Harassment at Work: Is Your Workplace Culture Protecting People - Or Just Hoping for the Best?

It's pretty safe to say that no organisation sets out to normalise harassment at work.

No manager wants to be known as the one who "does nothing", and most leaders genuinely care about their teams feeling safe and respected.

So they write the policies.

They agree on the company values.

They schedule the mandatory training for all employees.

But toxic workplace behaviour still shows up.

Harassment rarely begins as a big statement. Generally, it starts small - a joke, a comment, a pattern of excluding someone. It gets brushed off as "banter", but this is where you can stop the transition from inappropriate behaviour to part of the culture in its tracks.

What Actually Counts as Harassment?

According to ACAS, workplace harassment is unwanted behaviour related to a protected characteristic (such as age, race, sex, disability, religion or sexual orientation) that:

●       Violates someone's dignity, or

●       Creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment.

Where many managers get caught out is understanding that it doesn't have to be intentional.

By dismissing or brushing it off with comments like:

"It wasn’t meant like that." 

"They didn’t intend to offend."

It sends a message to the person on the receiving end - regardless of the impact it’s had on them, it doesn’t matter. Whether the comments were made with the intention of causing distress or not, it’s simply not an option to let them slide. Because once you do, that’s how bullying and harassment become embedded into your company culture.

The Bit Policies Can't Do For You

It’s true you need a clear bullying and harassment policy as, in the UK, employers must take reasonable steps to prevent harassment at work. But the policy isn’t challenging the behaviour for you - that’s down to you as a manager.

When inappropriate behaviour is ignored because the person is high-performing, a message is sent. 

When "banter" is laughed at rather than addressed, a message is sent. 

When a concern is minimised rather than explored, a message is sent.

Managers actively shape culture in the smallest moments - and how you act can prevent members of your team from feeling dismissed, minimised, and like they don’t matter. It can, in short, prevent what feels like a ‘small moment’ from becoming a much bigger problem.

What Manager Responsibility Looks Like in Action

Preventing toxic workplace behaviour isn't about dramatic interventions. You don't need to make a big issue from it, but you do need to deal with it in a confident manner that ensures all parties understand that it’s unacceptable.

Here’s what that actually looks like.

Scenario: "It's Just Banter"

During a team meeting, James jokes about Priya's accent. A few people laugh. Priya goes quiet.

You notice.

You could ignore it. In fact, that might be the 'easier' solution as you get to avoid having what feels like an awkward conversation.

But addressing it early and informally helps nip the behaviour in the bud before it can really take root.

After the meeting, a manager conversation might sound like this:

"James, I want to talk about the comment you made about Priya's accent. I know it may have felt like a joke, but comments about someone's background or identity can easily cross into inappropriate behaviour.

We don't make personal characteristics the focus of humour here. It can create discomfort, even if that wasn't your intention.

I need you to be more mindful going forward."

By being calm, specific, and clear about expectations, there is no room left for ambiguity. It makes it clear that you're not accusing them of intending to cause a hostile work environment, while also making it clear that it could, which is unacceptable.

That is active prevention of bullying and harassment.

When Someone Raises a Concern

If Priya approached you instead, your response matters just as much to ensure that she feels seen, understood, and knows that you’re ready to stand by her.

Avoid:

●       "I'm sure they didn't mean it."

●       "It was probably just a joke."

●       "Do you want to make this a formal complaint?"

Instead, try:

"Thank you for telling me. I'm glad you raised it.

Can you talk me through what happened and how it made you feel?

I'll look into this properly. We don't accept behaviour that makes people uncomfortable."

This reinforces psychological safety. When employees approach you with a concern, they rarely want to make it formal as a first step.

While it's always ideal to try to resolve issues informally, before they blow up into larger, more serious problems, knowing exactly what steps to take if this happens is vital to ensure any issues raised are handled with the care they deserve.

Informal Scripts Managers Can Use

Managers often avoid addressing unacceptable conduct because they don't know how to phrase it, which is something we work on in my manager training. Having a small number of responses you can use when needed boosts confidence when challenging unacceptable workplace behaviour.

Here are simple, practical lines that work:

To challenge behaviour early:

"That comment doesn't sit comfortably with me - let’s keep things professional."

To address repeated behaviour:

"I've noticed a pattern in how you're speaking to X. It's coming across as dismissive. That needs to change."

To redirect inappropriate humour:

"We don't joke about personal characteristics here."

To reinforce standards:

"Our expectation is respectful behaviour at all times - even when we disagree."

Address Small Issues Before They Grow

Most formal investigations never need to happen. They often begin with something that could have been managed informally weeks earlier, but team leaders will tell themselves that they don't want to overreact or that they'll deal with it later.

Prevention lies with the leaders - the behaviours they model and accept every time they interact with someone around them. What is challenged, laughed at, or ignored all contribute to the direction your company culture will take, not what the policy in the intranet says should happen. It’s key that your leaders model respect in their dealings with their teams, colleagues, customers, and peers. While it's easy to say that this is a given - is it?

Strong cultures deal with issues early in a calm and proportionate manner. What that means in practice is that the inappropriate behaviour is never allowed to become normalised - but not everything needs to be escalated to a disciplinary. Often, simply reminding the offending person that their behaviour might have unintended consequences can be enough.

When a Formal Complaint Is Made

If a complaint does move to a formal stage, your responsibility is to ensure it is:

●       Prompt

●       Fair

●       Impartial

●       Confidential

●       Thorough

You'll need to gather evidence, speak to witnesses, hear both sides, and avoid making assumptions. Often, this is made easier by bringing in an external investigator to ensure impartiality and reduce risk.

But remember - the real cultural work happened (or not) well before things ever got this far.

Don’t wait until there’s a problem to test your policies

If you have no idea whether your policies and procedures around reporting and taking action on workplace harassment work, you're already falling behind.

Don't wait to fail a member of your team at a vulnerable moment to find out that you're missing a key element - you need to be confident in your processes and responses when it really matters.

Part of this is making it a key focus not to let the small things slide. When you start thinking 'it's no big deal' or 'I'll mention it later' - you need to step back and renew your commitment to your teams.

Getting ahead of the game looks like:

● Training managers to handle difficult conversations

● Reviewing policies so they’re clear and usable

● Creating a culture of psychological safety so concerns surface early

● Addressing the small issues before they grow into big ones

Is It Worth the Effort?

Keeping your workplace and teams free from workplace harassment is a non-negotiable. Yes, it can feel like a lot of work in the early days of developing that culture - but it’s beyond worth it.

A workplace free from bullying and harassment isn’t just legally safer - it performs better.

When people feel safe:

●       They contribute ideas

●       They challenge constructively

●       They collaborate

●       They take healthy risks

When people feel safe at work, they feel safe to take risks, to contribute ideas, to collaborate. All of which actively pushes your organisation forward and improves performance. And it starts with managers who are confident enough to say, calmly and clearly:

"This isn’t how we do things here."

If you'd like support strengthening manager confidence, building psychological safety, or delivering practical harassment prevention training, my workshops and leadership programmes are designed to move beyond tick-box compliance and into confident, human leadership.

Take a look at my Training page, or email me for more information.