Leadership in Preventing Workplace Harassment

Leadership has to feature prominently in preventing workplace harassment because power imbalances are often the root cause of it. Although anyone can be a target of harassment, statistically harassment occurs most frequently when a senior male perpetrator is in authority over a more junior female. UK workplaces are sites where power imbalances prevail, with many more men at the top and women more likely to be at the bottom of the power scale.

The fact of the matter is that in organisations which have cultures which are dismissive of respect and inclusiveness, leaders and others with authority are more inclined to behave poorly, believing that they are immune from any accountability.

Building Inclusive Leadership for Change

Leaders need to wholeheartedly adopt measures to be implemented and behaviours to give effect to their responsibilities. These include understanding the law; overseeing a ‘prevention and response plan; being regularly informed about implementation; and demonstrating visible committment to safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces.

To comply with the Worker Protection Act 2023, enforced as of October 2024, UK leaders must actively work to prevent harassment before it occurs. This approach goes beyond reactive solutions, expecting organizations to engage in “preventative duty”—embedding protective measures and maintaining accountability.

This commitment will only become visible when leaders are equipped to role model what respectful and inclusive behaviour looks like themselves, where they unequivocally demonstrate that unlawful behaviours are not accepted or condoned.

Developing Leaders’ Skills in Inclusive Practice

The reality is that whilst there are a handful of leaders who are naturally inclusive, Symmetra’s local and global research less than 50% of leaders consistently demonstrate inclusive behaviour. The rest could be classified as complacent at best and counterproductive in many situations.

 
Organisations cannot assume their leaders will behave inclusively because the law and the compliance guidelines say they must.

Organisations must take conscious and intentional steps to equip their leaders with inclusion skills, with the skills to establish psychologically safe and respectful workplaces – just as they would invest equipping those leaders with a range of other managerial skills to run their organisation effectively. This is the first critical step, and perhaps the most important, that will position organisations to achieve fulfillment of their preventative duty.

 
Through assessments of how inclusive those they work with experience them to be, identifying their inclusion performance gaps and then using this to inform inclusion skills training and provision of practical toolkits leaders can create a culture of inclusion as an integral part of everyday work.

This comprehensive approach has shown a notable improvement: a 92% increase in diversity perceptions, a 14% rise in belonging, and an 8% boost in engagement and well-being indices.
 
 
 

Practical guidelines

to equip leaders and organizations with the tools they need to meet the positive duty:

 
Craft a robust “prevention and response plan” that outlines how your organization will proactively prevent and respond to harassment. It’s paramount that this plan is well-tailored, data-informed, and effectively communicated to all members of the organization.
 
 

 
As a senior leader, you hold the mantle of ensuring that this “prevention and response plan” is actively developed and implemented. Regular reviews, consultations with workers, and the timely updating of measures are crucial in maintaining effectiveness. Leaders should regularly assess and monitor the effectiveness of the prevention plan, making data-driven decisions to enhance its impact.
 
 

 

Effective communication is key. Senior leaders have a critical role in conveying the organization’s expectations regarding respectful behavior. It’s essential to foster a workplace where such expectations are clear and where the message of respect is echoed internally and externally.
 

 
Leading by example, senior leaders should be assessed as to how inclusive their behaviour is, then educate themselves on those inclusion competencies found wanting so that they consistently exhibit behaviors that promote respect and inclusivity. This involves actively identifying and addressing disrespectful actions, while also seeking continuous feedback and self-reflection. Leaders should visibly commit to creating safe, respectful, and inclusive workplaces, in both their words and actions.