Workplace harassment is a pressing issue that affects employees across industries in Canada. It encompasses a wide range of unwelcome behaviours that can create an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. Victims of harassment may experience significant physical, psychological and professional consequences.
This article aims to help both employees and employers gain the knowledge needed to recognize harassment and collective action to foster safe, respectful workplaces nationwide.
What is Workplace Harassment in Canada?
In Canada, workplace harassment is legally defined as any vexatious conduct, comment, or action that can reasonably be expected to cause offence, humiliation, or psychological harm to an employee. At the federal level, the Canada Labour Code specifies that harassment and violence include verbal abuse, threats, unwanted sexual attention, and discriminatory behaviours.
Examples of harassing behaviours include:
- Yelling, name-calling, or threatening someone
- Spreading lies, rumours, or secrets about someone
- Always criticizing or making fun of someone
- Unwanted touching, sexual comments, or asking for sexual favours
- Using racial slurs or offensive jokes
However, not all unpleasant interactions are considered harassment in a working environment. Reasonable management actions carried out in a fair manner, such as giving constructive feedback on work performance, are not harassment.
Workplace Harassment Laws in Canada
In Canada, all employers have a legal obligation to prevent workplace harassment. This duty is enforced through a framework of federal, provincial, and territorial laws. The specific legislation that applies to a given workplace depends on its industry and jurisdiction.
Federal Legislation
A minority of Canadian workplaces are federally regulated. This includes industries such as banking, air and rail transport, telecommunications, and federal Crown corporations. For these employers, two key pieces of federal legislation apply:
- Canada Labour Code: Explicitly requires employers to prevent and protect against harassment and violence in the workplace. It mandates that employers develop a complete prevention policy, conduct risk assessments, provide training, and establish clear procedures for investigating and resolving complaints.
- Canadian Human Rights Act: Protects employees from harassment/discrimination based on protected grounds like race, gender and disability.
Provincial/Territorial Legislation
The vast majority of Canadian employees are covered by the laws of their province or territory. Each jurisdiction has its own legislation that works together to prohibit harassment:
- Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Acts: These laws impose a positive duty on employers to ensure a safe and healthy work environment, which includes protecting workers from all forms of harassment, particularly psychological harassment and bullying. OHS regulations typically require employers to have a specific anti-harassment policy, provide training to all employees, and follow prescribed procedures for investigating complaints.
- Human Rights Codes: Every province and territory has a human rights code that prohibits discriminatory harassment based on protected grounds similar to the federal act (e.g., race, gender, disability, etc.). An employee who experiences this type of harassment can file a complaint with their provincial or territorial human rights tribunal or commission.
Under these laws, employers must develop harassment policies, conduct training, investigate complaints, and take corrective action.
Employees have protections when reporting issues internally or to provincial/federal authorities. Adhering to legislation is key for employers seeking to prevent liability.
What Are the Different Types of Workplace Harassment?
Harassment or bullying in the workplace takes various forms, including:
Bullying and Psychological Harassment
Bullying involves repeated mistreatment intended to intimidate, offend, degrade or humiliate an employee. It may include:
- Verbal abuse, such as insults or ridicule
- Exclusion or isolation
- Spreading rumours
- Unwarranted criticism
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment in the workplace includes any conduct, comment, gesture or contact of a sexual nature that is known or should reasonably be known to be unwelcome. Examples range from unwanted advances to inappropriate jokes to sexual assault.
Discriminatory Harassment
Harassment based on protected characteristics like race, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability, and pardoned conviction or record suspension is prohibited under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Physical Violence
Physical harassment involves unwelcome contact like hitting, pushing or threatening gestures that create an intimidating, hostile work environment. In the most severe cases, workplace violence causes physical harm.
Cyberbullying
Digital communications are increasingly used to harass through offensive emails, social media posts, or spreading rumours online. Cyberbullying extends harassment outside the physical workplace.
What Are the Effects of Workplace Harassment on Employees?
Bullying and harassment in the workplace can exact a severe toll on workers’ mental and physical well-being, as well as their careers. Common effects include:
- Stress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Sleep disturbances and exhaustion
- Headaches, stomach problems and other stress-related health issues
- Difficulty concentrating and decreased productivity
- Increased absenteeism, job dissatisfaction and turnover
These impacts translate into high financial costs for employers, including higher disability claims and workers’ compensation, recruiting expenses to replace employees who quit, and potential legal liabilities.
Harassment also poisons the broader work environment, damaging morale, team cohesion and company reputation. Its ripple effects extend beyond the directly targeted employee.
How Should Employees Respond to Harassment in the Workplace?
Employees who experience harassment should take these steps:
- Document incidents thoroughly with dates, times and details
- Review workplace policies on reporting procedures
- Report to designated internal contacts like HR or management
- Contact the labour authorities if the employer fails to respond appropriately
- Consult support services like counsellors or lawyers
Employers should focus on preventive actions like:
- Implementing clear, widely circulated anti-harassment policies
- Conducting anti-harassment and diversity training regularly
- Assessing harassment risks proactively
- Establishing safe reporting procedures
- Investigating complaints promptly and objectively
- Following up with victims empathetically
- Taking decisive action against harassers, such as warnings or dismissal
Fostering mutual understanding through training and an organizational culture of respect are the most effective ways to combat workplace harassment long-term.
