Teach employees to just say "no"!

HR Magazine, Feb, 1996 by R. Bruce McAfee, Diana L. Deadrick

Combating harassment in the workplace is one of the most important issues facing organizations. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the courts have expanded the definition of illegal harassment to include verbal and physical conduct of coworkers, customers, clients and supervisors that interferes with an individual's job performance - even if there are no economic, tangible job benefits at stake. Furthermore, harassment that is based on the race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability or sex of an individual or that of his or her relatives, friends or associates can be illegal.

At the same time, the EEOC and the courts have admonished employers to take actions to prevent, as well as correct, harassment in the workplace. The most commonly used approach is a structural one. By developing formal written policies and procedures designed to avoid liability, educating employees about these policies, and enforcing these policies, the hope is that employees will stop harassing others or will report instances of illegal harassment. This approach assumes that employees understand the basis and need for the laws and policies and will comply with them.

Unfortunately, the structural approach alone is insufficient. Structural mechanisms are likely to detect only cases that escalate to severe and/or pervasive - thus illegal-harassment. As a result, structural mechanisms are of more benefit for correcting than preventing illegal harassment.

So how can employers most effectively prevent harassment? By teaching employees how to confront each other, work out their differences, and develop mutually acceptable solutions to conflicts.

Employers should begin by sensitizing employees to what is meant by harassment, explaining the basis and need for organizational policies aimed at preventing and correcting harassment, and providing employees with examples of behaviors that are considered illegal harassment. Since harassment varies in form and intensity, employees must be trained to use a variety of self-defense techniques. No one technique suits all situations; employees must learn to match the intensity of their response with the intensity of the offense.

Learning these self-defense techniques is enhanced if employees play roles, alternating as offender and victim. Role playing is particularly effective at increasing understanding of how harassment creates a hostile environment because it puts employees in the victims' shoes. Playing roles also provides employees practice at reacting to an offender. The three self-defense techniques described below - ask, tell and threaten - illustrate ways to handle problems of escalating intensity.

1. "ASK": POLITE REQUESTS

Polite requests involve asking the offender to refrain from engaging in some behavior. These techniques are designed to address mild forms of harassment (low severity and/or pervasiveness) and are used when the parties involved are relatively congenial. Here are two examples:

Employee: "Jim, would you please not tell religious jokes in my presence? I take my religion seriously and don't appreciate the jokes. Is that agreeable?"

Employee: "Sue, I can't help but notice those derogatory cartoons you have on your wall every time I enter the office. Would you please remove them since I find them offensive?"

Note that in both of these cases, the offender is asked to change behavior and is given a reason for the request. The tone is polite and friendly, yet assertive. The offender is not belittled, ridiculed or ordered to change. However, the offender is put on notice that a problem exists, paving the way for more aggressive responses if they become necessary. This technique can also be used to address harassment that has not yet reached the stage of being illegal.

2. "TELL": ASSERTIVE TECHNIQUES

Assertive techniques involve telling the offender what you heard or observed, stating your emotional response, providing an explanation for your feeling, and telling the offender what future behavior is expected. These techniques are designed to combat harassment that is of medium intensity, that is, moderate severity and/or pervasiveness. For example:

Employee: "Terry, I have noticed that over the past few months, you have repeatedly singled me out as the butt of your jokes. This upsets me very much because your comments are based on my ethnic background and I take pride in my heritage. I want and expect these jokes to stop now."

Employee: "Pat, I have noticed that whenever we are working together on projects, you frequently put your hands on my shoulders and rub my neck. This behavior is offensive to me because I do not appreciate your gestures of intimacy. I expect you to respect my wishes and stop this behavior."

Note that the tone is forceful, yet the offender is not belittled or ridiculed.

3. "THREATEN": WARNING TECHNIQUES

Warning techniques are for relatively severe and/or pervasive forms of harassment. With these techniques, the offender is given a final notice that, unless his or her behavior changes, a complaint will be filed. Warning techniques involve telling offenders in no uncertain terms that you are angry with their behavior, and warning them what action will be taken if their behavior doesn't change. These techniques are used when the previous techniques have been ineffective. Consider the following: