Anyone who has ever been the victim of any kind of bullying or harassment knows that it can leave a person’s world turned upside down. For businesses getting to grips with how to minimize the risks of workplace harassment, it can be motivating to understand the far-reaching ramifications of these issues—from stalling team performance to broken brand reputation, and from dwindling profits through to swelling legal costs.
In truth, workplace bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment create toxic work environments. They can have a crippling effect on the well-being and performance of many more employees than the victim or victims alone. Read on to discover the many pervasive impacts that these types of misconduct can have, before getting serious about upping your game in its prevention!
A Risk to Health and Well-being
Being a victim of workplace harassment—or even simply witnessing it—can generate problems that your employees carry all day at the office, and back home with them at the end of the working day. These impacts can be both psychological and physical, such as:
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Stomach ulcers
- High blood pressure
When Performance Suffers Along With the Victim
It’s hardly surprising that when employees are grappling with these kinds of pressures, their work performance will also take a hit. Be aware that symptoms of workplace harassment can manifest detrimentally on employee productivity:
- Victims and witnesses may struggle to concentrate
- Victims may lose self-esteem
- Victims and witnesses may have trouble with decision-making
- Victims and witnesses may avoid excelling in order to avoid attention
- Victims and witnesses may be reluctant to enter communal settings
- Harassers may also underperform while distracted by their misconduct
Is Your Business Dropping the Ball?
Contemporary employers understand that happy employees are engaged employees—and minimizing the risk of workplace bullying, sexual harassment, and all forms of discrimination, is an important element of ensuring that teams remain at their most energized. However, the risk to companies that drop the ball on workplace harassment extend far further than productivity losses alone:
- Increased sick leave, rehabilitation, and health insurance costs
- Pervasive absenteeism
- Rapid turnover and associated recruitment and training costs
- Reputational damage that impacts both recruitment and sales
- Legal costs and risk of workers’ compensation claims
- Eroded workplace culture making theft and other corporate crimes more likely
Turn the Tide With Corporate Investigations and Corporate Culture Audits
When someone makes a workplace harassment complaint, you can quickly and efficiently bring in a skilled investigator, reveal the truth of the matter, and get things back on track. However, what if this kind of misconduct is taking place under the radar? No employer is all-seeing and all-knowing. This makes a Corporate Culture Audit an immensely valuable resource to have in your toolkit.
This wellness check-up for your organization will take the lid off any and all issues that may be impacting your path towards prosperity—from workplace harassment to organizational silos, and many more besides. Lauth Investigations International draws on decades of experience within the corporate field, helping businesses forge a route towards excellence through effective investigative services. Learn more about Corporate Culture Audits, or contact our team today to discuss how we can support you best.