Sexual harassment - it's not about harassment - it's about workplace Culture

In the year since the #metoo revelations, byrne.dean has been privileged to work with many organisations seeking to bring about positive culture change, raise awareness of what amounts to harassment, and encourage their people to 'speak up' when there is a potential problem.

Having talked with many hundreds of people working in professional services - my top tip for employers genuinely committed to preventing problems would be:

                   focus on culture - not on harassment

The stick - 'these are the rules and you will face severe personal negative consequences if you break them'  - can only take you so far.   For a start - you cannot possibly legislate for every human interaction that might create a problem.  

The carrot 'what might it be like to work in an environment where people feel valued, engaged and safe?' is far more compelling.  Actually, it;s not even about carrots...it's about giving people  the courage to take responsibility for their working environment.  Individually and collectively.