Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Stress and Conflict in the Workplace: Tools and Strategies for Change

Abuse of authority/power and repressive management techniques:

• Be prepared in any meeting with management
• Document heavily
• Use an outside union representative
• Know your manager and their experience level
• Don’t assume that “they” know it all/ have all the answers
• Use union management consultation as a forum to expose this behavior
• Take notes, have a back up source
• Know what you want (i.e. different duties/jobs)
• You can control management times (2 way street) and when a meeting “ends” (non-disciplinary situation)
• Aggressive follow-up
• Stand-up and enforce our rights – we need to know our rights (collective agreement, legislation)
• Change the culture with education
• Know your rights (collective agreement, legislative)
• Address the issues in a forward fashion
• Don’t let management take away your “power”
• Negotiate better collective agreements/language
• Involve union early
• File grievances
• Set boundaries up front
• Document thoroughly
• Lead by example – don’t’ exhibit the same behavior
• Stand-up and challenge
• Educate management / military / RCMP about our rights and respectful behavior
• Use Union Management Consultation to expose
• Share experiences and issues with union members
• Managers require more training
• Educate managers – those at higher levels as well
• Joint training with employer
• Involve the union early
• Leave/transfer
• Employees request additional training
• Feedback system (360 degrees) without fear of reprisal
• Educate employees and employers
• Confront respectfully
• Know your rights, enforce them and challenge

Unsafe or unhealthy work conditions e.g. poor and inadequate ventilation or lighting, exposure to toxic substances, poor air quality or ergonomics:

• Occupational Health and Safety Committee
• Laws, regulations, policies and guidelines
• Education and communication
• Know your rights
• Enforcement
• Figure out how to deal with these issues when there are co-located unions
• Strong labour management consultation (transparent culture for health and safety)
• Question and challenge and enforce rules, regulations e.g. CLC Part II

Job insecurity and reorganization e.g. outsourcing, downsizing, mergers, cutbacks, restructuring, etc:

• Negotiations – closing loop holes in the collective agreement
• Take control of what you can
• Knowledge is power
• No to unrecognized overtime
• Union Management Consultation (UMC) – keep communication open
• Exercise your rights, use your leave days, know them, educate yourself
• Become a union team player
• Management does not communicate and we don’t know what’s coming down
• Negotiations – getting appropriate contract language
• Regarding contracting out – need PSAC plan, should be a core issue for the PSAC
• Education – getting the messages to the members
• Lobby government regarding legislation
• Hold management to task when it comes to staffing
• Work life balance
• Have a communication plan re. down sizing
• Step back
• Identify own internal values, know our limits

Lack of control/autonomy (i.e. independence and ability to self-direct) and conflicting work demands:

• Proactive not reactive – don’t work unpaid overtime
• Walk a mile in my shoes
• Encourage self and others to take the time when unwell
• Take breaks, entitled to them, you need them, promote others to do same
• Be workers, not martyrs – doing more begets more
• Think about what’s going to be your legacy
• Get the employer to recognize that we know what we’re doing
• Educate
• Put yourself and your family first
• Rather than having negative reactions to errors, use it a s a learning opportunity
• Respect me
• Know, share and use the collective agreement
• Provide training on the prevention of workplace violence

Lack of training and direction, and change in work organization:

• Get another job
• Demand change
• Negotiate
• Have union management consultations
• Get recognition of stress as a health and safety issue
• Enforce training clause
• Talk to each other
• Get more people involved in the local
• Find ways to look busy
• File grievances – get attention – get results

Poor Communication and lack of transparency:

• Lead by example (demonstrate communication style you’d like to see)
• Keep communications lines open
• Internal training (union and management) on communication
• Have done office surveys (internal and external)
• Help people recognize their communication strengths and weaknesses
• Understand different cultures and have inclusive training (inclusive “culture of management”)
• Participate in a JLP course on union management consultation
• Know you don’t always “win” the discussion but go in with respect and to understand the different positions
• Acknowledge each other
• Be open to discussion / debate / suggestions
• Don’t be defensive
• We as a union also need to be transparent and consistent
• Good management should be willing to admit mistakes
• Ensure that you use basic etiquette when communicating via email or in other ways
• Have an anonymous comment card and a rumor envelope
• Have monthly staff meetings (no more than 2 hours)
• Initiate your own conversation
• Do cost comparisons to help “make the decisions”
• Bring issues to Union Management Consultation meetings at the local, regional and national levels
• Create “spokespeople” to help people share
• Don’t give up
• Know our rights and the process of getting them recognized
• Mediate difficulties (ADR etc.)
• Improve the rights in our collective agreements
• Management needs to be open to workers’ ideas
• Conversation NOT confrontation
• Be active in the union, know what the union is there for
• Listen to people (co-workers, management etc.)
• Let management know exactly what you’re looking for
• Ask questions
• Have clear protocols
• Have more face to face communication – email is good to a point and as a strategic tool but we lose the interpersonal stuff
• Have supervisors give summaries of meetings

Disrespectful behavior, interpersonal conflict, bullying, harassment and discrimination:

• More education including more joint training
• Address the issue at bargaining for better language
• Departments should be forced to release generic data on decisions resulting from complaints
• Better more effective training for managers and members
• Let people know if something is bothering you
• Organize membership to make management aware of negative behaviors
• More quality education for members and managers around these issues
• Bring in outside training (neutral)
• Know your rights and how to exercise them
• Become active and educated
• Deal with things as they happen, if you don’t it leads to “toxicity”
• Need to look at institutional culture i.e. prison, military etc. – management should recognize by management
• Make management aware that problems exist
• Staff training for those who deal with angry public – don’t take it personally
• Staff need “emotional intelligence” training
• Don’t be afraid to make others aware when you experience unwanted behavior
• Educate
• Nip in the bud disrespectful member to member behavior
• Management must be educated on the “real” cost of disrespectful behavior and this should be reflected in their budgets and bonuses
• Employees must be educated and encouraged to exercise their rights
• Take joint learning training on respectful workplaces
• Educate members to know when they are being disrespected or harassed

Overwork and lack of recognition for the work that you do:

• Set limits and make this as public as possible
• Regular Union Management consultation
• Document interactions with managers
• Real recognition not rote
• Provide health and safety tools
• Do your quota
• Work 7.5 hours
• Take breaks
• Take control of email
• Know your collective agreement and take your vacation days
• Say no
• Limit your responsibility
• Real recognition = real rewards
• Set your own priorities for performance
• Self-recognition