Workplace inclusivity

Services

Projects

Research

STRIDE

Resources

Blog

About

Identifying harmful and inappropriate behaviours

Harmful and inappropriate behaviour can be subtle or overt and can manifest in different forms, such as bullying, harassment, or micro-aggressions.

Examples of these behaviours

We’ve put together some examples of different types of inappropriate behaviour to help you recognise these behaviours within your organisation.

Bullying

Spreading malicious rumours about someone

Constantly putting someone down in meetings

Deliberately giving someone a heavier workload than everyone else

Excluding someone from team social events

Putting humiliating, offensive, or threatening comments or photos on social media.

Source: ACAS: Bullying at work

Example of bullying

Jerome has recently joined a new team at work. His new colleagues have not been very welcoming and hold team meetings without him. Jerome has missed several deadlines because he has not been attending the meetings and he is now on performance review. His colleagues continue to exclude him from team meetings and laugh amongst themselves whenever he attends progress meetings.

Harassment

Harassment and bullying are often conflated. Harassment, however, is covered by discrimination law (Equality Act 2010) and can be a serious hate crime.

Harassment can be behaviour that causes the victim to feel:

Disrespected

Frightened

Humiliated

Insulted

Intimidated

Threatened

Three types of harassment

Harassment related to age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and / or sexual orientation

Sexual harassment that refers to unwanted sexual behaviours

A person being treated less favourably because of how they’ve responded to previous harassment (e.g. reporting it).

Source: ACAS: Discrimination and the law

Example of harassment
(related to sex)

Clare is the only female mechanic that works in the garage. Whenever it's break time, her colleagues shout things like 'milk with two sugars, love' at her. It was funny the first couple of times, but now she feels disrespected and thinks they only treat her this way because she's a woman.

Micro-aggression

Micro-aggressions can take many different forms. For example:

Repeatedly not pronouncing or spelling an individual’s name correctly

Making assumptions about skills / abilities / temperament of an individual based on stereotypes

Interrupting a person when they are speaking

Ignoring individuals in meetings and in the workplace

Source: Rpharms.com: Microaggressions

Examples of micro-aggressions

Speech bubbles containing examples of verbal micro-aggressions

The toolkit:
Active bystander culture

Our toolkit will help you start your journey towards developing an active bystander culture.

At your fingertips

Providing quick access to the terms you need to be familiar with.

View this tool

Identifying harmful behaviours

Harmful and inappropriate behaviour can be subtle or overt and can manifest in different forms, such as bullying, harassment, or micro-aggressions.

View this tool

Understanding barriers

To develop an active bystander culture in your organisation, it is important not only to educate individuals on why being an active bystander matters, but also to understand some of the barriers to becoming an active bystander.

View this tool

Intervention strategies

To fully embed an active bystander culture within your organisation, your employees need to be familiar with the different types of intervention strategies that they can use.

View this tool

Building confidence

After you’ve provided intervention strategies for your employees, it’s vital that they have the confidence to use them when needed.

View this tool

Example pulse survey

Download the example PDF to explore how your employees perceive their role as active bystanders.

View this tool

Guide to inclusive facilitation

To get the best out of any participatory activities you run with your employees (including role-play), it’s important to have a good facilitator to create a safe space.

View this tool

Creating a safe space for speaking out

A supportive and confidential environment where people feel comfortable and encouraged to share their thoughts and emotions without fear of judgment or retribution is vital for building an inclusive workplace culture.

View this tool

Participatory activities

Role play develops people’s confidence and skills so they will be more likely to intervene when faced with situations in real life.

View this tool

Safe & supported reporting

To encourage trust amongst your employees and signal that your organisation is committed to addressing harmful behaviour, it is essential that there are clear and accessible reporting channels.

View this tool

The toolkit:
Active bystander culture

Our toolkit will help you start your journey towards developing an active bystander culture.

At your fingertips

Providing quick access to the terms you need to be familiar with.

View this tool

Identifying harmful behaviours

Harmful and inappropriate behaviour can be subtle or overt and can manifest in different forms, such as bullying, harassment, or micro-aggressions.

View this tool

Understanding barriers

View this tool

Intervention strategies

To fully embed an active bystander culture within your organisation, your employees need to be familiar with the different types of intervention strategies that they can use.

View this tool

Building confidence

After you’ve provided intervention strategies for your employees, it’s vital that they have the confidence to use them when needed.

View this tool

Example pulse survey

Download the example PDF to explore how your employees perceive their role as active bystanders.

View this tool

Guide to inclusive facilitation

To get the best out of any participatory activities you run with your employees (including role-play), it’s important to have a good facilitator to create a safe space.

View this tool

Creating a safe space for speaking out

View this tool

Participatory activities

Role play develops people’s confidence and skills so they will be more likely to intervene when faced with situations in real life.

View this tool

Safe & supported reporting

To encourage trust amongst your employees and signal that your organisation is committed to addressing harmful behaviour, it is essential that there are clear and accessible reporting channels.

View this tool

The toolkit:
Active bystander culture

Our toolkit will help you start your journey towards developing an active bystander culture.

At your fingertips

Providing quick access to the terms you need to be familiar with.

View this tool

Identifying harmful behaviours

Harmful and inappropriate behaviour can be subtle or overt and can manifest in different forms, such as bullying, harassment, or micro-aggressions.

View this tool

Understanding barriers

View this tool

Intervention strategies

To fully embed an active bystander culture within your organisation, your employees need to be familiar with the different types of intervention strategies that they can use.

View this tool

Building confidence

After you’ve provided intervention strategies for your employees, it’s vital that they have the confidence to use them when needed.

View this tool

Example pulse survey

Download the example PDF to explore how your employees perceive their role as active bystanders.

View this tool

Guide to inclusive facilitation

To get the best out of any participatory activities you run with your employees (including role-play), it’s important to have a good facilitator to create a safe space.

View this tool

Creating a safe space for speaking out

View this tool

Participatory activities

Role play develops people’s confidence and skills so they will be more likely to intervene when faced with situations in real life.

View this tool

Safe & supported reporting

To encourage trust amongst your employees and signal that your organisation is committed to addressing harmful behaviour, it is essential that there are clear and accessible reporting channels.

View this tool

Explore more toolkits

Inclusive practice

Inclusive practice in the workplace creates an environment where every individual feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute, regardless of their background, identity, or beliefs. Inclusive practice can build diversity, tapping into the broadest possible pool of talent.

Explore this toolkit >

Male and female colleagues sitting closely to discuss work

Addressing sexual misconduct

Addressing sexual harassment and misconduct not only protects employees but also strengthens the overall culture of inclusivity and respect. A proactive approach reassures employees that their wellbeing is a priority and demonstrates that the organisation is committed to creating a safe, supportive environment for all.

Explore this toolkit >

Female wearing a head covering holding her head in her hands

Identifying bullying & harassment

Identifying and addressing bullying and harassment not only protects employees but also strengthens the overall culture of inclusivity and respect. By creating clear, straightforward policies and creating robust reporting procedures, we can help organisations recognise, prevent, and respond to sexual misconduct effectively.

Explore this toolkit >