Feeling Valued: Leadership for workplace wellbeing

Abstract

Workplace bullying contributes to—or even causes—toxic workplace environments. In recent years, management scholarship (e.g., Pfeiffer, 2018; Goh et al., 2018) has drawn attention to this phenomenon. Lutgen-Sandvik and Tracy (2012) suggest that the emotional abuse experienced by workers who are targets of bullying produces a corrosive effect on organisations. The existence of toxic environments presents intellectual, ethical and emotional issues which demand corrective strategies. Colluding with toxic behaviour by workers is confusing to other parties seeking to integrate ethical conduct into their organisationally-based practice.

This workshop presents recent research which explores the meaning of workplace wellbeing and the leadership values and actions which create that wellbeing. It proposes that wellbeing is characterised by workers feeling valued; argues that social work leadership has an ethical responsibility to address workplace bullying. Three research-based scenarios are presented illustrating diverse responses to bullying. In the first, management colluded with intimidation in which the burden of evidence was placed on the intimidated worker even while still interacting with the perpetrator. In contrast, the same research project revealed two examples demonstrating how social work leaders proactively addressed threatening communications targeting practitioners. These scenarios represented unethical behaviour which unaddressed could have developed into workplace bullying. Actions taken by these two leaders expressed personal and professional integrity offering a contribution to the creation of safe workplace environments.

Workshop aims and objectives  Identify and describe workplace wellbeing as workers feeling valued  Articulate three leadership models whose values and actions will create or contribute to wellbeing in the workplace  Set out a practice model which will grow people in the workplace personally and professionally