Of the various types of harassment that may plague your workplace, verbal harassment is arguably the easiest to spot. It’s vocal. It’s often delivered in angry tones. It can be loud. It may contain expletives and other inappropriate language.
Its ease of identification, though, doesn’t mean it’s easy to address. Being alert to verbal harassment, ensuring employees understand verbal harassment will not be tolerated, and offering processes and resources for employees to both report harassment and serve as well-informed allies to prevent and address it are critical to maintaining a respectful and inclusive workplace culture.
Unfortunately, according to recent research from SHRM, workplace incivility is on the rise, with 66% of US employees saying they had experienced or witnessed incivility in the month before the survey was conducted—57% said they had experienced or witnessed it in the prior week. In addition to the impact on employees, incivility can come with a heavy cost for organizations; roughly $2 billion/day in the form of absenteeism and productivity, according to the survey.
This kind of incivility hurts. Not only do employees take a toll that impacts their health—physical and mental—negatively, but companies suffer too. Workplace harassment has been estimated to cost companies $2.6 billion in lost productivity, and can lead to significant turnover.
That’s not the kind of workplace environment organizations want to provide their employees, or their bottom lines. Verbal harassment is one form of incivility that organizations can and should address proactively and promptly.
Main Takeaways:
- Verbal harassment can be one of the easiest forms of harassment to identify, but can be challenging to address.
- Incivility in the workplace is on the rise, according to recent SHRM research.
- Verbal harassment creates an environment that is hostile or intimidating and can take many forms including: threats, insults, offensive jokes, sexual comments, and microaggressions.
- Prevention strategies include employee education, clear policies, well-communicated reporting procedures, and a positive work environment.
- Companies should encourage employees to participate in minimizing verbal harassment by being active allies and supportive bystanders.
- Training and education are key to creating and maintaining a safe and respectful work environment.
What Is Considered Verbal Harassment?
In the workplace, verbal harassment is any kind of verbal interaction that creates a hostile or intimidating environment. Verbal harassment might range from threatening others to demeaning or insulting others—even in seemingly “minor” ways. The determination of whether behavior is harassment is based on the targeted individual’s determination. While one employee may not mind, or may even enjoy, sharing insults with a colleague, another might be offended if a colleague criticizes their work in front of others. Because of these subtleties, verbal harassment issues can be challenging for managers and others to address.
Verbal Harassment Examples
It can be helpful to explore various examples of how verbal harassment might be manifested in workplace settings. These examples can also be helpful for use in educating employees about verbal harassment to help them understand what is, and is not acceptable, in their interactions with others.
Threats or Intimidation
Threats could range from the threat of physical harm to job-related threats. For instance, a manager might threaten to fire an employee if they don’t follow a specific request. Intimidation might also occur between coworkers.
Insults and Name Calling
“You’re an idiot!” Name calling is a common form of verbal harassment that can occur between coworkers or between managers and their employees. For instance: a manager continually refers to an employee as “stupid” or “incompetent.”
Offensive Jokes or Comments
Jokes are very personal. What’s humorous to one person may not be to another. Worse, what’s humorous to one person may be offensive to another and that’s where verbal harassment may come into play. Jokes or comments focused on individuals’ personal characteristics (e.g., “dumb blonde” jokes or racial/ethnic jokes) or jokes that might otherwise be considered offensive (e.g., religious jokes) would fall into this category.
Sexual Comments or Innuendo
Both male and female employees can be subject to verbal harassment of a sexual nature in the workplace and that harassment can come from managers, colleagues, or even customers and vendors. This type of verbal harassment might entail making comments about someone’s appearance or clothing, sending sexually inappropriate or offensive emails or text messages, repeatedly requesting dates of sexual favors.
This type of harassment is often reported in the media and, unfortunately, continues to be pervasive even among very prominent individuals and businesses.
Microaggressions
Microaggressions are small slights or insults that have a negative impact because they target individuals based on their differences to others. They can take a variety of forms such as comments related to a person’s race or ethnicity (asking a person “where are you really from?”), gender (assuming the only female in a meeting will be taking notes), race/ethnicity (comments related to one’s competency based on race—to an Asian coworker: “you people are so smart!” or a Black coworker, “wow, you did a great job with that).
Other potential forms of verbal harassment might include yelling or screaming, excessive criticism, spreading rumors and gossip, or even gaslighting—where a manager might consistently deny or downplay an employee’s concerns making them doubt their own experiences and perceptions. Today’s technology-enabled environment can make verbal harassment even more challenging to address and can quickly escalate issues. For example, if one employee forwards an email with a pornographic image, it can circulate to the point where everyone in the office sees it—even if that’s not what the original sender intended.
The bottom line is that companies need to be alert to this type of harassment and take steps to inform and educate employees about their role in ensuring a climate of mutual respect where all employees feel safe. Doing so also protects organizations from claims of unlawful harassment.
How to Prevent Verbal Harassment in the Workplace
There are a number of steps that organizations can take to prevent verbal harassment in the workplace.
- Educate and inform. As we’ve seen, some forms of verbal harassment may be subtle and may be based on the recipient’s point of view, perspective, or sensitivities. Informing employees about what verbal harassment entails, and providing examples to help them understand can be an important step in minimizing all forms of verbal harassment.
- Establish clear anti-harassment policies. Create and communicate clear policies on verbal harassment including clear definitions and examples, reporting procedures, the investigation process, confidentiality, consequences for violations, a non-retaliation clause for those who report incidents, resources and support. Have a process in place for regular review and updates.
- Make it clear how employees can bring forward issues related to verbal harassment, who to report them to, how the incidents will be investigated, and how the employee making a complaint will be updated and communicated with.
- Keep it positive. Don’t add to a punitive environment by being overly negative and punitive in your approach to minimizing verbal harassment. Instead, make it clear that you believe all employees want to contribute to an environment that is positive and supportive and enlist their aid in creating that environment.
- Help employees become supportive allies and active bystanders in your pursuit of a verbal harassment free work environment. Arm them with education, information, and resources, and provide them with coaching and support to speak up when they are the recipient of or when they witness verbal harassment.
Unfortunately, despite your—and your employees’—best efforts, issues of verbal harassment may arise. When they do, it’s important to respond promptly and appropriately.
How to Address Verbal Harassment When it Occurs
Establishing an environment of openness and support, and taking all incidents seriously, will create the kind of trust and transparency that can help support a strong and safe environment for employees. When issues of verbal harassment arise, it’s important to:
- Respond openly, supportively, and nondefensively. Employees need to feel assured that their reports will not be used against them in a punitive manner and that their concerns will be taken seriously.
- Document all occurrences in detail, including names, dates, time, places and supporting information as relevant.
- Conduct thorough investigations.
- Take appropriate disciplinary action against those whose behaviors have been deemed inappropriate.
- Provide support and resources for affected employees.
- Use each incident as an opportunity to reeducate and reinform all employees of the importance of a harassment-free environment and their role in creating that environment (withholding personal or sensitive information as appropriate).
Focusing on awareness, education, prevention, and a prompt response to any incidents observed or reported can help to create a strong and supportive workplace culture that is free from harassment for all employees.
Maximize Training Retention and Application with EVERFI
There are a variety of forms that verbal harassment can take in workplace settings, some sensitive. By training and educating employees about the importance of a safe and respectful work environment, their role in creating and supporting that environment, what verbal harassment is, and how to minimize and address its impacts, companies can protect themselves and their employees.
EVERFI’s workplace harassment training courses can help establish and maintain the environment you need to attract and retain employees who are engaged, productive, and loyal.