Reasonable boundaries I attempted to request - 2020

When people feel that they are treated with dignity, it brings out the best in them – they flourish. Our highest common denominator as human beings is our desire to be treated with dignity. It doesn’t matter where we are, who we are with, the unspoken message we send to one another is “Treat me as something of value and worth.”

Donna Hicks, Associate of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University

This first part was written for the employment lawyer after I had made the claim upon advice. But whether it’s due to professional negligence, or the systemic design “flaws” that allow abuse of power to be used as adverse action, or a combination of the two, I found myself wanting to bang my head against a brick wall. My right to a safe work environment and my family’s right to feel safe and respected by a publicly funded university, fell on deaf ears. Repeatedly. 

In whatever legitimate “process” that may exist, I had noted what I needed to negotiate:

1. A signed agreement of reasonable boundaries to return to a safe work environment;

2. Agreed time off for proper rest and recovery from psychological injuries caused by HR & WHS “leaders”, with no more harassment causing unnecessary and unjustified distress;

3. The procedures and processes improved with my input so it never happens to someone else;

4. A plan by my employer on how they propose to help an entire family heal from all this abuse (NOTE: I would expect, given all this proof of gross negligence and misconduct, that would be under new leadership). What support will they provide to restore my dignity as per commitment to the Mission? I always fulfilled my commitment and obligation to the organisation (despite being reminded of this at inappropriate times when I needed to prioritise my own health and my family’s). I expect agreement to an ethical and fair return to work plan in collaboration with my health practitioners. The organisation has a legal obligation to put in place fair, reasonable and respectful adjustments to ease my return to work. Given HR implicated my family’s privacy unlawfully and then were authorised to use a carrier to menace and intimidate them, what will the organisation do to support my family’s healing? 

This second part were my notes for discussion during a psychology consultation as part of my RTW Plan. But the RTW coordinator, working under the biggest cause of injury and ultimately the claim, the national manager of employment relations and SAFETY, sabotaged my attempts with more privacy violations, withholding important information, withholding benefits, refusing to cooperate to implement the agreed injury management plan, refusal to contact my NTD and an inability to reach her by phone. How unconscionable and reckless of all of them as WHS staff. 

HR never gave me an opportunity to propose to them these reasonable requests / adjustments / boundaries. The illegal adverse action continued, including WHS violations, under workers compensation regulations.

I have been denied my human rights completely. I need this abuse to end immediately and to be supported and cared for by a support network who truly have my health, wellbeing and safety at heart, to recover and return to my work.

Given the manager has now retired, enjoying the fruits of her labour while I am still being defrauded and systemically abused, the reasonable requests listed below are now irrelevant. 

What I need are for SIRA NSW and SafeWork NSW to fix the mess they caused me and my family because of their gross negligence, recently described as complaints “mishandling”. 

To read the initial serious complaint that the PCBU chose to completely ignore, go to http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/bullying-discrimination-and-harassment.html. It is a five part post. 

These were the reasonable requests / boundaries / adjustments I had attempted to propose:

1. To make reasonable decisions when I’m the most senior staff there. If the outcome is fair and reasonable, I won’t be criticised (and in front of staff) because it wasn’t done in the way the manager would do it. My decision is to be respected and if feedback is given, it’s to be given respectfully and privately, only when constructive. I also have the right to disagree, providing a valid argument, and be shown respect by listening. (However, until such times that I may feel it is “safe” to do so, I require a third person, as a witness, in one-one meetings with the manager in her office with the door closed. I need to ensure meetings remain professional, respectful, and task-related).

2. If I’m ever demeaned in a meeting or in front of staff, I will raise this privately (with a witness at the beginning), giving feedback concerning how I felt and why. 

3. My team will be managed with my managerial style. I require autonomy and trust to lead and manage my team. That means equally by applying the Staff code of conduct for ALL staff and staff capabilities framework, approving leave as required and the application of work-life balance policies. The manager will not pressure me to do what I deem unethical and a violation of any individual’s personal boundary. I’ll raise my concerns if the manager causes distress to staff at personal vulnerable times with her judgement and behaviour. If the defensive behaviour occurs and I cannot communicate respectfully, I’ll document it. As my manager, if I need to take a day of personal leave (e.g. sick or carer’s), the manager will respect my right to privacy, and will not intrude or attack me for this.

4. If my team members bypass me with complaints, the process will be to refer them to me first. I cannot fix what I do not know. My primary focus is managing my team, including time for individual meetings, team meetings and giving me the breathing space for regular reviews with my team regarding updates on performance. The manager needs to respect my decisions and maintain confidentiality. I also will not tolerate disrespectful behaviour from any of my team members during the PRP meetings, other meetings and toward each other. I am committed to supporting each individual and the team. Kindness and communication will be encouraged, disrespectful behaviour won’t be tolerated.

5. The manager will refrain from judgement, labels and opinions regarding staff. It is gossip and disrespectful and I felt uncomfortable and stressed with coercion to take on her views. I will not micromanage and I require the autonomy, flexibility and trust to work with the Senior Library Coordinator at North Sydney to have a cohesive and inclusive Sydney team.

6. The agreed objectives in my PRP are the only expectations to be assessed. No more vague expectations, unreasonable demands and constant (irrelevant) criticism.

7. I do not want to hear the word “should” again, regarding unreasonable demands and expectations.

8. I will not tolerate gossip. The manager claims she dislikes gossip, but engages in it constantly.

9. I will receive feedback from my team after one year of managing in my style with no unhealthy interference / harassment. It would help the manager to listen to honest feedback from both her campus and from the working group that she facilitates.

10. Management is my priority and applying what I had learnt in the leadership and management courses I have completed. Management involves quality relationships. That will mean less liaising with clients (staff, students and researchers in the Schools I liaise with) so less will be recorded in the Library Engagement Data statistics form from me. I will only take projects I know I can contribute to. I would like suggestions from the manager what she would like to see achieved, with the understanding that she will listen to my feedback as to whether the idea is realistic in timeframe, logistics, practicalities, etc.

11. I will carve out time for private individual work from a room away from the open office. I need to manage my time in a way that is effective, realistic and productive for me. There will be no more constant interruptions from the manager. We can agree to meet at a specific time each day to discuss work related tasks. There will be a third person present during these meetings to ensure that what is discussed only relates to work matters. The meetings must remain objective, respectful and professional.

12. I need to be included in all debriefs if any future incident occurs in the library. I will raise my concerns regarding any conflicting instructions, or any expectation to be a mind reader.

Regarding dignity and injury, Donna Hicks also wrote the following in this brief, yet significant article:

“I define dignity as our inherent value and worth and inherent vulnerability. We are all born with dignity, and we are also born with an inborn vulnerability to having it injured. Research in neuroscience shows us that when we experience a wound to our dignity, it shows up in the brain in the same area (amygdala in the limbic system) as a physical wound. Seemingly, these two ‘injuries’ have a shared neural pathway. Essentially, the brain doesn’t appear to know the difference between the pain of a physical injury and the pain of a dignity violation. This research opened doors for me. The message is clear: dignity matters and we must take it seriously.”

Hicks, D. (2022, 25 January). ‘Why dignity matters in the workplace.’ Emerald Publishing [Online blog]: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/opinion-and-blog/why-dignity-matters-workplace

This post is based on document 58.