September 18th, 2009
School District Program to Guard Against Workplace Bullying
By Meagan Sexton | Posted: Friday, September 18, 2009
SIOUX CITY — The Sioux City Community School District wants to practice what it teaches by developing an anti-bullying program for adults.
The district already has a program in place for students, but this week, about 20 district employees, including teachers, janitors, administrators and counselors, gathered at the Northwest Area Education Agency to brainstorm and create a bullying-prevention program for themselves and their co-workers.
The district is the first in the nation to launch an anti-bullying program with advocates trained to hear complaints from employees, according to the Workplace Bullying Institute in Bellingham, Wash., which is partnering with the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention in North Sioux City to provide training.
A trained advocate can resolve disputes in an effort to resolve them without a reprimand or forward them to district officials for further action.
Sioux City Education Association president Bruce Lear said workplace bullying is a problem in every work environment and trying to stop it before it happens is the best approach.
“This provides a vehicle to address something that’s long been unaddressed,” Lear said. “We’re unique in the idea that we’re willing to try to do something before it happens.”
Cindy Waitt of the Waitt Institute said open discussion about workplace bullying is a recent phenomenon.
“It’s so new and cutting edge,” Waitt said. “Fifty years ago there wasn’t a conversation about family violence. … This is all a part of people becoming open to all forms of bullying in life. This one could take a generation to reach a saturation point.”
Debi VanMeter, a safety technician for the district, said people have confided in her about uncomfortable situations at work and that compelled her to get involved with the program and become an advocate.
“I think it will further promote a healthy work environment for the employees of the district, and I also think it will trickle down to the children in the district,” VanMeter said. “Overall, it enhances a healthier atmosphere.”
Steve Crary, human resources director for the district, said the school board passed a workplace bullying policy in January and the workshop is the next step.
“This creates a synergy within our district where employees can stand up if they see this occurring and say,’ Knock it off, stop,’” he said.
But there’s a whole range of actions that can be taken, including termination, if bullying occurs, Crary said.
“The reality is, if we can get our employees to buy in and be part of the process it will have a much larger impact than just human resources,” he said.
Gary Namie, director of the Workplace Bullying Institute, said he hopes other districts across the country will follow in Sioux City’s footsteps.
“Our desire is to see this become a national movement that school districts will want to embrace,” Namie said. “As schools cut back and lay off, I think it’s wonderful to have employee protection for surviving employees.”
Namie said people shouldn’t shy away from reporting bullying just because they’re grateful to still have a job and that employers should be obligated to offer a safe, healthy workplace free of humiliation and intimidation.
Alison Benson, spokeswoman for the district, said she hopes the program will begin some time this year.
Tags: Alan Heisterkamp, Bruce Lear, Cindy Waitt, schools as workplace, Sioux City, Steve Crary, WBI
This entry was posted on Friday, September 18th, 2009 at 9:07 am and is filed under Bullying in the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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