Tailoring Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying (DHB) Policies for Organisations to Improve the Equity and Effectiveness of DHB Policy Outcomes

Abstract

While research supports the need for tailored organisational-level discrimination, harassment, and bullying (DHB) policies, effective and structured policy development processes to assist organisations in achieving tailored policies remain scarce. To address this gap, the study investigated how organisations can tailor DHB policies to enhance equity and effectiveness in workplace outcomes. A qualitative mixed-methods design, grounded in a pragmatist paradigm, was employed using an embedded case study of a complex organisation to provide a contextual framework for the study. A rapid literature review was used to identify elements of an effective DHB policy. Key findings were developed through a codebook thematic analysis, organised under the themes of context and content. Semi-structured interviews were conducted concurrently with the rapid literature review to explore additional factors for consideration when tailoring DHB policies to individual organisations. Interviews were conducted across two sample groups from the case study organisation. These groups were (1) DHB targets and witnesses who had attempted to resolve incidents through the existing policy, and (2) managers with experience implementing that policy. Reflexive thematic analyses were completed before triangulating the interview data. Thematic outcomes from all three data sources were integrated through methodological triangulation. The integrated research findings identified two key relationships. The first, a link between the organisation’s contextual understanding and its capacity to identify, remove, or mitigate inequities affecting employees’ access to policy protections and resolution processes. The second, the importance of consistently applied accountability mechanisms to support policy effectiveness. Building on these findings, the study proposed a tailored DHB policy development process supported by evaluation and socioecological models. To encourage organisational investment in tailored DHB policy development, the study recommends that workplace health and safety regulators raise minimum compliance standards and develop tools to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy.