Agenda
View the Agenda and Learn about the Topics for the 2025 Bullying & Harassment in the Public Sector Workplace Virtual Conference
11:10 am – 11:30 am (ET)
From Incident to Insight: How Leaders Can Lead Restoration Through Better Risk Assessments
Modernizing risk assessments for bullying in the workplace involves moving beyond traditional checklists and reactive processes toward more proactive, data-informed, and culturally attuned approaches. When done effectively, they can forge a pathway to successful restoration.
- Psychosocial Hazard Integration
- Data Collection and Early Signals
- Workplace Culture Audits
- Technology & Tools
- Collaborative Design
- Actionable Outcomes
11:30 am – 11:45 am (ET)
Screen Break
11:45 am – 12:45 pm (ET)
When Service Turns Dangerous: Managing Customer Violence in the Public Sector
- How our customer communities are changing
- Navigating the space between concerning behaviour and worst case scenarios
- Safeguard employees through boundaries, protocols, and supportive teamwork
- Patron threatening behaviour, violence (and perceived violence) and trends in psychological wellbeing claims
- How accountability models can be effective
- Making an accountability model work for your organization
12:45 pm – 1:00 pm (ET)
Screen Break
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (ET)
Manager Training to De-escalate and Protect Teams: Empowering Staff and Strengthening Organizational Resilience
- Understanding workplace triggers
- Core principles of de-escalation
- Protecting teams during conflict
- Empowering staff for resilience
- Strengthening organizational resilience
- Practical application and scenarios
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm (ET)
Screen Break
2:15 pm – 3:15 pm (ET)
Protecting Whistleblowers: Employer Obligations and Employee Protections
- Review key whistleblower laws, recent case law, and regulatory guidance impacting employers
- Employer obligations: Learn what organizations must do to create compliant reporting channels, protect confidentiality, and prevent retaliation
- Employee protections: Examine the rights afforded to whistleblowers, including protections against dismissal, demotion, or harassment
- Best practices for policies and training: Identify how to design and implement effective whistleblower and anti-retaliation policies, and how to train managers and staff
- Handling investigations: Explore how to properly investigate reports while balancing legal requirements, employee trust, and organizational risk
- Risk management: Gain strategies to reduce legal exposure and reputational damage through proactive compliance and ethical culture-building
11:10 am – 12:10 pm (ET)
Psychological Harm as Workplace Violence: Legal Duties, Mental Health, and Trauma-Informed Response
- What is psychological harm in the workplace
- Legal and organizational duties
- Mental health impacts
- Apply trauma-informed principles (safety, trust, empowerment, choice, collaboration) when responding to incidents.
- Learn effective communication strategies for supporting affected staff.
- Know when and how to involve HR, EAP, or external mental health professionals.
- Building safer and healthier workplaces
12:10 pm – 12:25 pm (ET)
Screen Break
12:25 pm – 1:25 pm (ET)
Workplace Restoration – From Findings to Healing: Bridging Investigations and Restorative Practices in the Workplace
- Recognize the limits of investigations and the need for restoration
- Understand principles of workplace restoration and psychological safety
- Bridge investigation findings with healing and rebuilding trust
- Apply restorative tools such as dialogue, mediation, and circles
- Define leadership’s role in guiding post-investigation recovery
- Develop practical strategies to integrate restorative practices at work
1:25 pm – 1:30 pm (ET)
Screen Break
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm (ET)
Investigating and Managing Harassment and Off-Duty Misconduct
- When off-duty misconduct warrants employer intervention
- Legal frameworks and policy best practices
- Investigating and managing off-duty harassment claims
- Emerging case law and its impact on HR decision-making