3 Steps Toward Respectful Workplaces Step 2: Attitudes
Special Thanks to EVERFI, a leader in workplace culture and compliance training, who brought you this week’s blog.
By Elizabeth Bille, JD, SHRM-SCP
We’ve likely all heard the phrase, “if you see something, say something.” Now that phrase is making its way into workplaces around the country as organizations continue to look for new ways to address disrespectful behavior, bias, and harassment.
Teaching employees how to speak up and intervene effectively when disagreements or interactions become disrespectful can have a big impact on supporting a climate and culture of respect, inclusion, and belonging. It can also prevent unprofessional behavior from escalating into illegal misconduct. That’s why many employers are increasingly training their employees on bystander intervention.
But catchy slogans aren’t enough. There are three important steps that organizations must take to educate employees about their role as active bystanders and to make it safe and comfortable for them to do so, which we call “The 3 As”:
Awareness
Attitudes
Action
In a previous post, we talked about the importance of awareness and strategies for ensuring that employees are well-informed of the types of behaviors that are desired in the workplace, as well as the behaviors that are not which require intervention. Here we will take a look at the next step, Attitudes.
The 2nd “A”: Attitudes
Despite all of the time and effort that you might put into communicating and training employees about your expectations of them for supporting a positive workplace climate, awareness is not enough. Even when employees know which types of behaviors are inappropriate, and understand that they should do something to intervene when they witness them, various attitudes may keep them from actually speaking up or taking action in the moment. Fear of retaliation is one such belief that often comes to mind, but there are several others to be addressed as well.
“Maybe Someone Else Will Do Something”
One very common attitude that keeps even well-intentioned employees from stepping forward is referred to as “the bystander effect.” This refers to a well-documented phenomenon that occurs when several people may be present when a questionable situation occurs. While each member of the group may recognize inappropriate behavior, there is a tendency for people to think “someone else will do something,” or “if nobody else is doing anything, maybe this isn’t really a problem.”
“Maybe I’m the Only One Bothered By This”
Another common attitude that can hold people back in the moment is the belief that they are the only person who is bothered by what is happening. Research shows that people tend to assume that they are in the minority in terms of how they are interpreting a situation, even though they actually are not. This misperception is called “pluralistic ignorance,” and it often leads people to remain silent even when they feel like what is happening is wrong. The flip side of this, something that can make people feel confident in their beliefs even when those beliefs may be inappropriate, is referred to as “false consensus,” or the feeling that they are in the majority in terms of their thinking.
Overcoming The Obstacles
These types of common, but misguided, perceptions can be very damaging to workplace culture: employees who are bothered by what they observe tend to stay silent, and the employee who mistakenly believes their inappropriate behavior is acceptable interprets that silence as approval.
The good news is that these dynamics can be improved if employees know that others are in fact concerned about disrespectful behavior. Indeed, when one employee steps in, speaks up, or even shares a concerned look, they send a clear, supportive signal to others that “this is not okay” and that we should all take action to support a positive culture.
Organizations can take several steps to avoid these misguided attitudes and beliefs that often hold people back:
Help employees recognize that in most cases their coworkers are similarly concerned about disrespect, harassment, or biased behavior.
To do this, ask questions in surveys about employees’ willingness to speak up in concerning situations and whether they would support other employees who do so too. Research shows you will likely get very positive responses to these questions.
Share those findings with employees through training and other communication campaigns to help correct misperceptions and create a shared “norm” of intervention and support.
Continually reinforce the company’s desire to create and sustain a safe and positive culture, upholding the importance of employee assistance in doing so by serving as active bystanders.
Reiterate the organization’s non-retaliation policy for employees who take positive action to address or report harmful behavior.
A healthy climate is important for all employees. Most employees are committed to being supportive of their colleagues. But, sometimes, their attitudes may be influenced by the perceptions they have about the views, actions, or inactions of those around them. Addressing these attitudes is a critically important step in encouraging employees to step in or speak up to create a safe, supportive, and respectful workplace.
In the next, and final, post in this series we will address the third “A”: Action.