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What is violence and harassment in the world of work

… a range of unacceptable behaviours,

practices or threats thereof, whether a
single occurrence or repeated, that aim at,
result in, or are likely to result in physical,
psychological, sexual or economic harm

Convention No. 190, Art. 1(a)

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Types of workplace violence and harassment

Physical violence Physical attacks, beating, kicking, slapping, stabbing, shooting, pushing,
biting, etc.

Psychological Verbal abuse, mobbing, bullying and cyberbullying

violence and Manipulating a person’s reputation, isolating a person, withholding
harassment information, slandering and ridiculing, giving impossible goals, etc.

Sexual violence Quid pro quo

and harassment Hostile working environment
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The dynamics of workplace violence and harassment

 Horizontal, perpetrated between

co-workers

 Vertical, perpetrated between

supervisors and subordinates

 Third party, perpetrated by

clients/customers/patients
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Psychosocial factors associated with workplace violence and

harassment
 Job demands – assignments not matched to the knowledge and abilities
 Job control – little or no say in how to perform the job
 Task design – repetitive or monotonous work
 Role clarity – work responsibilities, duties and authority are unclear
 Workplace relationships – criticism; exclusion; lack of support and communication
 Leadership styles – autocratic or laissez-faire leadership
 Organizational justice – lack of policies and procedures; unfairness in decision-making
 Organizational change – management restructuring/downsizing; outsourcing
 Physical working environment – design and maintenance of work equipment and facilities
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Other risk factors

 Discrimination
 Cultural and language differences
 ‘Normalization’ of violence and harassment
 Workplace cultures in which bullying behaviours are
not challenged
 Workplace cultures that tolerate alcohol or drug abuse
 Groups of workers more vulnerable to violence and
harassment (e.g. women, young workers, informal
workers, etc.)
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Working situations which may increase the risk of violence

and harassment at work
 Working alone
 Working in contact with the public
 Working with people in distress
 Working with valuables and cash handling
 Work in isolated or remote locations, at evening
and/or night
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What is the impact

 Victims. Mental health problems (fear, sadness, shame, anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue,
sleep problems, PTSD, increased suicide risk, etc.); physical disorders (decreased physical
strength, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disease); reduced self-esteem; damages to
work situation.
 Witnesses, colleagues, patients and clients, family members and friends. Detrimental
effects on mental health and well-being.
 Organizations. Costs associated to absenteeism; staff turnover; recruitment, onboarding and
training; low performance and productivity; damaged reputation; increased insurance premiums;
etc.
 Society. Costs related to medical consultations, treatment and/or rehabilitation; social
welfare/benefits; etc.
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ILO Violence and Harassment Convention (No. 190) and

Recommendation (No. 206)
 Respect, promote and realize the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and
harassment
 Adopt an inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach
 Complementary roles and functions of governments, employers and workers
 Protection in all sectors, private and public, formal and informal economy, urban or rural areas
 Adopting laws and regulations to prohibit violence and harassment and define employers’
responsibilities
 Addressing violence and harassment in relevant national policies (e.g., concerning OSH,
equality and non-discrimination, migration)
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ILO OSH Conventions and Recommendation

 Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155),

Recommendation (No, 164) and Protocol of 2002 (No. 155)
 Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161) Protection of
and Recommendation (No. 171) physical and
mental health
 List of Occupational Diseases Recommendation, 2002 (No. 194) of workers
 Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health
Convention, 2006 (No. 187) and Recommendation (No. 197)
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Integrating workplace violence and harassment into national

OSH frameworks
National OSH frameworks:
 OSH laws and regulations
Provisions and  Labour inspection
measures to prevent
and address violence  OSH policies, strategies and programmes
and harassment
 OSH guidelines and standards
 Data collection on OSH
 OSH education, training and awareness raising
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National OSH laws and regulations

 Employers’ general duty to protect the physical

and mental health of workers
 Requirements for the adoption of OSH preventive
measures (policy; risk assessment; protocols &
procedures; training; etc.)
 Complaint mechanisms
 Protection from retaliation and reprisals
 Sanctions, remedies and compensations
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Examples: National OSH-related laws addressing workplace

violence and harassment (I)
Belgium: Act on the well-being of workers
 Employers’ duty to conduct a risk assessment and adopt preventive measures
 Formal/ informal psychosocial intervention for victims
 Appointment of a prevention advisor (internal/external service)
 Workers’ duty to cooperate with the employer

