Top 10 Strategies for Workplace Harassment Prevention

On any day, you can search Google for “sexual harassment,” click on the “News” section, and see many headlines about recent sexual harassment claims. These stories happen everywhere and in all types of businesses, showing how little effort has been put into stopping harassment at work.

Making a workplace that is safe, respectful, and free from harassment is a basic duty for employers, even in places where harassment training isn’t required by law. Taking action early to prevent harassment not only protects workers but also creates a respectful work environment and reduces legal problems.

In this article, we’ll explain why it’s important to put anti-harassment steps in place at work and guide you through the 10 best measures to prevent workplace harassment.

What is Workplace Harassment?

Workplace harassment is any unwelcome conduct: verbal, physical, or visual that demeans, humiliates, or threatens an employee, creating a toxic or hostile environment. It can include bullying, discrimination, and especially sexual harassment, which remains one of the most reported forms of misconduct in the workplace. 

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), over 6,500 sexual harassment complaints were filed in the U.S. in 2020 alone. In cities like Washington DC, companies are taking more proactive measures to prevent harassment by strengthening human resource policies and making expectations clear through employee handbooks and codes of conduct.

As one HR expert puts it, “Creating a respectful workplace isn’t just a compliance issue, it’s a leadership responsibility that shapes company culture.”

To protect employees and promote accountability, employees are required to undergo prevention training, including dedicated modules that provide sexual harassment prevention training. These training programs are not only critical for awareness but also prepare the leadership team to handle harassment complaints appropriately. 

Organizations that implement anonymous reporting tools and share real-life customer stories often see higher levels of trust and transparency. Furthermore, offering support services such as health insurance and workers compensation ensures a more holistic approach to employee well-being. 

Different Types of Workplace Harassment

People often think workplace harassment only means sexual harassment, but there are many different types – remember, harassment is anything that makes a worker feel scared or upset.

1. Discriminatory harassment – going after people because of their protected traits

2. Verbal Harassment– including mean comments and leaving people out

3. Workplace Bullying– often physical attacks on workers who deal with the public

4. Misusing authority – making unreasonable or insulting demands

5. Psychological harassment – isolating people socially, putting down their ideas

6. Cyberbullying – spreading rumors and embarrassing information, or sending mean messages

7. Getting back at someone – revenge for a perceived wrong, including filing a complaint

8. Sexual harassment – unwanted sexual advances, attention, actions, or behavior

9. Outside harassment – bullying from people who don’t work for your company

Top 10 Strategies To Prevent Workplace Harassment

A positive workplace culture encourages employee relations. But with harassment prevalent everywhere, the question is how to prevent harassment in the workplace. Here are the best way to prevent workplace harassment:

1. Provide Clear Antiharassment Policies

Companies need to teach and inform workers about behaviors that won’t be accepted at work. Organizations should check their harassment policies regularly. They should talk about these rules and the values they represent often, not just when new people start or during yearly training, but throughout the year in staff meetings, team meetings, company messages, and more.

But not all messages work the same way. To help prevent harassment at work, messages shouldn’t be weak; instead, they should include strong, clear statements that preventing harassment is very important to the company and that any worker who breaks the rules will face consequences, no matter what job they have. 

2. Make Sure Managers and Employees Are Aware About Sexual Harassment 

It might seem like it should be clear what sexual harassment at work is, but employers need to make sure staff members know exactly what actions and behaviors are wrong. This isn’t just about serious acts of inappropriate touching. 

Sexual harassment includes many different behaviors and actions that are offensive and unwanted, including making inappropriate sexual comments, showing or looking at inappropriate content, etc. If employees know these actions are unacceptable, it’s easier for them to understand how to avoid sexual harassment problems and feel comfortable in the future.

3. Provide Constructive Sexual Harassment Prevention Training 

Employees don’t react well to hints—or direct statements—that they’re doing something wrong, can’t be trusted, or are assumed to be guilty of bad behavior. Much sexual harassment training focuses on the negative—what not to do—which can suggest to employees that they might be part of the problem; that is, if left alone, they will harass others. 

Instead, taking a positive approach is better for getting the message across and getting employees involved in helping create and support the desired workplace.

Using positive messages that assume employees want to do the right thing (because most employees do!), gets them involved in being part of the solution to workplace harassment, and motivates them to help promote a respectful culture can work much better in changing employee behavior than a punishment approach that focuses on bad behavior and consequences to avoid.

4. Use Less Legal Language

Just like negative messages don’t work well with employees, focusing too much on laws and rules about harassment can quickly turn employees off. Yes, these topics need to be covered to follow the law. But they don’t have to be the main part of your harassment prevention training and communication. 

Most employees aren’t legal experts, so using legal terms to measure acceptable workplace behavior and using court cases to guide daily actions can lower behavior standards to the bare minimum. It can suggest that as long as words or actions aren’t illegal, they’re okay.

Instead, focusing on professional, respectful behavior is more likely to engage and influence employees and managers than focusing on finding legal violations. So, while you need to include legal compliance content where required by law, make sure to balance that with additional guidance and examples that reflect higher standards: your company’s values, policies, and culture.

5. Get Employees Involved in Keeping the Workplace Free from Harassment

HR leaders, managers, and supervisors can’t watch for harassment all the time. But by getting employees themselves involved, companies can increase the chances that incidents or early signs of harassment will be seen, reported, acted on, and even prevented. 

