Encourage Employees to Be Upstanders

Legislatures throughout the country continue to struggle with the question of how best to address the continuing issue of harassing and discriminating behavior in the workplace.  Is more legislation necessary?  If so, what should that legislation mandate and how will it be enforced?

In Spring 2022, the city of Chicago mandated that employers provide sexual harassment training to employees and supervisors. While that is no longer unusual, Chicago took what is currently a novel approach by requiring an additional hour-long “bystander” training to all staff – an idea that we think is important and impactful, and that we already recommend including in every respectful workplace training.

What is Bystander Training?

Bystander training, or what we call “upstander training,” is one of the most effective ways to empower employees to address and prevent harassment and discrimination in the workplace. This training gives employees the permission, confidence and language to be an “upstander” – meaning they are encouraged to intervene in some way to stop inappropriate behavior when it is happening.

To effectively empower employees to be “upstanders,“ this training must demonstrate  the significant positive impact an upstander can have in the prevention of inappropriate behavior, acknowledge the barriers that employees may feel when being asked to be an upstander and then explore effective interventions employees can use, despite those impediments.

How Can Employees Be Upstanders?

Being an “upstander” does not require an employee to engage in any particular action and acknowledges the barriers that some may feel. Some employees are shy or do not want to “make a scene”. Others do not want to potentially upset or offend those around them or are concerned about retaliatory behavior and a negative impact to themselves.   The purpose of this training is not to mandate any individual response, but to introduce employees to the notion that they can have an important role in the creation of a respectful workplace.

Upstander training introduces several options that allow employees to engage in a way that feels manageable. For example:

• Employees are encouraged to disrupt inappropriate conduct, by jumping into a conversation that feels inappropriate or offensive, or calling one party away– effectively stopping the conduct in the middle.

• Employees who are more senior or whose personalities lend themselves to more direct communication are invited to engage directly with the wrongdoer and call out the inappropriate behavior.

• Employees who are uncomfortable saying anything in the moment are encouraged to provide support for their impacted coworker after the fact.

By training employees that being an “upstander” does not have to be a direct confrontation, employees are able to be part of the respectful workplace solution in ways that feel comfortable.