What is dignity at work?
Simply put, all employees have the right to be treated with dignity, respect and courtesy, in a workplace free from bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation and to be valued for their skills and abilities. Dignity at work covers behaviours that constitute discrimination, bullying, harassment and sexual harassment.
There will be times when people feel that they have been subjected to inappropriate behaviour. These behaviours are destructive to the individual and the organisation. As such, the promotion and maintenance of respect for all employees plays a key role in ensuring that the working environment is one where employees feel safe, valued and recognised.
Bullying and harassment may have the following effects on the employee and the business:
- Increased sickness and absenteeism – resulting in financial and time cost of providing cover.
- Deterioration in performance – reduced productivity.
- Higher employee turnover – loss of talented employees plus the cost of recruitment and training of replacements.
- Loss of concentration, motivation, confidence and consistent worrying – resulting in low morale and workforce de-motivation.
- Cynical attitude towards the organisation – resulting in further de-motivation.
- High legal costs in defending any related litigation.
- Management time required to investigate and defend claims.
The tangible and intangible costs can be significant. There is also the huge cost of time that people spend trying to address conflict, poor performance and low morale. The list goes on.
Bullying and harassment at work is more prevalent than many people believe, including high profile organisations (as we have seen in the media recently concerning sexual harassment). Therefore, every organisation should work to ensure that positive behaviours prevail throughout the organisation.
So how can this be achieved?
Prevention is better than cure, therefore an employer should put in place A Dignity at Work policy and procedure. This can be incorporated into the company Induction Training Programme, Dignity at Work Awareness Training, Employee Handbook and/or in a separate document but most importantly distributed to all existing and new hire employees.
This policy and procedure will:
- Clarify what is workplace bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation,
- What appropriate behaviours are expected of all employees at work,
- How an employee can raise a complaint,
- To whom a complaint should be made,
- How the complaint will be dealt with by the company from the complainant and alleged perpetrator(s) perspective either informally/formally,
- What the repercussions are if a complaint is upheld and
- What supports are given to all parties involved.
For more information on drafting a Dignity at Work policy & procedure for your organisation and awareness training for managers and employees please contact Complete HR using the contact form below.