Harassment Prevention Strategies for the Canadian Public Service – A Qualitative Analysis of Policy Effectiveness

Abstract

This paper is an analysis of the federal government of Canada’s harassment policy and practices. It examines how the federal government addresses allegations of harassment and the management of the harassment complaint process in the workplace. The framework for this study combines a review of the existing central agency policy mandates of the Canadian public service, related documentation as well as various literatures published internationally and nationally. It will address both the effectiveness of the current policy and areas of weaknesses and what can be done from a central agency perspective. The federal government has faced considerable media coverage in the past few years with reports revealing that bullying, harassment and mobbing are on the rise as are the number of mental health disability claims. The consequences of workplace harassment are enormous, not just towards the individual who faces harassment but to the organization as well. Therefore, the final objective of this paper is to recommend new prevention strategies. Because there are many causes of unethical behaviour, the availability of multiple preventative options is required as is the aptitude to apply the most suitable remedy.