How Your Workplace Atmosphere Impacts Bullying, Harassment and Violence

By Dennis A. Davis, Ph.D., National Director of Client Training, Ogletree Deakins

Violence and harassment significantly impact the workplace environment — as most employers recognize — but often unacceptable harassing behaviors are seen as completely unrelated to potential workplace violence. Sometimes, employees responsible for maintaining a violence-free environment are completely cut off from those responsible for other related workplace policies and procedures — like harassment prevention programs.

California employers have long been required to have harassment prevention policies and provide harassment prevention training to their employees. Then, about a decade ago, employers were required to address abusive workplace conduct — commonly referred to as workplace bullying — as part of their harassment prevention training requirements. On July 1, 2024, California's workplace violence prevention law required most employers to create a workplace violence prevention plan and train their employees on a variety of workplace violence issues. All these policies are designed to explicitly state the company's stance against workplace harassment and violence, establishing acceptable and unacceptable behavior and providing a path for relief to employees who have been subjected to inappropriate behavior.