A discriminating mind

Unfortunately, not everyone can be trusted to behave professionally in the workplace. This means that, eventually, someone will end up harassing or bullying one of their work colleagues. This can be gender or race based, or can be by reason of any number of other criteria – disability, marital status, sexual orientation, religion – the list goes on.

When this happens you, as the manager, have a problem. In fact you have several problems. First, you have a victim who, at best, is angry and distracted, and at worst, severely distressed and vulnerable to psychiatric and/or physical harm. Next, you have a bully who is disrupting the workforce, and who may repeat the behaviour with other staff, or even your suppliers, customers and other third parties.

Third, you have a legal problem. As the employer of the bully/harasser, your company faces claims under the Employment Relations Act or Human Rights Act. Lastly, you have the complicated and onerous task of investigating the issue and taking the appropriate steps. Often, disciplinary action can itself end up in a personal grievance and court action by the alleged bully.

All in all, it’s a bloody mess, and best to be avoided.

There’s no magic formula to prevent discrimination and bullying, but here are some steps you can take to help prevent unseemly debacles.

1 have a robust equal opportunities policy and code of conduct which are given to all staff, and which set out what behaviour will not be tolerated, and the sanctions faced by those who ignore the policies;

2 have an induction process for all new staff who join the company which covers equal opportunities and expected behaviour;

3 have refresher training for staff every year or so. This need not be elaborate; a two hour session will do the trick if delivered properly;

4 keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground – some signs of bullying and harassment are subtle;

5 nip behaviour in the bud quickly if it has the potential of upsetting or alienating people;

6 treat all complaints of harassment and bullying very seriously, and give the investigation your full attention;

7 except in the simplest cases, seek professional advice when dealing with a case of bullying or harassment;

8 respect the privacy of all concerned;

9 never jump to conclusions;

10 arrange support for victims via an EAP and other professional support bodies.

If this all seems like a hard slog, it will be even harder if you are facing a claim in the Employment Relations Authority from a staff member who claims that you ignored their pleas for help, or failed to protect them. That has all the hall marks of a very expensive encounter.