New awareness tools to counter harassment and violence at work

Approximately 350,000 cases of workplace violence occur in Canada each year. Just a few days before Labor Day, the Department of Psychology at the Université de Sherbrooke and the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation are jointly launching new awareness-raising tools to counter harassment and violence at work, which can have disastrous consequences for victims and witnesses.

"When dealing with workplace violence behaviour, those involved can play three essential roles: victim, abuser, or witness,” said psychology professor François Courcy. “In any case, it is essential to intervene as quickly as possible in order to put an end to this behaviour and limit its consequences."

Courcy and doctoral students in organizational psychology have worked on the creation of tools which can be

used for training or awareness purposes. The booklet contains relevant definitions of workplace violence, a resource directory, scenarios, courses of action for different actors (victim, offender, witness, organization) and a summary of the main individual, interpersonal, and organizational risk factors involved.

"We are moved by the dedication and excellent work of Prof. Courcy and his PHD students in organizational psychology,” said Foundation Chair Jasmin Roy. “Thanks to their exceptional work, the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation can support workplaces in their desire to create more positive and healthful environments."

The document can be downloaded from the Foundation website fondationjasminroy.com.