Being in a good headspace is important to us at Heijmans. And being in a good headspace also means that you feel good in your team, that you feel appreciated and respected and can be yourself. For this reason, we want everyone at Heijmans to treat each other with respect, and  to look out for each other. A joke can be fun, but sometimes it gets taken too far. What are your boundaries? And the other person’s boundaries? This toolbox discusses inappropriate behaviour. This will help you to start a discussion about your own and your colleagues’ boundaries.

Inappropriate behaviour includes verbal intimidation or physical violence, bullying, discrimination, sexual intimidation, or other inappropriate forms of behaviour. ​​​​​​​

Speak to each other about the following situations and ask yourselves the question “what do we think about this?”

What are the potential consequences of inappropriate behaviour:

1. Impact on feelings of self-worth
2. A person can feel excluded
3. Health issues such as emotional exhaustion, depression, anxiety and burn-out
4. Physical violence can also result in physical injuries

1. Reduced productivity and an increased risk of absenteeism

What Heijmans is doing:

• Heijmans has published “our code of conduct” on the intranet: Integrity & Code of Conduct - Introductory page (sharepoint.com), which provides tools and guidance.
• Here you will also find what you can do if you encounter inappropriate behaviour or suspect any wrongdoing
• You can also submit an anonymous report via SpeakUp
• An overview of our Confidential Counsellors and the Compliance Officer are also provided.
• It is important to Heijmans that victims are taken seriously

What can you do yourself:

• If you encounter any inappropriate behaviour, first discuss this with the person exhibiting this behaviour (give feedback)
• In your feedback, try to address the behaviour and not the person (make it as specific as possible and tell the person what effect it has on you)
• If you find it difficult to have such a conversation, discuss this with your supervisor, your manager or someone from HR
• Accept feedback from each other: someone has gone to the trouble of telling you how he/she feels as a result of the behaviour that you have exhibited, so use your actions and words to show that you are taking this seriously
• In addition to the official routes, inappropriate behaviour can be reported to your supervisor, your manager or someone from HR at any time
• If you see any inappropriate behaviour, call your colleague to account about this. If you see it but do not take any action, then you are also responsible for what has happened to the other person

More information is also available from Volandis: https://www.volandis.nl/werk-veilig/instrumenten/toolboxen/toolbox-pesten/