Sexual harassment is not a new issue. What’s different now is that we have reached a tipping point – a reckoning, if you will – for organizations and their leaders.

Over the past year, the power is beginning to shift from the organization to individuals who are not just speaking out, but also being heard. Movements like #Metoo and #Timesup are empowering and emboldening individuals all over the world to demand a workplace free from sexual harassment.  This is all about organizational culture.

Understanding that sexual harassment is a workplace culture issue is the first step. The recent convergence of heightened awareness and the demand for change gives management the opportunity – and responsibility – to listen more closely and take active steps. But make no mistake, this is no longer about what is happening.  It is about who is doing something about it. Leaders, you can’t delegate ethics on the issue of sexual harassment. And the reality is that everyone in your organization plays an important role in stopping the cycle of harassment.  

Sexual harassers are individuals, but culture is everyone.  And in most cases, there are actually four parties involved: the perpetrator, the target, bystanders and senior management. When all actors are considered, and all do their part and hold others accountable, you can create a culture where harassment is not tolerated. So, what does this look like and what should you expect of everyone in your organization?    

Behavior Expectations for the Four Parties Involved in Sexual Harassment

Perpetrators Are Addressed.  First, let’s discuss the perpetrators.  Some are cruel and abusers of power – and those employees must be held accountable and pay the consequences for their actions, no matter how harsh it may seem. Others may be inconsiderate or simply say something offensive. Regardless, their behavior must be appropriately addressed; when you tolerate harassing behavior you leave a lasting stain on your culture that is hard to erase.

In a healthy culture, managers will address this conduct, and coworkers will step up to call out the perpetrators.  Employees will grow more comfortable calling out even less egregious forms of sexual harassment or disrespectful behavior, helping reinforce that all forms of harassment are unacceptable.

Management’s role: Be a strong role model – don’t engage in harassing behaviors and don’t tolerate it from anyone (employees, peers, leaders, or business partners). Take reports seriously. Investigate, then take swift, decisive action including exiting the harasser if necessary. Make protecting the health of the whole organization the priority.   

Those Subjected to Harassment Are Supported.  Employees who are targeted by harassers need to know that management has their back. This means they trust the reporting systems will work and can expect the following from management: it will be fair and will work to identify and address any issues; it will not pre-judge or place blame on the victim for the harasser’s bad behavior; it will prevent and put an end to retaliation.  Finally, they must feel that their organization cares about providing a workplace free from harassment. This is a tall order, and honestly, where most organizations fail their own employees.

If there is even a perception that there’s a professional price to pay for exposing sexual harassment, people won’t do it.  And the cost for silence is high.

Employees Must Be Allies Not Bystanders: Managing harassment cannot just be about the target and the harasser. If we want to solve this persistent workplace problem, we must focus on all of us – including bystanders (those who witness or hear about it).  For far too long, harassment has been treated as a personal issue (not a systemic culture failure) and bystanders have not felt empowered or obligated to speak up. That must change. Speaking up can be difficult. But in a healthy workplace, all employees feel a sense of ownership over the culture and call out behavior that undermines it. If leadership values a strong culture, it must impart bystanders to speak up.

Management’s role: Give people “permission” to speak up by making it an expectation. Make it known that calling out those who are out of line is exactly “what we do here.”  Communicate and reinforce this until it becomes a cultural norm. Set the tone and make it clear to all your employees what is acceptable and what is not.

Steps Toward a Solution

To help initiate a more thoughtful conversation about sexual harassment’s effect on workplace culture – and culture’s central role is stopping it – NAVEX Global is producing a series of informative videos. The first encapsulates how a healthy culture takes responsibility for stopping sexual harassment.

This video, and those that will follow, is free and is yours to share with all of your employees, especially those in senior management. We hope it gives everyone something to think about and start acting on.

Subscribe to the NAVEX Global blog to get notified when the next videos are available.