Creating Respectful Workplaces: Why culture needs to be seen, not just explained

Australian organisations are facing an increasing expectation to actively prevent inappropriate workplace behaviour, rather than simply respond once something has gone wrong. Both the Sex Discrimination Act positive duty and work health and safety obligations require organisations to focus on prevention of bullying, harassment and discrimination, not simply responding after inappropriate behaviour or harm has occurred.

According to Bronwyn Dennis, Manager, Learning Solutions at iHR Australia, that creates an important challenge for organisations.

“Having policies and mandatory training is part of the picture, but the real question is what happens when inappropriate behaviour actually occurs in the workplace,” Bronwyn says.

“Do people recognise it? Do they know when something has crossed a line? Do they feel confident speaking up? And do managers know how to respond before an issue becomes more serious?”

The grey areas are where culture is created

Most employees can identify very obvious harassment, discrimination or bullying. The more difficult situations are often less clear.

“It might be a joke that makes somebody uncomfortable, someone repeatedly being excluded or talked over, a manager dismissing behaviour as banter, or a bystander noticing something doesn't feel right but being unsure whether they should intervene.”

These are the grey areas where people often hesitate and they're also where workplace culture is reinforced. That is a key focus of iHR Australia's Custodians of Culture and Respect in the Workplace program.

Rather than relying heavily on legislation, definitions and slides, the workshops give participants opportunities to examine realistic workplace behaviour and consider what they would actually do.

Seeing the behaviour changes the conversation

A distinctive feature of the program is iHR's Workplace Reality Theatre, where professional actors bring workplace scenarios to life in the training room.

“There's a very different response when people actually watch a situation unfold,” Bronwyn says.

“They notice the body language, the discomfort, the reactions of other employees and the point where seemingly minor behaviour begins to become a problem.”

Participants can explore what happened, where the behaviour began to cross a line and what different people in the situation could have done. Importantly, there isn't always one perfect answer.

“Our skilled facilitators can explore those grey areas with the group. What could a bystander say? What if the person doesn't want you to intervene? When should a manager step in? What is poor behaviour versus bullying? What if someone says they were only joking?”

“That discussion is incredibly important because real workplaces don't operate like multiple-choice questions.”

The inclusion of actors in the workshops also allows participants to see alternative approaches played out, giving them an opportunity to explore the consequences of different responses in a safe environment before they need to deal with the situation for real. In the full-day program, managers take this a step further by practising challenging conversations directly with the actors, testing different approaches and building confidence in how they would respond.

Moving from compliance to capability

The Australian Human Rights Commission's positive duty framework places emphasis on leadership, culture, knowledge, risk management, support and effective reporting and response. WHS requirements similarly place an emphasis on preventing and managing psychosocial risks rather than waiting until harm has occurred.

Training alone cannot meet all of those obligations. However well-designed training can help turn policies and expectations into practical workplace behaviour.

“You want people leaving the room knowing more than the definition of sexual harassment or bullying,” Bronwyn says.

“You want them to be more confident recognising inappropriate behaviour early, having a conversation, intervening safely, seeking support and understanding the role they personally play in creating the workplace culture.”

For organisations reviewing their approach, Bronwyn suggests one practical test:

If inappropriate behaviour happened in one of your teams tomorrow, would your people recognise it early and would they know what to do next?

That is where iHR training can make a real difference. Enquire today about scheduling one of our programs within Building Respectful Workplaces & Workplace Culture for your team.