Bullying and sexual harassment go unreported as employees fear retaliation
10 October 2024
What is the ethical issue?
Bullying is a persistent pattern of mistreatment from others in the workplace that causes either physical or emotional harm. Harassment includes unwelcome and persistent attention, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which creates a hostile or offensive work environment. Bullying and harrassment poses a serious obstacle to creating a positive, productive working environment.
This kind of behaviour creates a toxic and tense environment, and if it goes unchecked, sends a message of acceptance. If mechanisms are not in place for employees to report bullying or harassment, and if these reports are not investigated thoroughly, it can have serious impacts on individuals and the organisation as a whole.
One of the difficult aspects of this kind of behaviour, is that it can be hard to define, and even harder to spot, as legally, bullying is 'in the eye of the beholder'. One person's 'joke' can make another person feel uncomfortable, and if it persists can feel bullying and belittling.
There is a fine line that organisations and their employees tread between banter and bullying. Banter can help bring down barriers in teams and create a shared sense of fun, yet if banter crosses the line, it can exclude people and make them feel uncomfortable, undermining the inclusive environment that is attempting to be built and maintained. It may also be the starting point for other forms of inappropriate behavior, becoming a gateway for more extreme behaviours such as sexual harassment.
IBE Guidance
A summary of good practice
- Everyone is entitled to fair treatment, courtesy and respect. Organisations should not tolerate any form of abuse or harassment of employees, contractors, suppliers, customers or anyone else.
- Responsible managers develop the right culture by encouraging people to speak up about inappropriate behaviour, but this also requires reliable and confidential channels to do so. By embedding these policies into day-to-day operations and regularly reviewing them, bullying and other inappropriate behaviour can be rooted out, resulting in less complaints, less exit interview revelations and a happier workplace.
Further resources
Post CBI, post Casey, post #MeToo – is now the real time for change?
Read the latest blog from IBE Deputy Director, Rachael Saunders.
27 April 2023
Business Ethics in the News 2022
This resource provides an analysis of the year’s news trends and the issues and sectors that featured the most.
12 January 2023
Bullying: rules and values
Read the latest blog by Prof. Chris Cowton, IBE’s Associate Director.
17 November 2022
Is your business ethical - and do your stakeholders think so?
Listen in as Survey Director, Christopher Cowton shares his thoughts on our latest survey, IBE Attitudes of the British Public to Business Ethics 2022.
30 June 2022
Attitudes of the British Public to Business Ethics 2022
Businesses and UK politicians must do better at demonstrating their ethical credentials if they are to win back the confidence of the British public - the 2022 results of the IBE's annual survey of the attitudes of the British public to business ethics.
29 June 2022
Business Ethics in the News 2021
This resource presents an overview of the ethical concerns and lapses, as well as the positive business ethics stories, that the IBE recorded for its media monitoring exercise in 2021. It provides an analysis of the year’s trends and the issues and sectors that featured most frequently.
24 January 2022
Employees’ voices: a glass half full
The results of our latest Ethics at Work survey bring us some good news, but also some red flags that cannot be ignored as organisations shape their ethical agenda for the future.
08 December 2021
The right question
Read the latest blog by Mark Chambers, IBE's Associate Director (Governance).
10 November 2021
Ethics at Work: 2021 International Survey of Employees
This survey is the only one of its kind, covering 13 countries over four continents, that provides real insight into employees’ views on ethics across all sectors and job roles.
04 November 2021
Every crisis is an opportunity
Read our latest guest blog by Sally March, Jane Mitchell, Robert Smith and Ruth Steinholtz.
13 October 2021
Attitudes. Ethics. Trust.
In this blog, Guendalina Donde, IBE's Head of Research, discusses the results of the 2020 Attitudes of the British Public to Business Ethics survey.
13 January 2021
Attitudes of the British Public to Business Ethics 2020
The 2020 results of the IBE's annual survey of the attitudes of the British public to business ethics.
30 December 2020