Harassment and Bullying
Prevent bullying, sexism, and offensive behaviour in the workplace
Bullying, sexism, and offensive behaviour have a significant impact on the psychological working environment of your organisation. It is essential that you, as a workplace, address, prevent, and support employees who are subjected to bullying, sexism, or offensive behaviour. Anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and symptoms of stress are just some of the consequences that individuals may experience.
However, bullying, sexism, and offensive behaviour also affect the wider workplace. When a colleague is bullied or harassed, it creates a negative and insecure atmosphere within the team, which in turn damages the sense of community and undermines collaboration. Unwanted behaviour can, of course, have serious consequences for any organisation. Most notably, it may lead to declining wellbeing, significant increases in sickness absences, and, in the worst cases, resignations.
Foster an open and honest culture – and prevent offensive behaviour before it arises
At Human House, we believe that we all share a collective responsibility to prevent and manage bullying, sexism, and offensive actions. This responsibility is particularly significant for health and safety representatives and leaders, who play a key role in implementing zero-tolerance policies and building healthy workplace cultures.
By law, all employers have a duty to prevent such behaviour. In practice, this means bringing subconscious or unspoken norms to the surface and making them explicit. It is important not to shy away from addressing these issues or having difficult conversations. Dialogue should be made a regular part of the agenda – well before any incidents occur. Our experience shows that it is easier to prevent offensive behaviour when the topic is openly discussed in times of calm, ensuring both leaders and employees are prepared to handle challenging situations if they should arise. Offensive behaviour often stems from a lack of awareness, but when dialogue about boundaries and unacceptable behaviour is normalised and the subject is not taboo, the risk of such behaviour is greatly reduced.
How do you prevent harassment and bullying?
Gain an overview
Map whether bullying, sexism, or offensive behaviour is taking place within your organisation.
Cultivate an open and honest culture
Engage in difficult conversations and involve all employees.
Develop policies
Establish clear boundaries for how you and your colleagues work and communicate.
Respond to unwanted behaviour
Speak out or contact your manager or Health and Safety Representative if you experience or witness unwanted behaviour – either towards yourself or others.
Investigate offensive behaviour with a fact-finding inquiry
A fact-finding inquiry is a method used to address reports of offensive behaviour in the workplace. This approach enables organisations to handle such cases in an ethically responsible manner, ensuring that everyone involved feels fairly and appropriately treated.
Did you know that 7.8% of the Danish working population experience bullying or are subjected to offensive behaviour at work? Bullying, sexism, and offensive conduct can occur in any workplace and affect anyone, regardless of gender, education, or position.
How we can help your workplace prevent bullying, sexism, and offensive behaviour
When we advise on managing cases of offensive behaviour and bullying, we focus on the organisation as a whole. On an individual level, our immediate priority is to support the affected person, but we also pay close attention to the alleged perpetrator.
It is crucial to clarify whether bullying, sexism, or offensive behaviour is taking place in your workplace. We have incorporated questions on these issues into our workplace assessment (APV) and assist with mapping and communicating the underlying challenges. We provide a clear overview of the mechanisms at play and outline the necessary steps to resolve the issue.
We also place significant emphasis on the prevailing culture within the specific group or across the entire workplace. Here, we offer tailored, culture-developing dialogues, both for prevention and management, helping to break down any culture of silence that may exist. We equip leaders with the tools needed to facilitate culture-shaping conversations among employees, and we offer advice and sparring when managers are handling cases involving sexism.
At the organisational level, we assist in developing strong, clear policies in this area and can conduct impartial fact-finding inquiries where needed.
Sexism Hotline
Human House offers a dedicated Sexism Hotline, allowing employees who have been subjected to offensive behaviour to speak confidentially with one of our experienced psychologists. The hotline also serves as a whistleblower platform, where individuals can anonymously share their experiences.
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