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Risk Management: Bullying as a Workplace Health and Safety Hazard

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Dignity and Inclusion at Work

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment ((HWBEAH,volume 3))

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Abstract

This chapter outlines the basic risk management framework which is a fundamental aspect of viewing workplace bullying and harassment as a workplace health and safety (WHS) issue. Safety can be a powerful perspective from which to view and manage workplace bullying. This is in part due to the prioritization of prevention, rather than response, that is key to a workplace safety perspective. In addition, operating within a safety management framework requires a range of interventions to be in place (such as policies, training, consultation and workplace monitoring) in a coordinated system that is monitored, evaluated and continually improved.

In this chapter, the basic principles of risk management are explored within the health and safety context, identifying what the relevant kinds of risks are and explaining how the stages of a traditional risk management approach might work in relation to workplace bullying. Assumptions of risk management and safety management are also explored, along with models for organizing risk controls. Risk management standards and guides which have been produced in various jurisdictions are reviewed, and a case example is provided to outline the ongoing nature of managing risk in workplace bullying scenarios.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Carlo Caponecchia

  2. School of Aviation, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Carlo Caponecchia

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  1. Carlo Caponecchia
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Correspondence to Carlo Caponecchia .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Organizational Behaviour Area, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad, India

    Premilla D'Cruz

  2. Organizational Behaviour Area, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad, India

    Ernesto Noronha

  3. Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, School of Aviation, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Carlo Caponecchia

  4. Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Escartín

  5. Department of Management and Organization, Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland

    Denise Salin

  6. Centre for Workplace Excellence, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Michelle Rae Tuckey

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Caponecchia, C. (2021). Risk Management: Bullying as a Workplace Health and Safety Hazard. In: D'Cruz, P., Noronha, E., Caponecchia, C., Escartín, J., Salin, D., Tuckey, M.R. (eds) Dignity and Inclusion at Work. Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment, vol 3. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0218-3_1

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