Harassment: The “fast tracks to filing a complaint” that organizations don’t always see coming

Harassment in the workplace is rarely a sudden phenomenon. In many organizations, tensions build up gradually through ignored conflicts, weak managerial practices, lack of clarity or cultural misunderstandings. Yet all too often, these signals remain underestimated until a complaint, an internal investigation or a team break-up acts as a wake-up call.

Based on her experience in the field, Virginie Boyard, Partner & Executive Director at VISTIM , takes a look at these "highways to complaints", the blind spots that companies still struggle to identify, and the challenges facing managers today.

We often talk about harassment when the complaint arrives. But what's really going on upstream in organizations today?

The companies we work with are often surprised to discover that harassment is not just the result of individual behavior. It can also be linked to dysfunctions in the organization, the corporate culture or certain managerial practices.

There are deep-seated dynamics and habits that need to be recognized and changed.

Psychosocial risks are now one of the leading causes of long-term absenteeism in the workplace. According to the WHO, depression and anxiety are estimated to cost nearly 12 billion lost working days worldwide every year. This shows the extent to which these issues go far beyond the individual and become genuine organizational challenges.

You speak of "highways to complaint". In your experience, what do these look like in concrete terms, and why are they still so little identified?

During the surveys I carry out, I notice that the same situations often recur, leading to a feeling of unease that can evolve into a perception of harassment. I put a lot of emphasis on these issues during HR and manager training sessions.

First of all, there are bad managerial practices. A manager who is authoritarian, absent or lacking in leadership training can create an unhealthy climate, generating injustice and tension within a team. In fact, the famous "putting down" is often equated with harassment.

Secondly, misunderstanding cultural differences plays an important role. We work in very international environments, and we often mistakenly think that employees will learn to deal with these differences naturally. In reality, I regularly see misunderstandings that quickly degenerate. What may seem harmless to one person can be experienced as humiliation by another. Lack of awareness of cultural differences sometimes creates deep rifts in teams.

Thirdly, unresolved conflicts are a major factor. When a conflict is ignored, downplayed or left unresolved, it eventually escalates. It is often in this silence that harassment gradually takes root. It's a mistake to think that people in conflict will resolve the situation on their own. The company and the manager must support the conflict until it is resolved.

Finally, poor performance management can also create situations of tension, and even perceptions of harassment. But it all starts with the basics: clearly defining roles and responsibilities, specifying expectations in terms of results and behavior, and providing regular feedback. Conversely, vagueness on these subjects creates a breeding ground for abuse.

These situations are not trivial. They can cause real suffering and lead to significant legal action against the employer. In France, an Ifop survey carried out for the Défenseur des droits in 2023 revealed that one in three working people said they had already experienced harassment or violence at work. In Luxembourg, the "Quality of Work Index" published by the CSL in 2023 estimated this figure at around 15%.

In these trajectories, at what point can everything still come into play, and what is needed to take action in time?

Everything can still be done at a very early stage, as soon as the first weak signals appear: relational tensions, the isolation of an employee or a change in behavior. This presupposes a form of collective vigilance, in which everyone feels concerned. We need to learn to ask ourselves questions about the state of our colleagues, as well as our own, to understand what harassment really means, and to know the right reflexes to adopt.

Managers play a key role, provided they know their teams well enough to detect these early signals, and have the necessary means to intervene quickly in the face of inappropriate behavior.

Last but not least, this capacity for early action must be based on a solid foundation: clear processes, trained players who are legitimate to intervene, whether managers or employee representatives.

The challenge is to act early enough to prevent situations from tipping over into possible harassment.

Managers are on the front line in these situations. How would you describe their position today, between responsibility, pressure and lack of guidance?

Managers are under a lot of pressure these days. They are expected to prevent harassment situations, behave irreproachably, detect weak signals, know how to manage conflicts and welcome speech in a fair and secure manner.

At the same time, they have to cope with demanding objectives, significant pressure to perform and a fast pace of work.

This accumulation of sometimes contradictory expectations can create a degree of insecurity. They have to act quickly, protect themselves legally and make complex human decisions, without always having access to sufficiently clear frameworks or appropriate training.

According to a Gallup study published in 2025, almost 70% of managers report high or very high levels of stress in their job.

Against this backdrop, it is essential to provide them with better support. This requires training, support, legitimacy and clear procedures.

To put it bluntly: what is it that organizations still find hard to see or recognize about these issues?

Many companies still have trouble recognizing that harassment can be a symptom of deeper dysfunction.

In particular, they struggle to see their own responsibility in creating environments conducive to these situations, underestimating the impact of certain management styles, operational pressures or poorly formulated performance cultures.

In practice, real questioning often takes place after an initial complaint or an important investigation, which acts as a revelation. It is usually at this point that some companies finally integrate these issues into their high-impact risk management approach.