We need to be nicer to each other

Employees in AGRO should not experience feeling offended – no matter whether it is bullying, teasing, violence, shunning or unwanted sexual approaches. Where you draw the line is always debatable, but the key issue is that if the person on the receiving end feels offended, then an offense has taken place.

Offensive behaviour is not defined by what the sender feels about his or her action, but by what the receiver perceives as degrading. 

Well-intentioned teasing can be mutual, but the limits can be difficult to predict. If personal limits are exceeded, it is important to have a dialogue about the problem in a respectful and proper manner.

Avoid offensive behaviour

The most obvious solution to the problem is to be nice to each other. 

Judgmental statements about your colleagues' sex, race, nationality, clothing, religion or sexuality do not belong in our workplace. This applies in oral conversations and written correspondence. An ironic or abrupt comment in an email or social media, where the receiver cannot see the twinkle in your eye or the smile on your face, can be just as offensive as the spoken word. 

It is your responsibility as the sender to show a sense of propriety and common sense and to understand that humour, limits and moods can vary.  

Take the bull by the horn

If you have offended someone anyway, then you should address the problem right away by, for example, saying you are sorry and acting respectfully and properly in the future.

If you have experienced offensive behaviour yourself, then you should likewise in a respectful and proper manner address the issue either by having a dialogue with the offender, with your supervisor or someone else from the management, a representative from the local work environment committee LAMU, the local collaboration committee LSU, or with your union representative. They can advise you about how to tackle the problem.

If you are contacted by someone whose personal limit has been exceeded and who feels offended, then you must take the situation seriously. Offensive behaviour must always be considered in the light of the concrete situation, and from the point of view of the person offended. 

It is important that we all strive to create room for dialogue and the resulting perception of trust and justice in the workplace. 

The Danish Working Environment Authority has a few examples of what is considered offensive behaviour. You can see them on their website (in Danish).

You can view AGRO’s WPA here (in Danish). In the near future, LAMU and LSU will work with the results and prepare plans of actions for certain areas. These will be communicated at a later date.