How Can Employees Report Harassment in the Workplace?
The six steps below describe common ways employees may report workplace harassment:
Step 1: Check the workplace policy, which is usually found in an employee handbook or intranet, for internal reporting procedures.
Step 2: Document dates, times, locations, witnesses, and specific behaviours in detail. Keep emails and messages as evidence.
Step 3: Report to the designated contact, often a supervisor or HR representative, as outlined in the policy. Once notified, the employer has a legal obligation to conduct a prompt, impartial investigation and take appropriate corrective action.
Step 4: Time limits vary significantly depending on whether the workplace is federally or provincially regulated, and on the type of complaint being filed. So, employees should check the official website of the relevant authority to confirm applicable deadlines.
Step 5: Consider whether external mediation or legal action may be warranted depending on severity. Consult an employment attorney for advice.
Step 6: Access available mental health supports like counselling through an employee assistance program or community resources.
However, the appropriate path can vary depending on the workplace, the type of harassment, and whether the employer is federally or provincially regulated.
While retaliation is strictly prohibited by law, the decision to come forward remains a significant challenge. To ensure a successful resolution and protect your rights, it is essential to maintain thorough documentation and evaluate both internal and external reporting pathways.
What Should Employers Include in Anti-Harassment Policies?
A robust workplace harassment policy demonstrates the employer’s commitment to prevention and spells out procedures for reporting and investigation. Key elements include:
- Statement of commitment to providing a harassment-free environment
- Definition and examples of unacceptable conduct
- Description of the internal reporting process, including designated contact persons and multiple avenues to file complaints
- Investigation procedures that are prompt, objective and thorough
- Statements on confidentiality and anti-retaliation
- Emergency procedures for imminent threats or dangers
- Disciplinary consequences up to and including termination for substantiated harassment
- Information on support services available to employees
Policies should be crafted in consultation with health and safety committees or representatives, depending on the organization’s size. Once finalized, the policy must be accessible to all employees, usually via a staff handbook or internal website.
Regular training on the policy and procedures is essential for all staff, managers and senior leaders. Employers should periodically review and update policies to incorporate regulatory changes and workplace risk assessments.
How Can Managers and Supervisors Prevent Workplace Harassment?
Managers and supervisors are critical to combating workplace harassment, given their leadership roles and oversight responsibilities. They can foster a respectful culture by:
- Modelling professional, inclusive conduct in their own interactions and swiftly addressing disrespectful behaviour they witness
- Setting clear expectations of appropriate workplace conduct for their teams
- Encouraging open dialogue on harassment issues and reporting processes
- Monitoring employee relationships for signs of conflict or improper behaviour
- Responding promptly and seriously to any complaints brought forward, in line with company policy
- Completing all required training on harassment prevention and sharing lessons with staff
- Conducting proactive risk assessments to identify and address potential hazards in consultation with health and safety representatives.
By prioritizing harassment prevention as a core managerial duty, supervisors send a strong message about organizational values and employee well-being. Their proactive efforts are instrumental in stopping disrespectful conduct before it escalates.
How Can a Respectful Workplace Culture Prevent Harassment?
Ultimately, proactively building a positive, inclusive organizational culture is the best antidote to workplace harassment. Core elements include:
- Psychological safety, where employees feel secure raising concerns without fear of reprisal
- Civility and professionalism are clear behavioural norms upheld at all levels
- Diversity and inclusion are embraced through recruiting, promotion, and teaming practices
- Open communication via multiple formal and informal feedback channels
- Bystander intervention is encouraged as a shared responsibility to address misconduct
- Work-life balance is supported through reasonable performance expectations and mental health benefits
The bottom line
Workplace harassment remains a critical issue facing Canadian employees across sectors. Its impacts on mental health, job performance and organizational costs make addressing harassment an imperative.
Employees must recognize inappropriate behaviours and avail themselves of internal and external resources for action. Employers need to abide by legal obligations and establish cultures of respect through leadership, training and policies.
With proactive efforts to understand and eliminate workplace harassment, we can create safe, inclusive and productive workplaces where every Canadian thrives.
FAQs on workplace harassment in Canada
What types of behavior could be considered harassment?
Examples of potentially harassing behaviors include unwanted sexual advances, offensive jokes/comments, intimidation, persistently criticizing someone, damaging their property, or excluding them socially.
Why is workplace harassment harmful?
Harassment causes mental distress, physical effects, decreased performance, and social impacts for victims. It also leads to reduced productivity, higher turnover, legal liability, and reputational damage for organizations.
How should employees report workplace harassment?
Employees should document incidents thoroughly and report them to designated workplace contacts like human resources or management based on their employer's policies.
When does workplace behavior cross into harassment?
Harassment can be a pattern, but a single serious incident may also qualify, especially if it causes or can reasonably be expected to cause humiliation or physical/psychological harm.
Where can victims of workplace harassment seek help?
Resources include employee assistance programs, helplines, mental health services, legal clinics, human rights organizations, and workplace safety advocacy groups.
