoning skills.

Teaching

Whatever little opportunity you get to teach make the most of it. When you teach something, you get to understand that thing more. The more you repeat that topic, the more it develops your understanding capability.

Well! Despite the Michigan university study confirming that a person's IQ can be improved, I am sure that many of the 'traditional' readers might still be having an element of doubt.

To clear their doubts, here is an argument - It is universally accepted that IQ comes from a combination of both genetics and environment. Experts believe that the genes affect our IQ by 40 to 80 percent and the remaining comes from external environment. Now, what will happen if a person is kept in isolation from all external stimuli? What will be the proportion of their intelligence coming from the environment? Obviously zero! Isn't? Hence, the more stimuli a person gets from the world, the more is their intelligence based on the environment.

I hope you all are satisfied now. If not yet, then look at this: Studies have found significant increase in IQ from one generation to the other. It increases 21 points on an average in 30 years. Such an increase can result only from the surrounding environment. Hence, it is proved that IQ does change based on the environment.

However, at the end, I would also like to say that people who claim "that IQ can be improved only on short-term basis" might not be totally incorrect. If people discontinue the brain exercises, they can experience a fall in their IQs. Hence, if you want long-term improvements, you've to keep repeating the exercises. Moreover, there has been a universal argument that repeated exposure to IQ tests improves your IQ. According to me, this is a valid point. I fully agree to it and advise you all to continue doing the brain exercises and attempt more and more IQ tests because "IQ can be definitely improved."

(Source- Michigan University)

One more reason why you are not getting good healthy sleep

New study- why you are not getting good healthy sleep

This is my fourth blog on getting good sleep. In the last blog you saw how sleeping pattern changes Daylight saving time. Good sleep is good for our health. Many research shows if sleep well you have less health problems and good energy in in day time. In this blog you will see this new research which gives us more insight on effect of Caffeine on our sleep

What is a Healthy Sleep?

The amount of sleep we all need varies from person to person. Experts have given us number of hour sleep we needs for our healthy body.

Infants – They need the most sleep, averaging about 16 hours a day.

Teenagers- They need about 9 hours of sleep.

Adults – They need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep to feel fully rested.

How caffeine intake diminishes our healthy sleep pattern

A new study shows that caffeine consumption even six hours before bedtime can have significant, disruptive effects on sleep. "Sleep specialists have always suspected that caffeine can disrupt sleep long after it is consumed," said American Academy of Sleep Medicine President M. Safwan Badr, MD. "This study provides objective evidence supporting the general recommendation that avoiding caffeine in the late afternoon and at night is beneficial for sleep."

Results show that 400 mg of caffeine (about 2-3 cups of coffee) taken at bedtime, three and even six hours prior to bedtime significantly disrupts sleep. Even when caffeine was consumed six hours before going to bed, objectively measured total sleep time was dramatically reduced (more than one hour). However, subjective reports suggest that participants were unaware of this sleep disturbance. The study is in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, which is published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Drinking a big cup of coffee on the way home from work can lead to negative effects on sleep just as if someone were to consume caffeine closer to bedtime," said lead author Christopher Drake, PhD, investigator at the Henry Ford Sleep Disorders and Research Center and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich. "People tend to be less likely to detect the disruptive effects of caffeine on sleep when taken in the afternoon," noted Drake, who also is on the board of directors of the Sleep Research Society. Drake and his research team studied 12 healthy normal sleepers, as determined by a physical examination and clinical interview. Participants were instructed to maintain their normal sleep schedules. They were given three pills a day for four days, taking one pill at six, three and zero hours prior to scheduled bedtime. One of the pills contained 400 mg of caffeine, and the other two were a placebo. On one of the four days, all three pills were a placebo. Sleep disturbance was measured subjectively with a standard sleep diary and objectively using an in-home sleep monitor.

According to the authors, this is the first study to investigate the effects of a given dose of caffeine taken at different times before sleep. The results suggest that caffeine generally should be avoided after 5 p.m. in order to allow healthy sleep.

(Source- Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine)

How Social networking Sites are harming our daily lives (Real examples)

Danger of Social Media

In this blog you will see some real examples from web which are showing how Social networking Sites are harming our daily lives.

As the popularity of social media sites (such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace) continues to explode, stories about the danger of social networking are piling up. Here are some examples I collected from web.

 

 

1. Tweets and Loss your Job

A waiter in Beverly Hills was fired for updating her Twitter updates. In his tweets, he complained about actress, Jane Adams, who he says skipped out on her bill and didn’t leave him a tip. He said her agent later paid her bill. The waiter was fired two weeks later. That may seem like an extreme case, but people have been fired for blogging about work, blogging while at work, even for calling in sick and then posting on Facebook. If you are using any social network, assume your boss is watching everything you say and do.

2. Social Networkers Are an Identity ID theft Dream

Social networking is a dream come true for identity thieves -- millions of people sharing endless amounts of personal information right out in the open. According to PC World, 33% of social network users have at least three pieces of information posted that could lead to identity theft.

Think about the types of things people share on social media sites…their birthday, address, kid’s names, pet’s names, mother’s maiden name, previous address, where you went to school. Besides being used to steal your identity, this information can also give thieves the answers to some of the most common security or password questions used on your personal accounts.