Sweden: Violence and Menaces in the Working Environment Ordinance

 Employers’ duty to investigate the risks of violence or threat of violence and take appropriate

measures
 Recording and investigation of cases of violence
 Assistance and support to the victims for the prevention or alleviation of both physical and mental

injury
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Examples: National OSH-related laws addressing workplace

violence and harassment (II)
Canada: Occupational Health and Safety Regulations
 Workplace violence prevention policy, with employers’ obligations:

 provide a safe, healthy and violence-free workplace

 address factors that contribute to workplace violence
 communicate information about such factors
 assist employees who have been exposed to workplace violence

Colombia: Law on sexual and other forms of harassment within the framework of labour relations
 Preventive and corrective measures
 Internal, confidential, conciliatory and effective procedure to deal with cases of harassment
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Labour inspection

Member States should ensure effective means of inspection and investigation of cases of violence
and harassment, including through labour inspectorates or other competent bodies
Convention No. 190, Art. 4.2

Labour inspectors should

 receive gender-responsive training with a view to identifying and addressing violence and
harassment in the world of work, including psychosocial hazards and risks, gender-based
violence and harassment, and discrimination against particular groups of workers
 cover violence and harassment in the world of work as part of their mandate
Recommendation No. 206, Para. 20 and 21
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National OSH policies, strategies, guidelines and standards

Government in  National OSH policies and

consultation with strategies
Social Partners

Ministry of Labour;  Guidelines

Labour inspectorate;  Codes of practice Sectoral
OSH authorities; approach
 Standards
Social partners; etc.
 Protocols
 On-line resources
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Data collection on workplace violence and harassment

Member States should make efforts to collect and publish statistics on violence and
harassment in the world of work disaggregated by sex, form of violence and
harassment, and sector of economic activity
Recommendation No. 206, Para. 22

 Direct measuring. E.g. formal complaints; specific questionnaires on violence and

harassment; measuring items in existing periodic labour/working conditions surveys; trade
union members’ surveys; etc.
 Indirect measuring. E.g. absenteeism and sick (personal) leave; staff turnover; exit interviews;
workers’ compensation claims

Example: French survey on working conditions (2013)
1. Workers had been:
 ignored as if they were not present
 prohibited from expressing themselves
 ridiculed in public
 criticised in an unjustified way for their work
 subject to sabotage or hindrance so that their
tasks could not be carried out correctly
2. Source of aggression:
 co-workers, supervisors, managers
 clients, users or patients
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 subject to obscene or condescending
remarks
 given useless or condescending tasks
 told that they are mentally incapable
 subject to insistent sexual propositions
 the butt of offensive or crude jokes or
mockery
 workers from another enterprise
 others
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OSH education, training and awareness raising

Members should fund, develop, implement and

disseminate
 gender-responsive curricula and instructional
materials on violence and harassment at all
levels of education and vocational training,
in line with national law and circumstances
 public campaigns aimed at fostering safe,
healthy and harmonious workplaces free from
violence and harassment

Recommendation No. 206, Para. 23

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Action at the workplace level

 Adopt and implement, in consultation with workers and their representatives, a workplace policy
on violence and harassment
 Take into account violence and harassment and associated psychosocial risks in the
management of occupational safety and health
 Identify hazards and assess the risks of violence and harassment, with the participation of
workers and their representatives, and take measures to prevent and control them
 Provide to workers and other persons concerned information and training, in accessible
formats as appropriate, on the identified hazards and risks of violence and harassment and the
associated prevention and protection measures, including on the rights and responsibilities of
workers and other persons concerned in relation to the policy
Convention No. 190, Art. 9
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Workplace policy on violence and harassment (I)

