There is no doubt that preventing organizational harassment is an important area of action for compliance. After all, talking about harassment in the workplace is not only a legal obligation, but also an ethical commitment to the dignity of our employees and stakeholders. In addition, it contributes to building healthy organizational environments and, consequently, high performance and results.
On the other hand, when this topic is connected with compliance practices, we have the perfect combination. In other words, companies begin to act in a structured way, reducing risks, strengthening a culture of integrity, and protecting their most important asset: employees.
For this reason, more and more organizations have been working on Harassment and Compliance, and this is a trend that will only continue to grow. This is because these companies have already understood that preventing organizational harassment is not about “putting out fires,” but about developing mechanisms capable of preventing the problem from taking root.
However, even knowing all this, we also understand that addressing these issues in such complex environments can be challenging. In addition to being sensitive and very serious matters. Therefore, today we will look at some tips on how to prevent organizational harassment. By the end of this content, you will know how to prevent problems in your organization. That said, let’s get to the content!
Best practices to prevent organizational harassment
In any situation, prevention is always the best path. It avoids trauma, legal issues, toxic environments, and other difficulties. Thus, the best thing we can do is create mechanisms that inhibit this type of behavior.
In general, moral (and even sexual) harassment tends to take hold in environments where there are leadership failures, a lack of protection mechanisms, a lack of reliable channels, or a permissive culture—in other words, environments where organizational harassment is not actively prevented.
That is why the main strength of compliance lies in its ability to build clarity, order, and psychological safety. And to achieve this, we can rely on some tips that effectively help prevent organizational harassment, as outlined below.
1 – Establish clear policies and communicate them widely
The first step to preventing organizational harassment is to establish formalized (documented and widely disseminated) anti-harassment policies. These must include objective definitions, practical examples, acceptable conduct, and consequences for potential violations.
In addition, these “rules” should be simple, accessible, and periodically communicated to all levels of the company. This ensures greater awareness and understanding of the issues and their consequences, thereby helping to prevent organizational harassment.
2 – Train and instruct leaders to be role models
One of the greatest risk factors when it comes to Harassment and Compliance is unprepared leadership—whether due to lack of knowledge or inappropriate behavior. After all, leaders’ behavior often serves as a model for other employees, either encouraging or discouraging certain attitudes.
Therefore, one of the main pillars of preventing organizational harassment is investing in specific training for leaders, as they are responsible for maintaining the organizational climate and often receive the first signs of problems. Well-trained leaders not only inspire good behavior but also know how to handle potential cases, making precise, assertive, and ethical decisions.
3 – Always maintain open and continuous communication
To a very large extent, preventing organizational harassment depends directly on dialogue. If people do not feel safe discussing the topic, talking to their superiors, or even reporting incidents, potential harassers will feel increasingly confident and unpunished—clearly increasing the number of cases.
Therefore, always promote internal campaigns, awareness initiatives, and conversations—preferably on a regular basis—about ethics and respect. This helps create an environment in which employees feel comfortable reporting uncomfortable situations without fear of retaliation, while also sending a clear message against misconduct.
4 – Create a secure and independent reporting channel
Reporting any type of harassment requires courage, as the victim is always in a vulnerable position. Imagine doing so while fearing further retaliation or punishment. This makes the reporting channel the main way to speak up without fear of “making the situation worse.” If this sense of security does not exist, reports will not be made, and preventing organizational harassment becomes almost impractical.
Therefore, it is essential to have a channel that ensures anonymity, confidentiality, proper tracking, and feedback to the reporter—even when anonymous. This provides security for people to report and speak up, while also ensuring a safer and more impartial process.
In more serious cases, external and impartial systems can further increase trust and reduce the risk of internal manipulation, which should be considered when seeking to prevent organizational harassment.
5 – Encourage a culture of respect and inclusion
Clearly, creating mechanisms that inhibit occurrences is essential to preventing organizational harassment, but this is not always related solely to processes. Often, these mechanisms work by fostering a positive organizational climate in itself.
Companies that value respect, empathy, and collaboration naturally deter abusive behavior. As mentioned earlier, leadership example is the main driver of this culture. When this truly happens, the mechanisms may not even need to be activated, but they will be there to reinforce the culture and create better work environments.
Preventing organizational harassment: the first step toward acting with dignity and humanity
The fight against abusive practices in organizational environments is a daily and very important effort. We clearly need measures to investigate and punish potential occurrences, which will be addressed in future articles. However, preventing organizational harassment is the best, most humane, and most important action we can take.
When we prevent occurrences, we avoid much greater problems: legal issues, fines and compensation, scandals that damage our reputation, and many other consequences. More importantly, by preventing organizational harassment, we act on the most relevant front of all—avoiding trauma to people. Employees are our greatest asset, and protecting them is our most important mission.
By following the best practices described in this text, we anticipate potential cases of harassment and help our employees coexist in a fair and ethical environment. This is the greatest benefit of preventing organizational harassment, as well as a key factor in building better, more productive, creative teams that are proud of where they work. Therefore, always focus on prevention!
