Managing Boundaries with Colleagues 

The Case 

The College received a mandatory report about a physiotherapist who was fired by their employer after a workplace investigation.  

Many of the physiotherapist’s colleagues reported feeling uncomfortable with how the physiotherapist communicated and behaved in the workplace. This included making unwelcome comments about coworkers’ appearances and hugging and touching coworkers without consent.  

The physiotherapist said their actions were intended to be friendly and any comments about how their coworkers looked were meant as compliments.  

The Standards 

The Boundary Violations Standard requires physiotherapists to establish and maintain appropriate professional boundaries with patients, colleagues and others at all times.  

Maintaining boundaries with colleagues includes:  

• Communicating in a respectful and professional way 

• Being mindful of power dynamics  

• Respecting personal space and autonomy, including not initiating physical contact without consent 

• Avoiding saying or doing anything that could be seen as inappropriate, disrespectful, discriminatory 

Effectively managing boundaries with coworkers is an essential part of maintaining a collaborative work environment where everyone feels safe to do their job.  

Even though the physiotherapist in this case was just trying to be friendly, their words and actions crossed the line and made their colleagues uncomfortable.  

The Outcome 

The committee decided to provide advice to the physiotherapist, reminding them to maintain professional relationships with colleagues at all times and respect appropriate professional boundaries.

Details of this case have been changed to maintain anonymity.

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