[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-276931-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":81,"doc-detail-276931-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","dealing-withreportingunacceptable-behavior-volume-2-issue-1-2009-workplace-conflict-management-insights","Dealing with—Reporting—“Unacceptable” Behavior - Volume 2 - Issue 1 - 2009 - Workplace conflict management insights","","People in organizations often witness behavior they consider unacceptable—unsafe, illegal, or even criminal—and yet many hesitate to act or report promptly. The paper examines why hesitation occurs beyond classic “bystander effect” scenarios, including among managers, and identifies common barriers such as fear of relationship loss or privacy loss, fear of unspecified bad consequences or retaliation, and insufficient evidence. It also highlights how perceptions of the organization and supervisors, plus a complaints system viewed as safe, accessible, and credible, shape reporting decisions.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/","Presentations",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/dealing-withreportingunacceptable-behavior-volume-2-issue-1-2009-workplace-conflict-management-insights/276931/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/dealing-withreportingunacceptable-behavior-volume-2-issue-1-2009-workplace-conflict-management-insights/276931.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Stanley","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-09-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What are the main reasons people hesitate to report unacceptable behavior?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The most common reasons are fear of losing relationships or privacy, fear of unspecified bad consequences or retaliation, and insufficient evidence.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the bystander effect relate to hesitation in real workplaces?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Hesitation is recognized in discussions of the “bystander effect,” but in real life it extends to people in many roles, not only bystanders.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What factors help a complaint system encourage reporting?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"A system seen as safe, accessible, and credible matters, alongside perceptions of the organization and supervisors.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},276931,1791745163,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,93,98,103,108,113,118,123],{"id":85,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},11,90,"presentations",{"id":89,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":90,"show_sort_weight":91,"slug":92},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":94,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":99,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":104,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":109,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":114,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":119,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":124,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":126},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":128},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":129,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":22,"category_id":85,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":136,"language":137,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":138,"faqs":139,"seo_title":140,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":141,"read_time":121},2336477405376,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Journal of the International Ombudsman Association  \nDealing with—or Reporting—“Unacceptable” Behavior*  \n(With additional thoughts about the “Bystander Effect”)  \nMA RY ROW E , L I N DA W I L COX , H OWA R D GA D L I N  \nABSTRACT  \nPeople in organizations often see behavior that they think is unacceptable, unsafe, illegal—even criminal. Why do people who observe such behavior hesitate to act on their own, or to come forward promptly—even when affected by that behavior? Why do they not immediately report those whom they see to be acting in an intolerable fashion? Hesitation of this kind has been recognized for years; for example, there is a controversial literature about the “bystander effect.” In real life hesitation is not confined just to bystanders. People in all roles may hesitate to act. Why do some people—including many managers—waver, rather than acting effectively to stop behavior they find to be unacceptable? The most common reasons for hesitation are: fear of loss of relationships, and loss of privacy, fear of unspecified “bad consequences” or retaliation, and insufficient evidence. There are many other barriersand they are often complex. Perceptions ofthe organization and of supervisors are important, as is a complaint system that is seen to be safe, accessible and credible.  \nSome people do act on the spot or come forward when they see unacceptable behavior. Reviewing the reasoning of people with whom we have talked may provide ideas for employers designing or reviewing a conflict management system.  \nKEYWORDS  \nbystander effect, retaliation, whistleblower, conflict systems, complaint options, organizational ombudsman, workplace trust, workplace fear, procedural justice  \nWHY DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?  \nRupert McGillicuddy, the COO of Global Manufacturing, was alarmed and upset. He came in Monday morning to find that Chris Lee, the company’s computer systems wizard, had quit over the weekend. Lee was in the second, and crucial, year of adapting and implementing a new, international, inventory tracking and control system. No one else understood the (not yet fully documented) system as well as Lee. Lee also was unique in another respect. As a child he had learned the several languages and dialects of his four  \ngrandparents. Fortuitously this had made him into a“one of a kind”gem for Global Manufacturing—the inventory management system was being built together with teams in three of those language areas. McGillicuddy made a few, quiet phone calls. He was dismayed by the information that came back. It seemed that Lee was a quiet and devout person who had been uncomfortable working with the head of IT, Greg Garious. Greg’s sense of humor was described asa bit crude. It appeared that Greg made jokes about everyone. One of his many jokes was about the fact that Lee’s four grandparents came from four different countries. Many people had heard these jokes about Lee’s parentage and “probable multiple personalities,”but apparently no one had remonstrated with Greg. McGillicudy was told there had been gossip about Greg for years—about different issues. There was a suggestion that Greg made merry when on travel. His“outgoing nature really blossomed”away from home. There was a story about dare devil driving. There were whispers about his receiving recreational drugs from one of the vendors and “sharing” with his staff. HR said they had not investigated any concerns about Greg,“We never had a complaint.”  \n* The authors wish to thank the many dozens of ombuds in the East Coast Ombuds Group and in IOA workshops who contributed to this study over a ten-year period. We thank JIOA Editor Alan Lincoln, JIOA Associate Editor Tom Sebok, JIOA reviewer James Lee, and Bruce Jacobson and Timothy Rowe for very helpful comments.  \nvolume 2, number 1, 2009  \n52  \n Journal of the International Ombudsman Association  \nGreg had allegedly bought the new inventory system from a vendor where he was said to be “very close with” the relevant sales ","cbCaigseOohnr7qD","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigseOohnr7qD","pdf",143749,13,"English","# Why Did I Not Know About This?\n## Unacceptable behavior and reporting hesitation\n## Barriers: fear, retaliation, privacy, and evidence\n## Role of organizational perceptions and complaint systems\n## Case narrative motivating the conflict system review","[{\"question\":\"What are the main reasons people hesitate to report unacceptable behavior?\",\"answer\":\"The most common reasons are fear of losing relationships or privacy, fear of unspecified bad consequences or retaliation, and insufficient evidence.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the bystander effect relate to hesitation in real workplaces?\",\"answer\":\"Hesitation is recognized in discussions of the “bystander effect,” but in real life it extends to people in many roles, not only bystanders.\"},{\"question\":\"What factors help a complaint system encourage reporting?\",\"answer\":\"A system seen as safe, accessible, and credible matters, alongside perceptions of the organization and supervisors.\"}]","Dealing with—Reporting—“Unacceptable” Behavior - Volume 2 - Issue 1 - 2009 - Workplace conflict management insights | PDF",1789496427]