Harassment and bullying, Prevention

The difficulties of working at sea (seasickness, fatigue, separation from home and living in close quarters) make it hard to maintain a positive work environment. While these factors may affect you at sea, they do not excuse bad behavior. You need to be aware of them so that you can plan ahead, take care of yourself, and minimize their impact. It’s also important to realize that these same factors affect everyone on board. Being helpful to a shipmate in need goes a long way to promoting the work environment we desire.

In this course, you will learn the definitions of harassment, bullying, and a hostile work environment as well as the steps required to minimize and prevent them.

We all play an important role in maintaining shipboard civility and a respectful work environment.

Learning objectives:

• Learn the steps required to address harassment from the victim, bystander, and perpetrator’s perspective
• Know how to build awareness for the “continuum of harm” in which an environment of acceptance creates inappropriate behaviors
• Learn the definitions of key terms, including bullying, hostile work environment, assault, and sexual harassment