Creating a Toxic- Free Workplace: Harassment and Discrimination Control

It is crucial to establish good health practices for the employee since they are the company’s main asset. Unfortunately, workplace harassment is the present reality in many organizations and acts as a frequent problem. To tackle this issue, promoting awareness and support.

Understanding Workplace Harassment

Overview to workplace harassment states that it involves a set of actions that make the working environment intolerable or undesirable. He was bullied, threatened to strangle, made unwanted advances towards her and also experienced discrimination. Such behavior becomes very destructive not only to those people who receive such comments but to the working environment as well.

Types of Workplace Harassment

• Sexual Harassment: this means any sexual harassment and it may range from physical, verbal or even sexual harassment reserved special token. This can happen within an employee within the workplace, be it female employees or male employees.
• Verbal Harassment: this includes verbal abuse in the form of name calling, insulting the person or even threatening the person. Verbal harassment is mainly offensive and it has the capacity of demoralizing the employee. Making them lose self-confidence and even their mental health.
• Discrimination: age, race, color or gender can be used to offend and demean a worker in organizational situations and this is referred to as harassment. This behavior leads to the formation of an environment that is unbalanced, unhealthy, off and quite toxic. 
• Bullying: can result in severe emotional disturbance if the cause goes on for a long time in the target person. It sometimes entails sabotaging a person’s work or bragging ill about the person to others.

Why we cannot Ignore Harassment?

Preventing and controlling workplace harassment is not only a legal responsibility but the ethical responsibility as well. Polluted organizational climate results in increased attrition levels, reduced efficiency and business tarnished image. On the other hand, a positive workplace culture encourages people to work together and come up with newer ideas and methods as well as enhances the morale of employees.

Legal Obligations

This means that workplace harassment is prohibited in the workplace. Organizations have the legal responsibility of ensuring it is stopped. Employers need to come up with rules and regulations to be followed. The workplace so as to control any types of abuse experienced by workers. Training makes it possible for all employees to know their rights and or responsibilities within the organization. 

Promoting Healthy communication and Conflict management

• Develop Clear Policies: appoint the formulation of an enveloping harassment policy. On these aspects, this policy should explain what constitutes harassment and the repercussions that are associated with such behavior. It is also important that all employees read through this policy and are familiar with all of the information it contains.
• Provide Training: therefore, there should be constant and organized training sessions. Instruct employees on how to recognize harassment, learn the effects of this behavior, and learn the ways on reporting the same. These lessons are best supported by role-playing exercises.
• Open Communication: develop a working culture where employees can freely express their worries. Ensure everyone is willing to speak out and give various means and ways of reporting harasses. Such options may include reporting services that allow employees to report incidents anonymously.
• Encourage Bystander Intervention: should be encouraged as well to stand up on behalf of any individual who they know is being harassed. The second aspect deals with intervention from the bystander who are in most cases a key factor in combating workplace harassment. Activity- based intervention training for the employees still makes a large impact on it. 
• Support Victims: your organization must respond to harassed employees by offering support. This counts for counseling services and they feel secure in their workplace or study place. The victims will also need to be protected and provided with support, love and understanding in order for them to come to terms with what was done to them. 

Building a Positive Culture 

Holding an exemplary culture at the workplace is among the best ways to stop harassment. Promote tolerance, courtesy and cooperation. Appreciate people’s differences and make all your employees know that everybody is important.

• Promote Diversity and Inclusion: one of the greatest advantages of diversity is that it allows one to encounter a variety of views and opinions. Start diversity programs to increase a more diverse pool of applicants as well as to increase the representation of minorities in promotions. It not only has the impact of reducing rates of harassment, but also improves the general morale among employees.
• Encourage Team Building: promote activities that create social bonds among the employees with an aim of creating unity. The following activities would help in creating a more belonging climate and in decreasing the rate of harassment. 
• Model Appropriate Behavior: one should ensure they respect other people’s views so that they can be replicated the same. When organization leaders show their concerns in promoting non-tolerance of workplace harassment, other employees are likely to emulate the same.  

Conclusion: Workplace Harassment

It therefore becomes clear that developing and maintaining a toxic-free workplace environment is not just an endeavor of policy making: it is about changing organizational cultures. Overall. If an organization respects the employees right to vocalize their concern.

Support their colleagues against harassment, then workplace harassment can indeed be fought. It is the proactive behavior which not only safeguards employees but also fosters a culture of organizational success.

FaQ

Also Read: Essential Leadership Skills for Modern Managers