HR isn’t the only one responsible for preventing harassment at work. All employees are. And all employees can be trained to be good bystanders, helping to support a positive and respectful culture by:

• Stopping incidents of harassment or its warning signs
• Supporting others who have been harmed after it happens
• Officially reporting harassment
• Encouraging others to be allies

Employees have an important role as active bystanders. Letting employees know they have this role and giving them training and resources to help them take action are important steps in using everyone’s power to create a culture of safety and respect. 

6. Use Employees as Social Influencers

Who are employees most likely to listen to as a trusted source: their HR department or their coworkers? Their coworkers, of course. In fact, research by Edelman shows that: “The biggest finding from the last 16 years of trust research has been the decline of traditional authority and the rise of ‘someone like me’ (friends, peers, or someone we believe shares similar values or traits) as a trusted source of information.”

That’s good news for organizations that can use key employees as social influencers to help support a harassment-free environment. Reach out to influential employees to get their support for harassment prevention efforts and their ideas on how communication and training can be improved to work best.

7. Build an Inclusive Work Environment

Establish a company culture of respect and inclusion:

• Support honest communication and mutual respect between workers at every level.
• Honor differences and make sure all employees feel appreciated and welcomed.
• Deal with any actions that damage a respectful work atmosphere quickly and properly.

8. Recognizing Harassment Warning Signs

Interactive employee training methods help employees spot signs of harassment at work. These methods increase participation and include video examples, tests, and group talks. Some people might be hesitant to speak up because they’re afraid of getting in trouble.

An anonymous reporting system might encourage worried employees to report signs or incidents of harassment. Make sure to emphasize that these reporting methods are kept private. Regular refresher classes on recognizing and reporting harassment can also be helpful. They help remind people how important it is to stay alert by reporting any wrongdoing they see or experience.

9. Regular Reviews and Evaluations

Hold regular feedback meetings with employees to learn about the workplace environment. Use this information to spot potential problems and address concerns before they get worse. Change policies and practices based on this feedback. Being flexible helps the organization stay responsive to changing situations in the workplace. 

A good idea is to compare your company’s anti-harassment work with what other companies in your industry are doing and what experts recommend. This outside view gives useful ideas for getting better.

10. Leadership Example

Leaders should clearly and openly show their support for anti-harassment efforts. Through what they say and what they do. This means going to training sessions, taking part in diversity activities, and publicly talking about why having a respectful workplace matters. 

Make leaders responsible for creating a harassment-free environment. Judge leadership based on how committed they are to diversity and inclusion when reviewing their performance.

Read more: Top 10 Leadership Training Topics

Workplace Harassment Tips

Preventing and responding to workplace harassment is non-negotiable. Here are some tips for preventing workplace harassment. 

For Employees

1. Document every harassment incident – write down the harasser’s name, their job title, and what kind of harassment happened. Be exact about times, dates, places, and names of anyone who saw it. Collect as much information and proof as you can, since this will strengthen your case.

2. Find witnesses – talk to coworkers and make sure they’ll support you by confirming your evidence. If someone is bothering or harassing you, others are probably experiencing it too. Work together and support each other.

3. Stay composed and professional – don’t make quick decisions or act without thinking. Take time to gather your proof. Then, when it’s time to talk to your boss, you’ll be clearer and able to make a stronger case.

4. Set up a meeting with your manager or HR person – bring your incident records and witnesses. Practice what you’ll say before the meeting. If your harasser is your manager, contact HR or your manager’s boss.

5. Make sure to check on your complaint – you don’t want the harassment to keep happening while your complaint gets ignored. If you see that nothing is being done, you can take this further and go to higher levels. Keep going until your complaint gets handled and action is taken.

For Employers

The head of the UK’s equality organization, the EHRC, says companies need to do much more to stop workplace harassment, especially with the new Worker Protection Act.

EHRC’s 7-Step Plan to Stop Workplace Harassment

1. Create a strong anti-harassment policy
2. Get your workers involved
3. Check for and reduce workplace risks
4. Consider reporting systems
5. Provide equality, diversity, and anti-harassment trainings
6. Know how to handle complaints and take appropriate actions
7. Know what to do when dealing with sexual harassment and outside parties.

Workplace Harassment Facts

• Women face harassment more often than men do
• Out of people who dealt with any kind of harassment, 75% of it happened face-to-face
• One out of four people who faced sexual harassment said it happened at their job
• Half of all women have dealt with some type of sexual harassment at work
• 7 out of 10 LGBT+ women and women with disabilities have faced at least one kind of sexual harassment on the job
• Most concerning, 4 out of 5 people who experience harassment don’t tell anyone about it
• 92% of women think unwanted touching counts as sexual harassment. Only 78% of men agree with this

Stopping Workplace Harassment: Creating the Base for Respect and Inclusion

Your workers may have experienced harassment before. Or heard stories from friends and family. To make them feel safe, just talking about it isn’t enough. Showing real commitment against harassment requires strong actions.

These strong anti-harassment steps aren’t just for appearance. They’re the foundation of a workplace where people can trust and respect one another. A workplace where everyone feels protected. And a workplace where employees feel comfortable speaking up, without worrying about what might happen to them.