How To Report Power Harassment

Knowing how to report power harassment matters less than knowing what to put in the report. Vague reports are easy to receive sympathetically and do nothing about.

What makes one difficult to dismiss is specificity.

• Dated incidents, three or four described factually, not characterised.
• The effect on your work, stated concretely. What you could not do, and why.
• The comparison. How others in the same role are treated differently.
• What you are asking for. A report with no request is hard to action.

Say plainly if you want the person not to be told it came from you, and ask what the organisation can actually promise on that, so you are not surprised later.

Ask for the next step and its timeframe in writing, and keep a copy of what you submitted. A report that goes nowhere is easier to follow up when you can show exactly what was raised and when.

Safe Work Australia covers the duty. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s incident reporting software and whistleblower course.