7.3 Workplace Behavior Issues: Absenteeism, Aggressive Behavior, Conflict & Harassment

Workplace Behavior Issues: Absenteeism, Aggressive Behavior, Conflict & Harassment

Quick Answer: The aPHRi outline names four workplace behavior issues: absenteeism, aggressive behavior, employee conflict, and workplace harassment. HR responds by setting clear standards, recording facts, understanding causes before acting, applying policies consistently, protecting people at risk, and using the right process - a supportive conversation, mediation, an investigation, or progressive discipline (Section 7.4). Harassment and violence are addressed internationally by ILO Convention No. 190.

These issues affect morale, productivity, safety, and legal risk. Early-career HR staff often receive the first report, so knowing the correct first steps matters as much as knowing the theory.

1. Absenteeism

Absenteeism is habitual or unplanned absence from scheduled work. It is different from approved leave (vacation, parental leave, authorized medical leave).

Types and causes

Managing attendance fairly

1. Publish an attendance policy: how to report absence (who, how, by when), evidence required, and consequences of unreported absence.
2. Record accurately: dates, duration, reason category, and whether it was reported properly.
3. Measure patterns: absence rate and frequency measures such as the Bradford Factor (Section 4.1) can highlight frequent short absences.
4. Hold return-to-work conversations after each absence: welcome the employee back, confirm they are fit to work, and ask whether anything at work contributed.
5. Explore causes before discipline: frequent absence may reflect a health condition, disability, pregnancy, or caring duties that the law protects. Consider adjustments, flexible hours, or support such as an employee assistance program.
6. Apply rules consistently and document each step.

Trap: automatically disciplining everyone who reaches an absence "trigger point" can discriminate against people with disabilities or protected leave. Triggers should prompt a review, not an automatic penalty.

2. Aggressive Behavior

Aggressive behavior includes shouting, intimidation, threats, throwing objects, and physical violence. It can come from employees, customers, or others.

Immediate response:

• Keep yourself and others safe; move to a safe area and call security or emergency services if there is danger.
• Stay calm, use a low, steady voice, avoid arguing, and give the person space.
• Separate the people involved when safe to do so.

Afterward:

• Record exactly what happened, who witnessed it, and any injuries.
• Support affected employees, including referral to an employee assistance program.
• Investigate fairly (Section 7.2) and apply the disciplinary policy; serious violence or threats may be gross misconduct.
• Where there are warning signs of possible violence, involve the threat assessment team and security (Section 8.5).

3. Employee Conflict

Conflict is normal when people with different goals, styles, and pressures work together. It becomes a problem when it damages relationships, performance, or well-being.

Common sources: unclear roles, competition for resources, workload imbalance, communication style differences, personality clashes, cultural misunderstandings, and perceived unfairness.

Thomas-Kilmann conflict-handling modes

HR's role

1. Encourage the people involved to talk directly and respectfully first.
2. If that fails, have the manager hold a facilitated conversation focused on behaviors and interests, not personalities.
3. Offer mediation by a trained neutral person who helps both sides reach their own agreement (Section 7.4).
4. Agree specific follow-up actions and check back.
5. If the conflict involves misconduct, harassment, or discrimination, use the formal complaint and investigation process instead.

4. Workplace Harassment

International standard: ILO Convention No. 190

The ILO Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), which entered into force on 25 June 2021, is the first international treaty on violence and harassment in the world of work. Key points:

• It defines violence and harassment as a range of unacceptable behaviors and practices, or threats of them, whether a single occurrence or repeated, that aim at, result in, or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual, or economic harm, and it includes gender-based violence and harassment.
• It protects workers regardless of contractual status, including interns, volunteers, job seekers, and job applicants.
• It applies to the world of work broadly: the workplace, work-related trips and events, work-related communications (including online), employer-provided accommodation, and commuting.
• It recognizes that third parties such as customers can be perpetrators or victims.

Forms of harassment

• Sexual harassment: quid pro quo (a job benefit or threat is linked to sexual conduct, such as a promotion offered for a date) and hostile environment (unwelcome sexual jokes, images, comments, or touching that create an intimidating or offensive workplace).
• Harassment related to protected characteristics such as race, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation, as defined by national law.
• Bullying (sometimes called mobbing): repeated, unreasonable behavior that humiliates, intimidates, or undermines a person.
• Cyber harassment: abusive messages, posts, or images through work channels or social media.

Prevention and response

Remember: intent does not decide whether conduct is harassment; its effect and the context matter. Managers who see harassment must act even if nobody complains.