Human Rights and Human Wrongs: Our Continuing Need to Teach
Elaine Newman, Arbitrator and Mediator, Queen’s IRC Facilitator, 2015
Francine had been disciplined before. She had been suspended for 3 days, for an angry outburst that she had in the shipping department. But this time was worse. Francine was in the cafeteria, finishing her break. Three co-workers sat down at the same table, and within minutes she began yelling and swearing at them. One of them began talking to her, trying to quiet her down. She threw her cup of tea in his face, and then left the room.
Francine was terminated. The letter of termination cited the company anti-violence and harassment policies.
The most interesting piece of the story arose during mediation, when the grievor told the mediator that she didn’t have a problem with anger – she had a problem with the Filipino employees who were working in the plant. “They are all so tight, always together, and they are taking all the jobs in the plant. None of my nephews, and none of my friends’ kids are getting the new jobs…”
This is not just a problem with anger management. This is a problem with racism. Canadian workplaces are full of it.
Managing Emotional Reactions to Organizational Change
Kate Sikerbol, Queen’s IRC Facilitator, 2015
Can you recall a time when you experienced a major change in your organization? Perhaps like others around you, you experienced a roller coaster of emotions: excitement that at long last something was going to happen to change the status quo, confusion about the specifics of the intended changes, and anxiety about what it could mean for you, your team, and even your family. Change can be disruptive, both professionally and personally. Change can affect the nature of our work, where we work, when we work, how we make decisions, and how we communicate. Change can impact our identity, our sense of belonging, and our relationships with coworkers, clients, and customers.
Emotional reactions to change are a normal reaction to the real and perceived disruption that accompanies organizational change. Successful change leaders know that understanding and addressing the mixed emotions that employees may experience can help employees feel motivated and committed to achieving their goals, implementing change, and realizing a new vision for the organization.
Emotions are psychological and biological responses that affect our minds, our bodies, and our motivation. Emotions colour our perception of events and influence how we make sense of the world around us. Emotions are useful. They help us evaluate the significance of events and assess the consequences. If people assess the consequences as beneficial, positive emotions result. If the consequences are perceived as potentially harmful, negative emotions may result. Barbara Fredrickson’s research on emotions helps us understand and appreciate the role of emotions. Negative emotions such as fear and anger narrow our focus, and limit how well we are able to be creative, interact with others, deal with complexity, and take risks. Positive emotions broaden our focus and enable us to interact with others, experiment with new things, and be creative.
Queen’s IRC 2016 Professional Development Survey Results and Winners
Stephanie Noel, Queen’s IRC Business Development Manager, 2016
With over 950 responses to our Queen’s IRC Professional Development Awareness Survey, I am pleased to announce the winners of the $50 coffee cards, and share some of the results with you.
We received responses from across Canada, and a few outside Canada, with 53% from Ontario, and 18% from Alberta. The majority of our respondents (64%) are in the 40 to 59 age group. About 22% of the respondents are unionized, and 41% identified HR as their primary role within their organization. Additionally, 50% of respondents indicated that they have attended a Queen’s IRC program.
The insights about professional development are very exciting – 85% of respondents have attended some form of professional development training in the past two years, with in-class training topping the list. Conferences and trade shows also rank high in questions about how people stay current in their profession. We found that 81% of respondents have a budget at their organization allocated specifically for training, learning, and professional development. When selecting professional development programs, respondents indicated that the most important factor is reputation and quality of the program, followed by speaker qualifications.
The Canadian HR Reporter was cited as the most popular resource or publication that our respondents rely on for career-related purposes. Newspapers and provincial HR association publications are also popular with respondents, while 17% indicated that they do not rely on print publications/resources for career-related purposes. The majority of respondents (80%) use social networking sites for career-related purposes, with LinkedIn ranked as the most popular.
We asked which Queen’s IRC programs respondents were interested in taking in the next two years. The top five are:
Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in this survey. Congratulations to the winners of the $50 gift card for either Tim Hortons or Starbucks:
Queen’s IRC, Summer and Kingston:
The Perfect Combination for Professional Development
We will be running two programs this summer in Kingston. Build your skills while enjoying the sights and sounds of historic Kingston and the Thousand Islands. Kingston is North America’s freshwater sailing capital, with a vibrant downtown that’s rich with history and activities.
Join us for one of these programs and extend your visit by taking a few days before or after your program to explore!
For an overview of our professional development training, from the perspective of our participants and speakers, please check out our Queen’s IRC Video.
Copyright 2016 Queen’s University IRC, Robert Sutherland Hall, 138 Union Street, Kingston, ON K7L 2P1
Call 1-888-858-7838 | Email IRC@QueensU.ca | Visit us online at irc.queensu.ca
Francine had been disciplined before. She had been suspended for 3 days, for an angry outburst that she had in the shipping department. But this time was worse. Francine was in the cafeteria, finishing her break. Three co-workers sat down at the same table, and within minutes she began yelling and swearing at them. One of them began talking to her, trying to quiet her down. She threw her cup of tea in his face, and then left the room. 
Can you recall a time when you experienced a major change in your organization? Perhaps like others around you, you experienced a roller coaster of emotions: excitement that at long last something was going to happen to change the status quo, confusion about the specifics of the intended changes, and anxiety about what it could mean for you, your team, and even your family. Change can be disruptive, both professionally and personally. Change can affect the nature of our work, where we work, when we work, how we make decisions, and how we communicate. Change can impact our identity, our sense of belonging, and our relationships with coworkers, clients, and customers. 
With over 950 responses to our Queen’s IRC Professional Development Awareness Survey, I am pleased to announce the winners of the $50 coffee cards, and share some of the results with you. 
We will be running two programs this summer in Kingston. Build your skills while enjoying the sights and sounds of historic Kingston and the Thousand Islands. Kingston is North America’s freshwater sailing capital, with a vibrant downtown that’s rich with history and activities. 
Queen’s IRC will be attending the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) Conference and Trade Show on June 26-29 in Toronto, ON. 
