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Canadian Workplaces Deal with Passive Aggression in the Workplace


rss.shrm.org | Catherine Skrzypinski

​Passive-aggressive behavior can hurt company culture and sometimes lead to harassment claims in Canada. This behavior is challenging for HR to investigate and stop.

All team members should practice healthy communication, said Cheryl Cran, founder and CEO of Next Mapping, a future-of-work consultancy in Vancouver, British Columbia (B.C.).

Passive-aggressive behavior can manifest in various ways in the workplace, experts say, such as:

  • Not returning an email, text or a direct message in a respectful time frame.
  • Procrastinating from work tasks, ignoring requests or intentionally failing to follow up.
  • Not acknowledging colleagues by giving the silent treatment, dodging eye contact or avoiding confrontation.
  • Excluding colleagues from face-to-face or virtual meetings, coffee breaks, lunch outings and other social events.
  • Missing deadlines, refusing to cooperate or having a negative attitude toward work.
  • Gossiping about colleagues, spreading rumors or using sarcasm.

Impact on Company Culture

Over time, the impact of passive-aggressive behavior could become problematic for a company’s corporate culture, explained Clara Matheson, workplace investigator and trainer at Rubin Thomlinson in Toronto.

“Passive-aggressive behavior left unchecked can lead to rivalry, division, communication barriers and may ultimately create a noninclusive workplace where some people are left outside of the circle,” said Robyn Gervais, a Vancouver-based lawyer and investigator with Gervais Law Corp….


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