Yes, social networking is about sharing, but that doesn’t mean you can blindly violate basic rules that help protect you from ID theft. (Shred any and all solicitations you receive not just credit card bills and personal papers.)

 

3.  Burglars Loves Where about Updates

Would you stand up in the middle of a crowd of strangers and announce that you’re leaving on vacation for three days and then tell everyone your address? Of course not, but that’s exactly what you are doing if you share such information online. Burglars are now using Twitter/Facebook to find victims. One Arizona man tweeted to 2,000 followers that he was heading out of town and came home to find someone had broken in and stolen thousands of dollars’ worth of video equipment he used for his business.

Even saying you are running to the mall, going out to dinner, etc. is too much information.

 

4. Prepare for Bigger Insurance Premiums

A leading insurer in England warns that social media users could face higher insurance premiums because of the added risk they face from burglary. Legal & General insurance believes that burglars use social media sites to shop for victims. Posting photos of your home enables burglars to know whether you have any security features or what you own that’s worth stealing. Plus, your posts reveal other details; such as whether or not you have a dog to fend off intruders or if you constantly let people know when you’re out of town that can affect the chances of you filing a claim.

Teenagers are especially likely to reveal personal information, leading the insurer to warn parents that they could face higher homeowner’s insurance premiums if their children are online.

 

 

 

5. Use Facebook for fun and lose your Benefits

On a deeper level, Blanchard's story indicates the growing popularity and danger of Facebook spies. Blanchard, a Quebec employee of IBM, has been on long-term sick leave since Valentine's Day 2008, when she was diagnosed with major depression. For the ensuing year and a half, she has lived off monthly payments from her health insurance company, Manulife. Recently, however, those payments stopped. The reason was Manulife got into her Facebook profile.

On the site, Blanchard posted pictures of herself relaxing at the beach, hanging out at a Chippendales-style club, and generally having a lot of fun. Although Manulife has stated that "we would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook," Blanchard claims that an agent from the insurer blamed the photos for the termination of her benefits. She has gone to court to have her benefits reinstated and is seeking $275,000 in damages from Manulife. Her next court date is December 8. Obviously, attempting to diagnose a psychiatric condition based on a handful of photographs is a fool's errand. But Blanchard's case echoes a growing tendency to use social media and seemingly private internet sites to evaluate employees. Eight percent of employers say they've fired staffers for postings on social media sites, and 17% have disciplined employees for violating blogging or message-board policies, according to Proofpoint, an internet security firm.

6. Phishing on Twitter

Few month back twitter users were the target of a huge phishing scam. Scammers sent direct messages (DMs) or Tweets that included a generic message such as “You’re on this video” or “I think I see you here” in order to get people to click on a link.

The link took those who clicked on it to a fake Twitter page that asked them to log in with their username and password which the scammer then used to hijack the victim’s account.

 

7. Twitter/Facebook/MySpace Can Be Infectious

Fake Twitter profiles have been used to spread malicious software.

To lure in victims, scammers use fake celebrity profiles or news about celebrities. The posts look legit, but infect your computer with malware that lets the scammer use your computer to send spam, install spyware, steal your identity or launch attacks on other computers.

 

8. Your career check

A study by Harris Interactive found that 45% of the employers they questioned are using social networks to check out job candidates before hiring them. That’s a pretty significant percentage. But here’s an even more surprising number: 35% of those employers decided not to offer a candidate a job because of what they found on an applicant’s social networking page.

Bad-mouthing your last boss online? Posting questionable pictures? If you are on the job hunt, be sure to review your pages and profiles and make sure there isn’t anything there that can cost you a job.

9. Revenue Agencies/IRS wants to follow you

As the budget gets increasingly pinched, revenue agents are getting more aggressive in their pursuit of tax revenue. In fact, some states are even using information posted on sites like Facebook and MySpace to track down tax dodgers and dig for unreported income.

In Minnesota, tax agents reportedly levied back taxes on a long-time tax evader after he announced on his MySpace page that he was moving back into the state and would be working as a real estate broker.

While the IRS refuses to say whether or not they are using social media to find tax evaders, it’s best to assume that they’re watching everything you post.

Makes you want to be a little more careful the next time a stranger asks to friend you, doesn’t it?

9. How Lawyers Love your Twitter/Facebook/MySpace pages

Are you involved in any messy divorce? You must clean up your Facebook page.

Lawyers and private investigators routinely troll social media sites as part of their research for any case. Such sites are a treasure trove of evidence, especially when they are looking to:

Prove adultery. Perhaps the woman you suspect of being your husbands' mistress tweets about the fancy new jewelry she got, or about an expensive vacation she just took.

Hunt down alimony. An ex-husband says he can’t afford alimony but tweets about his new job or raise or his brand new car.

Collect evidence for a custody case. A women fighting for full custody of her children claims she doesn’t drink or smoke, yet posts a picture of her smoking at a bar on her Facebook page.

Prove harassment or fraud. Copies of nasty or threatening messages left on an ex-boyfriend’s Facebook page make great evidence.