While the majority of public servants behave respectfully and civilly to their colleagues, employee surveys from across the country repeatedly show that bullying and harassment – behaviours that can weaken institutions, undermine productivity and innovation and poison workplace culture – is still a significant issue. So what does workplace bullying and harassment look like? And what can be done to ensure we have safe and respectful workplaces in the public sector? In this special episode of Work with Purpose – A National Perspective, IPAA ACT are joined by Adam Fennessy PSM, Victorian Public Sector Commissioner, Renée Leon PSM, Vice-Chancellor and President at Charles Sturt University Bathurst, and Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM, President of IPAA National. This important discussion is led by guest host Clare Walsh, Deputy Secretary of Business Enabling Services at the Department of Finance and IPAA ACT Councillor.
Some of the topics explored in this discussion include:
- The DNA of a healthy workplace culture.
- Bullying and harassment in the public sector.
- Approaches to tackling workplace bullying.
- The importance of transparency.
This premise of this discussion was based on a paper written by Dr Gordon de Brouwer – Bullying and Harassment in the Public Sector in Australia: Practical Ways to Lift Respect in Public Service Workplaces – published in The Conversation in November 2021.