 State that violence and harassment will not be tolerated

 Establish violence and harassment prevention programmes with, if appropriate, measurable
objectives
 Specify the rights and responsibilities of the workers and the employer
 Contain information on complaint and investigation procedures
 Provide that all internal and external communications related to incidents of violence and
harassment will be duly considered, and acted upon as appropriate
 Specify the right to privacy of individuals and confidentiality, (…), while balancing the right of
workers to be made aware of all hazards
 Include measures to protect complainants, victims, witnesses and whistle-blowers against
victimization or retaliation
Recommendation No. 206, Para. 7
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Workplace policy on violence and harassment (II)

 Integrated into broader workplace OSH policy

 Developed in consultation with workers
(e.g. Joint OSH Committee)
 Properly communicated and easily
accessible to all workers
 Consistently applied
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Hazard identification & risk assessment

In particular, pay attention to hazards and risks that

 arise from working conditions and arrangements, work
organization and human resource management
 involve third parties (e.g. clients, customers, service
providers, users, patients & members of the public)
 arise from discrimination, abuse of power relations, and
gender, cultural and social norms that support violence
and harassment

Recommendation No. 206, Para. 8

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Example: the Canadian standard on psychological health and

safety in the workplace
 Critical events: Identification → Assessment of risks and impact → Management
 Factors to be assessed:
 psychological support  involvement and influence
 organizational culture  workload management
 clear leadership and expectations  engagement
 civility and respect  work/life balance
 psychological job demands  psychological protection from violence,
 growth and development bullying, and harassment
 recognition and reward  protection of physical safety
 other chronic stressors as identified by
workers
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Measures for prevention and control

Physical violence Locks and alarms; Emergency procedures; Training and support mechanisms

Psychological Encouraging teamwork and cooperation;

violence and Providing appropriate resources, information and training to execute the job
effectively and safely;
harassment
Clearly defining individual job requirements and responsibilities;
Ensuring transparent communication

Sexual violence Integration of prevention activities into daily procedures (e.g. checking lighting,
and harassment locks and security cameras); Instructions on how to effectively defuse hostile
situations involving clients/patients/customers/general public
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Measures for responding and minimize the effects

 Ensure workers’ right to remove themselves from a work situation which presents an
imminent and serious danger to life, health or safety

 Develop and implement reporting and complaints procedures and dispute resolution
mechanism
→ protecting the privacy and confidentiality of those involved

 Provide support to victims

 Foresee and apply disciplinary actions (e.g. sanctions)

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OSH training and information

 Concept of workplace violence and harassment

 Responsibilities in preventing and responding to violence and harassment
 Procedures for reporting and complaints

 Tailored to the needs of the target audience (workers; workers’ OSH reps; members of joint OSH
committees; supervisors; managers; etc.)
 Training to all new and prospective workers before they enter the organization

Example: PAS 1010:2011 – Management of psychosocial
risks in the workplace
Level Primary intervention
Organization  Policies & procedures
 Organizational culture
 Management training
 Surveys
Workplace /  Risk assessments
Group  Awareness training
Individual  Assertiveness training
 Information about how to
proceed if harassment
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Secondary interventions Tertiary
interventions
 Handling & investigation  Rehabilitation &
procedures return to work
 Training on conflict  Group support
management / impact
 Conflict resolution
 Social support and counselling  Therapy
 Redress
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What can be done to end violence and harassment in the

world of work? (I)
 Governments. National OSH policies, strategies and laws; initiatives and measures;
ratify Convention No. 190
 Social partners. Collective agreements; guidance to their members; collect data
 Labour inspectorates. Investigate any complaints; advise employers and workers
 Employers. Ensure safe and healthy working environments; workplace OSH
management system; workplace OSH policy and programme; risk assessment;
information and training
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What can be done to end violence and harassment in the

world of work? (II)
 Workers. Co-operate in the implementation of the OSH management system
 Workers’ OSH representatives. Increase awareness; conduct surveys; encourage and
support reporting and complaint; consult with employers on OSH measures and training
 Joint OSH committees. Ensure cooperation between workers and employers
 OSH practitioners. Advise and support employers, managers, workers and OSH
representatives; facilitate engagement and influence positive change
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Thank you

For more information:

Manal Azzi (Senior OSH specialist)
azzi@ilo.org
LABADNIN/OSH Branch
labadmin-osh@ilo.org