Advanced Home Care Solutions is a nursing agency – and as such, we put high importance on basic human principles like kindness and empathy. Bullying is a universal problem, and one that can only be solved if everyone gets involved. Today we’re going to shine a light on Pink Shirt Day and talk about why the bystander role is an important one. Because the chances are, you will at some point in your life witness bullying or abuse of some kind, and it’s important to know what helps, and what hurts in these kinds of situations.

Let’s start by discussing some examples of bullying:

Workplace: In the workplace, there are many scenarios that can leave someone a victim of abuse, and if you know what to look out for, you can stop it from happening to you or someone else. This might look like an abuse of power by a superior to their subordinate. When an employee is in a vulnerable position because they are outranked, they might not feel like they can speak up or file a report. If your fellow employee confides in you, encourage them to report the abuse to HR or another superior. Offer to support them by accompanying them to file a report or speak up on their behalf if you witness abuse happening. It’s important for those in power to be held accountable for their actions and treat everyone with respect and dignity.

Client-Service Provider: Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to be the victim of harassment as a customer-facing service provider. If you or someone you know experiences this kind of bullying, be ready with an appropriate deescalating-focused response, ask the customer to remove themself from the premises or ask for another employee or member of management to step in. If at any time you ever feel that your safety is compromised, remove yourself from the confrontation and premises immediately, and do not let the encounter go unreported. Employee safety should always be the top priority of any company, and you should never feel as though you have to settle for anything less.

Bullying “In Disguise”:  This kind of covert bullying presents as microaggressions and passive insults directed at the victim. Sometimes, this type of harassment can be hard to identify or call out, but it’s important that you do – otherwise, the bullying will continue without consequence and likely escalate to more harmful offences. This type of bullying can cause severe mental and emotional distress to the victim, and even long-term trauma.

When you are the witness of harassment of any kind, you are immediately involved. If you choose not to step in and help in some way, you are inadvertently contributing to bullying, and hurting someone else. We must all look out for each other, even strangers, and do our part to promote a compassionate, loving society. Nobody deserves to be subjected to abuse, and if we all vowed to stand up and be there for our neighbour, we would be living in a much kinder, safer world.

So wear your pink shirt proudly and say NO to bullying.