Why Do People Put Up With Inappropriate Behavior in the Workplace?

It's all very well having policies and procedures in place to deal with inappropriate behavior in the workplace. One of the biggest dilemmas is that a sizable amount of inappropriate behavior is still not being reported. Why is this the case? I have listed some of the key reasons why I think there still issues when it comes to actually challenging bad behavior. I have also included some possible remedies you may want to consider when implementing anti-bullying and harassment strategies.

• Fear

You could argue that this is a common human reaction, particularly if it relates to challenging the bad behavior of another human being. However if truth be told, people are fearful that if they go out on a parapet and challenge inappropriate behavior that it will all rebound on them. They may fear for their own job or their health and safety. The common response may be just to bury your head in the sand and hope the problem goes away. It takes a great deal of courage to actually confront a person and tell them their behavior is offensive. Consider the choices people have if they want to lodge a concern. You may want to consider appointing Contact Officers, people who are trained in relevant legislation and polices. These people are often an ideal first port of call for someone who has a concern. Give people more than one option about how to report an incident. Make sure that anti-bullying and harassment policies are well advertised and are featured on noticeboards and on your Intranet site.

• Distrust of management

Not this old chestnut again you may ask. However it is safe to assume that in many workplaces management still do not enjoy the trust and respect of the workforce. This is unfortunate, and even in the most positive working environment you will always find your dissenters who find fault with management. It is essential to have policies and procedures in place that ensure that ALL reported cases of bullying and harassment will be dealt with in a fair and equitable manner. Ensure that you are consistent as well. Try and avoid situations where there is one rule for one individual/group but another individual/group is exempt from criticism and investigation because they are too important or too valuable to the organization. Procedural fairness should apply across the board.

• Complaint procedure not trusted

Often time's people will argue that it is pointless making a complaint, particularly if it does involve a member of the management/leadership team. People will moan and groan that the complaint will favor the status-quo, invariably the manager. This is the wrong approach to adopt. Organizations are implementing anti-bullying and harassment policies because they want to weed out bullies from the organization. Their rank or grade should be irrelevant. Organizations should ensure that every complaint lodged is taken seriously and that it will be investigated in a fair and impartial manner. Don't be concerned about how long it will take to complete the investigation, the more thorough the investigation the more likely it is that there will be a satisfactory resolution. Don't be selective with witnesses; speak to everyone involved. This will ensure that you achieve balance and procedural fairness. Consider publicly logging the amount of reported incidents each month and declaring how many cases have been resolved and how many are still ongoing. You might also want to consider making 'Bullying and Harassment' a standing agenda item at management meeting and at OH&S Forums.

• Differing cultural values about what is acceptable behavior

It is true that in some workplaces you will encounter people who may have originally come from authoritarian countries where racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of inappropriate behavior were openly tolerated. Indeed in many countries basic human rights are still denied and certain cultures will legally permit you to discriminate against women, gay people and other minorities. This can be quite confronting for people moving into a more 'liberal' working environment. It is incumbent upon the organization to ensure that it properly inducts all new members of staff and that there is a focus on bullying, harassment and discrimination during the induction. Regular training sessions are also an effective way of ensuring that you keep all employees up to date in any changes in policy or legislation. You don't have to ram it down their throats, but you need to remain 'On-message' and remind every employee that you take bad behavior seriously.

Different 'cultural' values can also apply to people who have worked in radically different organizations. Traditionally, there are some areas of industry that have been associated with perpetuating a bullying culture. Examples here could include the Health sector, the Police and the Armed services. The latter, certainly has often been associated with accepting bullying behavior as a way of imposing discipline and 'making men' out of new recruits. That philosophy may have been appropriate in the previous century. This is the 21st century and we have witnessed a seismic shift in public opinion. Not only is it now considered unfashionable to be a bully and a discriminator, in many countries it is now also illegal.

• Feeling that bullying and harassment are a normal part of the workplace culture

This is probably the most challenging dilemma for any organization, irrespective of its size or status. There are still plenty of organizations out there that tolerate, indeed condone, most forms of bad behavior. Sometimes you will even notice it when you visit another organization. Your instincts suggest that all is not well in this particular location. In all likelihood there has been no education in respect to bad behavior. Almost certainly there will be no policies and procedures relating to inappropriate behavior. You can probably also guarantee that the leadership team will not take issues concerning bullying and harassment seriously. You will probably witness bad behavior throughout every strata of this organization. My advice to any organization that does nothing about addressing bad behavior, in this more enlightened age do nothing and it will be to the detriment of the entire organization and destroy your reputation and credibility.

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