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Workplace Harassment Prevention Training › Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Training: Federal Employers › Module 1: What is Workplace Harassment or Violence?

Irrelevant Factors

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Just as there are certain elements required to meet the definition of workplace harassment or violence, there are certain things that are irrelevant when determining if there has been workplace harassment or violence.

It Does Not Matter If the Person:

  • Did not intend to harass anyone – it is whether it would reasonably be expected to cause offence, humiliation or injury.
  • Did not know what they were doing was harassment – everyone in the workplace has a responsibility to understand the behaviours that are considered harassment and to not engage in them.
  • Was not physically at the workplace when it happened – workplace harassment or violence can take place anywhere employees are present as part of their job. This includes work-related social events, conferences, service calls, fieldwork and work sites. It also includes things like harassing social media posts about or to someone in the workplace.
  • Did not direct the behaviour at the person who feels they have been harassed or at anybody in the workplace – overheard comments can affect people other than those engaging in the conversation and displays on desks or computers that can be seen by others can also result in harassment.
  • Previously had a relationship with the person – a person can change their mind at any time about the kind of relationship they want with another person and continuing to pursue them once they know or should have known the person was not interested is sexual harassment.

It Does Not Matter If:

  • There was no threat of potential impact on the job– Sometimes harassment involves the explicit or implicit threat that the behaviour must be tolerated if the person wants to continue to work there or is a condition for some other type of employment benefit. While this is a type of harassment there does not need to be any potential impact on the person's employment for it to be harassment.
  • This type of behaviour is common in the workplace – In some cases many employees may be harassed in the same workplace. It does not matter if it is one employee or all employees. Harassment is harassment.
  • Others in the workplace tolerate the behaviour – The fact that one or many others accepted the behaviour does not make it acceptable.

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