A kindness campaign from Moreton Bay City Council is directed at curbing abusive treatment of its staff.
Council says its new ‘Spread Kindness’ campaign is a response to increasing case numbers and severity of occupational violence and abusive behaviour involving their 2000-plus staff.
It says one in seven staff have reported incidents involving violence and aggression such as verbal abuse, threats and physical aggression.
Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery said everyone deserves to feel safe and respected while doing their jobs, which includes council staff.
“We’ve had reports of team members being physically assaulted, threatened, followed, subjected to racist abuse, having objects thrown at them and even having weapons drawn on them,” he says.
“Regardless of your point of view on a matter, it’s never okay to abuse another person.”
Flannery says council will keep staff safe and not tolerate violence, aggression, threats, intimidation and harassment towards them.
“Approximately 70% of our staff live locally,” Flannery says.
“They’re your neighbours, family members, friends and fellow community members who care deeply about our city and often cheer for the same footy team
“I want to encourage everyone to communicate with respect and empathy, recognising that there is a real person on the receiving end of every interaction with council.”
KINDNESS CAMPAIGN’S ROLE
He described their campaign as a reminder to the community that every day there are choices to make.
“Just like you choose what spread goes on your morning toast, you can choose to spread patience, understanding and respect,” Flannery says.
“We know most people want to do the right thing, especially when they stop and think about the human being on the other side of the interaction
“At the end of the day, we are here to help. You can have tough conversations but we ask that they are shared with respect and kindness.”
To learn more, visit moretonbay.qld.gov.au/spreadkindness
