How To Prevent Power Harassment

Knowing how to prevent power harassment is harder than preventing other forms, because the conduct hides inside legitimate authority. Allocating unpleasant work, setting deadlines and giving critical feedback are all normal management.

What separates them is pattern and purpose. Directed consistently at one person, disproportionate to the work, and used to diminish rather than to manage.

Behaviour training alone is weak here, since the person often believes they are simply being demanding. Structural controls work better.

• A reporting route that bypasses the direct manager entirely.
• Upward feedback that reaches someone other than the manager being described.
• Reviewing turnover and absence by team, not only organisation-wide.
• Requiring a second person in performance decisions about the same individual.

All four are structural rather than attitudinal, which is why they work where training alone does not. Safe Work Australia covers this as a psychosocial hazard. This is general information rather than legal advice.

See Sentrient’s workplace bullying course for managers and psychological safety course for managers.