Appropriate Workplace Behavior

Appropriate workplace behavior standards apply to everyone, and they land differently depending who is speaking. The same sentence from a manager is not the same sentence from a peer.

A joke from a colleague can be ignored. From the person who approves your leave, writes your review and decides your next role, ignoring it carries a cost. That is not sensitivity, it is an accurate reading of the situation.

Three things follow for anyone managing people. Your invitations are heard as expectations, particularly around social events and after-hours contact. Your offhand comments about a person circulate further than you intend. And silence from a team is not agreement, it is the cheapest available response.

Managers who understand that adjust what they say without becoming stilted. The ones who do not tend to be genuinely surprised by a complaint.

The Australian Human Rights Commission covers the employer duty. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s code of conduct training and sexual harassment course.