NIHSA trains staff on the danger of workplace bullying

Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) held a workshop to train its staff members on the danger of workplace bullying to improve worker productivity and motivate good performance on the job work.

Experts have defined workplace harassment as repeated unreasonable behavior toward an employee or group of employees that creates a health or safety risk.

Bullying includes verbal abuse, excluding or isolating particular employees, assigning tasks that the employee cannot perform, harassment or intimidation, assigning unrelated tasks with the work of the employee.

It also includes changing work rosters with the deliberate intent to inconvenience certain employees; intentionally withholding information that prevents an employee from performing their job effectively; and threats of dismissal.

NIHSA Chief Executive Officer Engr Clement Nze said the training is appropriate because it is about having a good work environment and making staff aware of certain acts or practices of people that could hinder productivity and creating tension within the workforce. which will prevent people from giving their best.

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He said various areas have been highlighted where sometimes due to the environment people have grown to accept such things as a norm, even directly or indirectly such practice affects them psychologically , in terms of health, even in the family not to mention the workplace.

"It's good for the agency that staff know their limits, how to interact with individuals. Human beings are of different constitutions. We will be able to take people as friends and colleagues.

"Whether you are an employee or an employer, subordinate or superior, you will have to treat people with dignity because everyone has their own rights in order to give the best in the work environment."

Similarly, the co-founder of the Equality Development and Research Center (EDRC), Ms. Marsha Nwanne Umeh, explained in her presentation that studies have investigated possible links between people's experience of prior victimization at school and subsequent victimization at work. .

Speaking further, she repeatedly said, bullies in high school become bullies at work, and bullies can also become bullies themselves.

She noted that bullying is not just a thing in Nigeria as it happens all over the world and raising awareness is key to eradicating the threat.

"Once people realize that what they are doing is wrong, and even experiencing it is wrong on every level, that is the beginning of the success story. We came a little further to say that we intend to intervene.

"We have psychosocial support doctors who are willing to work with us and many of them are even volunteers. We also have a child psychologist and they are people who intend to break this cycle that we established in the training that bullying starts at school and travels to the workplace."

Umeh also advocated for laws that will specifically address bullying and to achieve this, there is a need to pressure lawmakers to review it and consider moving it forward to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. bullying.

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NIHSA trains staff on workplace harassment risks