Creating a Positive and Civil Workplace: A Cultural Approach to Ending Workplace Harassment

by Dec 18, 2012

“Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.” ~ Steven Covey

“It’s no secret that harassment has a tremendous impact on the workplace. Even when employees don’t necessarily feel harassed themselves, they also suffer from anger, anxiety, discouragement, depression and burnout as witnesses to the behavior. Watching harassment happen, or hearing about it through the grapevine, causes just as much distress and negatively affects work quality and work product. In turn, businesses spend millions of dollars annually in absenteeism and turnover, workers compensation claims due to stress, reduced work product, lower levels of job satisfaction, communication breakdown and even a bad reputation within the community.”

A better civil work environment will lead to a better bottom line for the company. These approaches not only help create a more positive and civil workplace, but also an increase in employee retention and less excuses for sick days. Make it a company employees will want to work for.

Incivility, bullying, and harassment occur because the culture allows them to. Before starting inclusivity initiatives, you’ve got to stop bad behavior. Take this assessment to determine if your workplace fosters a positive culture.

 

About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Fortune 500’s, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared several times on NPR, FOX, NBC, and ABC as an expert, as well as in USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego Chapter and teaches at National University. In his book foreword, Ken Blanchard called her book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” She recently released a second book entitled, SEEKING CIVILITY: How Leaders, Managers and HR Can Create a Workplace Free of Bullying.

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