There are many ways someone can be harassed at work. It is important to understand how harassment can happen in the workplace, because it can have a profound impact on employees and their careers.

What Is Workplace Harassment?

Workplace harassment is a situation in which employees suffer discrimination, isolation or mistreatment by executives or other employees. The work environment is a dynamic setting in which disagreements are frequent, but those disagreements can be constructive when they’re based on professional opinions.

However, harassment begins when an employee faces continual offensive behavior by others and when this offensive behavior contains actions severe enough to create a hostile workplace climate. Harassment is most often based on race, age, religious beliefs, sex and gender (including pregnancy), nationality, and physical or mental impairment.

Harassment can be verbal or physical, and it can come from managers or executives, coworkers or other associates. Verbal harassment is the most frequent form of harassment. It can include inappropriate jokes, slurs or mockery. Physical harassment is not as common, but it can be more serious.

Harassment from superiors is a form of employee mistreatment. It can include using authority and pressure to force employees to work under the threat of being fired, suspended or left out of consideration for a promotion. Harassment from coworkers can also create a hostile workplace environment through isolation or lack of cooperation.

Workplace harassment has a wide range of effects that compromise individuals and undermine productivity. Harassed employees can develop anxiety, panic attacks and avoiding behaviors that decrease their effectiveness. They can lose motivation and experience a decline in their decision-making ability. Harassment can also result in legal fees and can damage the company’s reputation. Research shows that in the United States, harassment can cost $14,000 per employee each year.

Overcoming a Hostile Work Environment

There are three types of interventions for a hostile work environment:

• Primary interventions focus on the problems that are creating the unhealthy work environment. Research shows that the most common factors, which should be addressed by primary interventions, are high demands by management, poor stress management and lack of behavior training.
• Secondary interventions aim to equip employees with skills to overcome harassment once it occurs. These interventions include education in conflict management and avoiding behaviors that will lead to conflict.
• Tertiary interventions focus on dealing with the consequences of an unhealthy work environment. They include conflict mediation and developing healthy relationships.

Using Online Training to Prevent Harassment

It’s clear that productive and successful companies must develop policies and strategies for training of employees and include managers and executives when doing so. Online courses offer the flexibility for employees to find the information to recognize harassment and act accordingly. Using e-learning software, organizations can easily develop courses of their own, based on their training needs and company policies.

Workplace harassment is a threat to functional business operations and employee health. Address it as soon as possible, and prevent it using effective policies, interventions and online training.