How to address inappropriate behaviour at work
by Mr. Yellow
Everyone deserves to be respected and to feel safe when at work. But unfortunately, it’s normal for conflict to emerge whenever humans are interacting with each other in a closed environment.
Whether you’re at the receiving end of inappropriate behaviour at work, a manager receiving an internal report about an incident, or a by-stander observing what’s going on, addressing the situation as early as possible is essential.
Define what is inappropriate
Inappropriate work behaviour can take many forms - verbal abuse, bullying, sexual harassment and any other kind of threatening behaviour that is unsolicited or unreciprocated. The best way to stop inappropriate behaviour from having long-lasting effects is to develop and enforce clear and ethically sensible policies.
Managers need to be equipped with the skills to identify inappropriate behaviour, and be familiar with how to handle it according to the company policy. Recipients or witnesses of the behaviour should know what structures are in place to report this behaviour.
Bonus tip: Your company policy on inappropriate behaviour can be compiled into an employee handbook, accessible to every staff member.
Analyse the situation without rushing
It’s important to address the situation immediately. But it’s equally important to stay calm and prepare yourself before approaching those involved, especially as a manager with a bird’s eye view of what’s going on.
Before doing anything drastic and letting your emotions take over, be sure to gather as much information and evidence as possible about the incident, whilst also assuring the recipient of the inappropriate behaviour that they will be protected.
Confront those involved sensibly
Offering help to those affected negatively by inappropriate behaviour is extremely important, but so is the way you approach those who instigated it. Be assertive in your choice of words and body language - keep an upright posture but don’t act stiff, use relaxed but controlled gestures and maintain eye contact.
This way, you are able to get to the root of what happened without being threatening or causing even more issues.
Avoid the blame game
Keep in mind that, sometimes, such issues are the result of misunderstandings. An employee might have unintentionally acted in a way that was interpreted as being offensive or aggressive.
Listen to what everyone has to say. Then use the information you gather to approach the incident with an objective and open mind.
Hold accountability
Whether you’ve been subjected to inappropriate behaviour or witnessed it happening to a co-worker, submitting a report should be your top priority.
Everyone should be held accountable for whatever they do at work, irrespective of their position or years of experience. So as a manager or superior, you must hold accountability where it’s due.
It’s imperative for managers and supervisors of any company to be trained to observe signs of inappropriate work behaviour and how to address such challenging cases.
You can get in touch with any of these Training Programmes and Services listed on Yellow to help you out in this department.
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