The workplace is comprised of individuals with different types and personalities. As a result, conflict is bound to be experienced at one time or another. However some instances witness the escalation of such aggression to unwarranted levels, in which case, those on the receiving end are left in a vulnerable position. Such situations can be explained as workplace violence and harassment. According to the Ontario Ministry of Labor, workplace violence involves the physical exertion of force or attempt to use force to an individual with the intention to cause physical harm. It can also be described as the interpretation by a victim of the aggressor's intention to cause physical harm from a statement or behavior directed to him/her. Violence can take different forms such as bullying, threats of attack, or actual physical attack.
On the other hand, harassment, as defined by Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA), is the engagement in a vexatious comment or behavior towards a worker, which can be interpreted as an unwelcomed (Ontario Ministry of Labor). Such situations violate an employee’s right to have a healthy and safe working environment as established by OSHA. The occurrence of violence and harassment in the workplace is becoming prevalent with time.
The incidents related to workplace violence and harassment results in the accrual of direct and indirect costs to organizations. Examples of direct costs include medical bills and the restoration of physical property. Indirect costs include psychological torture of victims which results in high employee turnover, fear of intimidation which leads to a lack of employee morale and decreased productivity. For this reason, to avert the occurrence of such adverse effects, organizations have established policies and programs that aim at reducing the occurrence of such incidents. Unfortunately, the vice has persisted leading to the continuance of the cycle of violence and psychological torture. One factor that has been relates to the trend is silence, both on the part of the victim and a colleague who might witness the unfolding of violence and harassment related events. The latter situation presents a classic ethical dilemma. This is because the colleague is uncertain of whether he/she should intervene in the case or he/she should ignore having witnessed related events with the hope it is resolved. In order to evaluate the course of action to be taken in the first instance, it is imperative to include both legal and moral variables in the equation.
As indicated above, violence and harassment are prohibited legally as set out in the OSHA standards. For this reason, organizations have enacted various policies to enforce the policies in truth and spirit. Therefore, legally speaking, intervention in a situation involving this condition would mean the presentation of the event to the relevant authorities in the workplace, that is, the Human Resource Department. This would allow the organization to apply the established policies as the benchmark in the determination of the best approach to handle the situation. in most cases, the perpetrator would receive a warning letter from the department that seeks to forbid him/her from engaging in the behavior. If the situation persists, the department will exercise stringent measures which might include suspension and in extreme cases, termination of employment.
In order to consider both legal and moral aspect, consideration of the arguments and presentations from both sides is vital in the determination of the most appropriate strategy to follow in light of such instances. In this case, the law explicitly outlaws any violence against individuals. In terms of workplace contexts, various legislative rules guide the conduct of employees in such environments as exhibited by OSHA. The law clearly presents a proper definition of workplace violence and harassment. This guides in the categorization of acts that fall into these categories, such as bullying and threats of physical force (Halbert and Ingulli, 23). At an institutional level, various organizations with reference to national legislative standards provide guidelines for the compilation of relevant policies and procedures aimed at identifying instances in the workplace that can be defined as either of the categories above. these provide the identification of proper conduct at the workplace while at the same time provide procedures that workers can undertake in their presentation of related complaints.
On the other hand, the moral perspective of workplace harassment and violence is a combination of both organizational policies and personal ethics. In the first case, company policies must provide the appropriate structural support in the events such incidents occur in the workplace. Therefore, this loops back to legal perspective as discussed above. in this case, organizations should create a company culture that seeks to promote teamwork, accountability, and harmonious working environment. Employees must operate as a team and strive to foster positive working relationships with other employees. This involves promotion of professionalism and encouragement of workers' proper conduct. In terms of accountability, employees should be accountable to their colleagues, as in the instance discussed above and take appropriate action to protect their well-being. The combination of these two variables contributes to a harmonious working environment.
However, the practice of an organizational culture would not yield any results if the company does not establish measures that seek to promote awareness of employee rights and also provide communication and reporting procedures which workers can use to present their grievances. Once this is achieved, it all depends on the witness of harassment or violence, whether he/she will take action or not. The main reasons as to why a witness might not take action in from the occurrence of such incidents is mostly influenced by fear. The individual might fear to make a fuss over a non-issue. In this case, one might forgo taking action as he/she perceives the situation to be casual and hence no need for causing unnecessary attention. Also, the witness could refrain based on the assumption that his/her actions might cause adverse effects on his/her career progression within the company. Moreover, the employee's perception of the inability of the company of taking any action despite bringing to the appropriate authority's attention to the occurrence of such situations might discourage individuals from intervening in such instances. These conditions encompass an individual's code of ethics that may urge him/her to take the necessary actions in spite of the fears addressed above, or discourage their intervention in events surrounding harassment and violence against a fellow worker.
All in all, the role of the company in workplace violence and harassment situations is of paramount importance as indicated above. For this reason, organizations should establish sound policies and procedures that seek to create awareness among employees of their rights, create appropriate reporting avenues, and carry out training for all employees to equip them with requisite knowledge and skills essential for proper handling of related incidents in the workplace.
Works Cited
Halbert, Terry, and Elaine Ingulli. Law and Ethics in the Business Environment. 2014. Print.
Ontario Ministry of Labor. Workplace Violence and Workplace Harassment. Retrieved from http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/topics/workplaceviolence.php
