5 Tips to Manage and Prevent Inappropriate Workplace Behaviour

While it is generally expected that all employees in the workplace will behave in a professional manner and treat each other with dignity and respect, unfortunately it does not always happen. A workplace dispute claim resulting from inappropriate behaviour in the work environment, such as bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment and more, can have a negative impact on your business operations, staff morale and business reputation - not to mention these types of claims can be costly, especially if mismanaged. 

We believe prevention is always the way to mitigate a costly workplace dispute. In this blog, we have outlined our five tips for managing and preventing inappropriate behaviour in the workplace.

1. Understand what inappropriate workplace behaviour is and communicate this with your employees

Examples of inappropriate behaviour in the work environment can include:

• Harassment - offensive, belittling or threatening behaviour that is unsolicited, and may be repeated

• Bullying - repeated abusive and offensive behaviour, which in some circumstances may involve inappropriate physical behaviour

• Aggression and violence

• Sexual harassment - unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour which makes a person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated.

2. Create a comprehensive employee handbook and share it with your employees

Create policies and procedures addressing all types of inappropriate workplace behaviour, policies, procedures, expectations and consequences for misconduct. Topics can range from punctuality to employee theft and behavioural guidelines for interacting with other employees, customers or clients. Ensure you share this with your employees and consider a training session to go through it in detail with your team.

3. Be proactive if you notice signs of misconduct

If you notice signs of workplace misconduct, as an employer, you must immediately take action to deal with the misconduct and stop it from occurring. If the behaviour continues, we recommend seeking guidance from an experienced legal team in employment law or HR advisory before you act.

4. Practice transparency and create a positive work culture

Prevent inappropriate workplace behaviour from the beginning by creating a culture from management surrounding honesty and accountability. In some instances, workplace bullying can begin from roots of lack of transparency at the management level. As well as this, encourage your employees to speak up if issues arise and create an environment conducive to do so. This way, disputes can be resolved early on and managed more effectively before resulting in a costly claim.

5. Always seek help before you act

It’s highly recommended to always seek professional legal advice from an external organisation before acting. The law surrounding workplace disputes, including unfair dismissals, can be very complex. Experts in employment law and HR advisory can help address and resolve issues, provide disciplinary action and mitigate the risks of further harm from a potential legal claim.

When it comes to managing and preventing inappropriate workplace behaviour, often an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. For staff and management training, drafting procedures and company policies, and other basic HR advisory services, reach out to our team at Optimum Legal for assistance. 

Get in touch with our team at Optimum Legal here.