Workplace Harassment: Types, Examples and Signs

Employee harassment is not a new phenomenon, but it is a growing concern affecting both individuals and organisations. HR Acuity reports that 52% of employees have witnessed or experienced inappropriate behaviours within their workplaces in forms like bullying, sexual harassment and racism. Left unchecked, this kind of workplace harassment fosters a toxic work environment, harming employee well-being, engagement, and job satisfaction. Over time, this can lead to lower productivity, higher turnover, and reputational damage.

There are many different forms of workplace harassment, including physical, sexual, verbal and digital. Recognising the different harassment types and warning signs is essential for creating a safe and respectful workplace.

In this article, we provide insight into:

• What harassment means in the workplace
• The types of harassment that employees may experience
• Harassment examples in the workplace
• Key sexual harassment signs and other indicators of misconduct
• Steps organisations can take to prevent and address harassment

What is Workplace Harassment?

Workplace harassment is unwelcome behaviour from an individual or group that creates a hostile, intimidating or offensive environment. It can take many forms and occur at different levels within an organisation. For example, an employee may experience power harassment from a manager or verbal harassment from a colleague.

Harassment isn’t always directed at a single individual—it can target an entire team or group. It may stem from bias related to age, race, gender, sexual orientation, or even personal preferences, such as disapproval of someone’s style, diet or life choices.

10 Types of Workplace Harassment

1. Discriminatory Harassment

Discriminatory harassment occurs when an employee is treated unfairly due to protected characteristics such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation—attributes often safeguarded by employment law. This typically manifests as workplace bullying, exclusion, insults, or humiliating remarks.

2. Personal Harassment

Personal harassment in the workplace refers to repeated, unwarranted actions meant to degrade, intimidate, or humiliate an employee. Unlike discriminatory harassment, it is not based on protected characteristics but rather personal conflicts, grudges, or hostility. This can include insults, offensive jokes, spreading malicious rumours, or excessive criticism, creating a toxic work environment.

3. Physical Harassment

Physical harassment in the workplace refers to actions that cause harm, such as pushing, kicking or damaging property. Even threats of harm are considered workplace physical harassment, as they can escalate into workplace violence.

4. Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment refers to any unwelcome advances, jokes, references, imagery, or gestures of an explicit or sexual nature. It doesn’t have to be directed at an individual to qualify as harassment— tolerating such unwanted behaviour already creates a hostile work environment.

5. Power Harassment

Power harassment occurs when someone misuses their position or authority to intimidate, pressure, or bully others. It often involves senior staff making excessive or unrealistic demands of subordinates or forcing them to take on tasks beyond their role. However, it could also involve a colleague who considers themselves superior due to hierarchy, experience, or bias.

6. Psychological Harassment

Psychological or mental harassment at work can take many different forms, including gaslighting, isolating, humiliating, belittling and discrediting employees. This type of psychological harassment in the workplace fosters a toxic environment, causing physical or emotional harm and severely impacting staff’s mental health, confidence, and job satisfaction.

7. Retaliation Harassment

Retaliation harassment occurs when an employee faces increased mistreatment as revenge for reporting misconduct, harassment, or workplace bullying. It often involves escalating negative behaviours meant to intimidate the individual and discourage further reporting. This is why it’s crucial for organisations to support and monitor employees who report harassment, helping to prevent retaliation.

8. Quid Pro Quo Harassment

Quid pro quo, meaning ‘this for that,’ refers to unwelcome requests that are made with a promise of receiving something in return. This may involve pressuring employees to take on extra duties, ignore unwanted conduct, or tolerate inappropriate or sexual advances. In return, they may offer promotions, pay raises, or future opportunities.

9. Online Harassment

Online harassment, also known as online abuse and cyberbullying, occurs when employees receive threats or inappropriate messages through platforms like email, chat, or social media. It may involve spreading false information, public shaming, stalking, or persistent unwanted messaging, making employees feel unsafe—even in their own homes.

10. Verbal Harassment

Verbal harassment occurs when an employee uses hostile, inappropriate, or abusive language to intimidate, belittle, or offend a colleague. It often includes yelling, insults, derogatory remarks, mockery, or persistent criticism, undermining confidence and well-being. This creates a toxic workplace, affecting both the recipient and those nearby, significantly impacting morale and job satisfaction.

Workplace Harassment Examples

• Example of Discriminatory Harassment at Work: An employee who is repeatedly passed over for promotions despite strong performance is told by their manager that ‘an old dog can’t learn new tricks.’

• Personal Harassment Example at Work: An employee who has a lisp is regularly ridiculed by colleagues, with them mimicking her speech patterns during meetings.

• Example of Physical Harassment at Work: A manager pats their superior on the head condescendingly every time they make a mistake, despite frequent requests to stop.

• Example of Sexual Harassment at Work: A manager’s colleagues and subordinates regularly undermine her credibility by joking that she only got her position by sleeping with the boss.

• Power Harassment Example at Work: An employee regularly undermines and belittles an intern by ordering them to fetch coffee each morning, despite it not being part of their role.

• Psychological Harassment at Work Example: After an employee shares details from a meeting, his manager insists that specific points were never raised. This gaslighting makes him question his own memory and credibility, despite having detailed notes which confirm his version of events.

• Example of Retaliation Harassment at Work: An employee being considered for a promotion reports a colleague for sexual harassment. Soon after, they are told their promotion was denied, with the reasoning that they are ‘not a team player,’ despite no prior concerns about their performance.

• Example of Quid Pro Quo Harassment at Work: A manager tells an employee they are being considered for a promotion but must first run personal errands outside of work hours for it to go through.

• Example of Online Harassment at Work: A colleague sends an employee numerous unwanted messages over social media every day, disrupting their work and making them feel uncomfortable both in the office and at home.

• Example of Verbal Harassment in the Workplace: A manager regularly yells at their subordinates, calling them all “incompetent” and “worthless” whenever one of them makes a minor error.

It’s important to note that these examples of harassment are not mutually exclusive and can occur simultaneously. For example, an instance of quid pro quo harassment could also be power or sexual harassment.

Signs of Harassment at Work

While organisations may understand the different workplace harassment types that can occur, knowing how to identify harassment is another matter entirely. Many employees may not feel comfortable coming forward to report harassment, especially in the cases where superiors are involved. The threat of retaliation and the impact that a manager or supervisor can have on a person’s career trajectory can see employees choosing to instead internalise harassment. However, the result on job satisfaction, engagement and employee retention, and the overall work environment will remain severe.

However, there are signs of sexual harassment in the workplace and other forms of misconduct that companies can identify, even where victims are unwilling to come forward.

• Withdrawal and social isolation. Employees who are being harassed often avoid workplace interactions, even with colleagues they normally get along well with. They tend to distance themselves from others, not wanting to draw attention to their situation. This could include declining invitations to social events, avoiding speaking up during meetings, or skipping them entirely. Keep an eye out for employees who are quieter than usual—this could be a sign of harassment or another stressor that requires attention.

• Loss of productivity. Employees who are unhappy in their work environment due to harassment will often become more distracted and less productive. This will directly reflect in their performance reviews and can have a knock-on effect on their team. Identifying employees and teams with sudden drops in performance will help companies identify potential victims of harassment.