How can the Conflict Management and Human Rights Office (CMAHRO) help me?
The Conflict Management and Human Rights Office is available to provide:
- support and advice to individuals dealing with conflict;
- conflict coaching to individuals;
- mediation to teams and small groups; and
- investigative services when a formal complaint has been received.
We are available to:
- help you understand rights and responsibilities in the area of human rights and how they apply to specific situations within your area of supervision;
- provide you with information about what options are available to you when dealing with human rights issues in your area;
- guide you through the process of responding informally or formally to a human rights issue; and,
- work alongside you as you carry out a planned response.
The Conflict Management and Human Rights Office can design and deliver custom educational programming to your unit on topics related to Workplace Human Rights, Responding to Disrespectful Communication, Managing Difficult Conversations and more ...
As a supervisor, what are my responsibilities?
What are my responsibilities if I become aware of workplace harassment?
How do I know if what I am seeing is harassment?
If you or someone that you supervise are experiencing behaviour that is having a negative impact, that is a problem. It is important that you seek help and advice whether the behaviour has been identified as harassment or not.
- You can get help from the Conflict Management and Human Rights Office or from Counselling Services.
- If you have concerns that someone is unsafe, contact the Safety Office or Campus Police.
If you want to know more about harassment and what it is, and your responsibilities as a supervisor you can also visit the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s website. They have some great e-Learning modules that can help you learn more e.g. Human Rights 101.
The Conflict Management and Human Rights Office has also created a number of presentations that provide more details about harassment, discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice. They describe what these are and how they can negatively impact our campus.
I heard someone mention the term “poisoned or hostile environment”. What does this mean?
A poisoned environment (also known as a hostile environment) is an environment in which you or your staff find it difficult to work comfortably. It can be created by comments or behavior that make a person feel demeaned or disrespected.
If you are wondering whether the environment within your department might be interfering with your staff's ability to work, set up an appointment with the Conflict Management and Human Rights Office and we will help you determine what to do.
If you or your staff feel threatened or unsafe, contact the Safety Office or Campus Police.
If you want to know more about poisoned environment and what it is, you can also visit the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s website. They have some great e-Learning modules that can help you learn more e.g. Human Rights 101.
The Conflict Management and Human Rights Office has also created a number of presentations that provide more details about harassment, discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice.They describe what these are and how they can negatively impact our campus.
What happens when someone meets with CMAHRO?
When you or your staff arrange to meet with someone from our office the first thing we will do is listen. After listening to your concerns, our staff will share information about policy and resources available at the University of Waterloo. They will also discuss what options are available to address the concerns either formally or informally.
Often people are afraid that when they come to us, they will lose control of the situation. It is important to understand that a person only needs to share with us the information that they feel comfortable sharing. In fact, they don’t even need to tell us their name if they don’t want to. We will explain what options and resources are available, but they get to decide what happens next.
At the end of the meeting we want to ensure that the person:
- Has been heard and understood;
- Is aware of the policy on campus that is applicable to their concern;
- Is aware of different options available, both formal and informal;
- Is aware of the different services available at the Conflict Management and Human Rights Office;
- Is aware of other applicable resources on campus;
- Understands that the Conflict Management and Human Rights Office can provided direction regarding who would be responsible for addressing their complaint (Department/Faculty); and
- Is aware that we are available to meet with them as many times as necessary to accomplish the above.
When should I contact CMAHRO?
Contact CMAHRO as soon as you feel like something is not right in your workplace or area of supervision. An early response increases the chance of addressing the issue in a way that minimizes relationship damage.
How can I contact CMAHRO?
Contact: Jeremy de Boer, Senior Case Consultant, Conflict Management and Human Rights Office