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Inquiry launched into 'silent epidemic' of bullying

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MrBurns said:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-26/inquiry-into-workplace-bullying/4035072

Worthwhile cause but I have little faith in inquires.
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Mr Shorten says the Productivity Commission estimates suggest workplace bullying is costing Australian businesses between $6 billion and $36 billion annually.
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I don't get how they can come up with figures like that. It would be interesting to see the basis of those figures. It's a very wide range as well. I wonder if some of these studies pull a figure out of a hat for a bit of dramatic effect.
 
"Silent epidemic"? Anything but. The term 'bullying' is bandied about so much these days that people have become conditioned to taking offence at the slightest criticism.

Why are we encouraging people to be so precious and not to just stand up for themselves?

Imo this is just another attempt by the Federal government to shift attention away from their own trashed state. Anything to stop the ongoing commentary about Thomson et al.
 

Bullying is a big issue in fact though I'm not sure why it's front and center so much these days.

Perhaps kids have been protected too much and are susceptible to it.

I'm not sure but peer pressure has a to to do with it, bullying can involve just simple exclusion, a terrible psychological weapon.
 
I'm sure I was 'excluded' from some groups as a kid. That's life.
Not everyone is going to like us.
We need to stop being so over protective and turning our children into pathetic wusses.

At children's birthday parties when they play games, every kid gets the same prize, no matter who actually wins. What is that teaching them about real life?
That even if they're really hopeless at something they're still going to be rewarded?

There are mechanisms in place in the workforce for real bullying. Let's fergawdsake not promote the idea that every unkind word is 'bullying'.
 

Within my family someone was a victim of bullying, if I'd known at the time I'd be in jail now , I'm very protective and these creeps need to be sorted.Well that achieves nothing but thats how I feel........
 

I agree mostly, we have ALL been victims of bullying in some shape or form. It is what we do with it that defines us, and I agree that it toughens you, and I think the skills help in the real world.

There are only some rare circumstances where it is totally unacceptable, and we should definitely stamp out over the top bullying (and discourage any bullying)

but as you are inferring, it is a slippery slope, and if we become too sensitive, then people will not be able to do anything without being accused of bullying.

MW
 
I think it's important to focus on the bullies and not let them get into positions of power where they can exert their will more easily.

Bullies are self centered by default and don't have a lot of regard for the greater good, so they aren't the people we want running the country or businesses.
 
Every person should feel safe in their environment, be it school or work.

Any teacher or employer that turns a blind eye to this, is just as bad as the bully, imo.

I can understand it can become a slippery slope, but bullies should not be encouraged.
 
Logique said:
More taxpayers money against the wall. Grandstanding, and will achieve little.

Don't worry about being bullied at school kids, the government is holding an inquiry.
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I believe the enquiry is about bullying in the workforce, not at school.
 
More political correctness. Soon we wont be able to say anything at all for fear of being litigated...
 
rumpole said:
I believe the enquiry is about bullying in the workforce, not at school.
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Yes indeed! And it's happening in the parliamentary workplace. The usually mild-mannered Anthony Albanese has accused Tony Abbott of bullying the "presumed innocent" Craig Thomson, and warns of the potential to make him take an attempt on his own life. I guess the enquiry will single out Mr Abbott.
 

Albanese should have been more honest and just said
"we can't beat you so we'll play the sympathy card"
 
prawn_86 said:
More political correctness. Soon we wont be able to say anything at all for fear of being litigated...
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That is exactly my concern.

Tink: as far as people feeling safe in the workplace, could you be a bit more specific?
Do we now want to legislate that no employee may make any kind of critical remark to any co-worker? There are plenty of namby pamby people who feel hurt and abused if e.g. their work isn't up to scratch and they are so told.

Re physical safety, I went to a week long workshop recently where the facilitator took up all the first day rabbiting on about fire exits, toilets, and when the breaks would be, was everyone comfortable, did we all feel safe etc. Completely wasteful of everyone's time and quite stupid.

On sexual harassment, which is part of the same issue, and using the accusations against Peter Slipper as an example, it seems to me pretty pathetic that Mr Ashby couldn't deal with the situation himself. It's my impression (which could of course be quite wrong) that the allegations are more political than genuinely personal.

There will be thousands of similar cases.

I'm with Isabel Redmond, the S.A. opposition leader who suggested women may be better off ignoring unwanted suggestive remarks and just getting on with demonstrating that they're good at the job. That, after all, is what worked for earlier generations.
 

Agreed. In some organisations these are likely to be people of foreign extraction who use their lack of English skills as a crutch to try and convince EEO people that they have been discriminated against. Companies or the public service don't like to sack them outright because they could cause trouble.


Yes the Slipper case looks rather sus. Slipper is probably quite a slippery character , but it's strange that Ashby waited until Slipper was in a position of power to make the complaint. If he was worried beforehand, he could quit and work for someone else or just tell Slipper to push off.


I'm not a woman, but if I genuinely thought I was the best person for a job but was overlooked for non work related reasons I would find that hard to take. Some women may well have demonstrated they were good at the job, but got overlooked anyway. What then ?
 
I was commenting on the article in question, Julia

I can understand what you are saying and do agree, but with some cases, as this one, a message should be sent out that bullying wont be tolerated.
In this case, I think the employer was wrong.

EMPLOYERS have been put on notice that bullying in the workplace will not be tolerated after a Melbourne cafe owner was convicted and handed a heavy fine following the suicide of a young waitress

Marc Luis Da Cruz and his company MAP Foundations were convicted and fined a total of $250,000 for failing to provide a safe workplace for 19-year-old Brodie Panlock, who killed herself in 2006 after more than 12 months of brutal bullying.


http://www.news.com.au/breaking-new...er-suicide-death/story-e6frfku0-1225827975551
 

I can't say. I've worked for many different types of employers, often getting jobs over males. Imo unless a position is gender specific (e.g. physical strength required) most employers will look for the qualities any potential employee brings to the job, regardless of gender.

And let's remember that if there are 100 applicants for a position, lots of people are going to be disappointed, are reluctant to blame their lack of selection on personality or skills, and take the easy way of comforting themselves by asserting it's because they are female.

Once again, it ties in with the growing culture of encouraging people to believe they are owed a job, a living, a position in society. Just not so. You need to be better than the next person and be capable of demonstrating that.
 
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