Aftermath of Harassment in Workplace: What Effective Leadership Looks Like
By Katherin Nukk-Freeman
When an employee tells a manager that they have experienced harassment, they already made a difficult choice. What happens in the hours, days, and weeks that follow can shape their experience of the workplace long after that first conversation.
Recent research underscores how significant that moment can be. A 2026 study published in PLOS One, based on interviews with U.S. workers who had experienced sexual harassment, found that workers viewed verbal support and appropriate action after an incident as important parts of an effective employer response.
Yet speaking up remains difficult. Cornell University's 2025 Empire State Poll found that 32.6% of cisgender women surveyed had experienced workplace sexual harassment or inappropriate sexual behavior at a current or previous job. Among respondents who had experienced it, only 35% reported the situation to human resources or another employer representative.
(Considering the national outrage following the lawsuit of Jane Doe over her alleged sexual assault at the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell in 2024, this research is urgent.)
As an employment lawyer, I've seen how much it can turn on the way an organization responds once an employee comes forward. For the employee, the concerns don't end when that first conversation does. They may be wondering who will be told, whether they will still have to work with the person involved, and whether speaking up will affect how they are treated.
Leaders need to understand what that moment asks of them.
1. Take the concern seriously and involve Human Resources immediately.
An employee reporting harassment may not have a neatly organized account of what happened. She may be uncomfortable, unsure which details matter, or reluctant to characterize someone's conduct as harassment.
The person receiving the report should listen carefully and avoid making promises about the outcome. An employee deserves to know that the concern will be taken seriously, even when the organization still needs to determine what occurred.
That distinction matters. Taking someone seriously does not translate into reaching a conclusion before an investigation has taken place. It means giving the employee space to explain what happened and making sure the concern moves into the appropriate process. That process almost always involves looping Human Resources immediately into the situation.
That process also shouldn't feel like a black box to the person who came forward. The EEOC recommends that harassment policies provide for prompt, thorough and impartial investigations along with keeping employees who make internal complaints informed about the status and outcome of the investigation and any action taken.
2. Be clear about what happens next.
Employees may enter these conversations with assumptions or requests about confidentiality that an employer cannot usually honor. A manager who promises, “I won't tell anyone,” may create a problem almost immediately if the information needs to be shared with HR.
A better response is an honest explanation of what the manager can and cannot promise, along with enough information about the process that the employee is not left wondering what happens after the conversation ends.
This is also where preparation matters. Organizations that want employees to report concerns need managers who understand their own responsibilities when a concern reaches them. Effective workplace harassment prevention includes preparing and training leaders on how to receive and respond to the report itself and for the period that follows.
The stakes are visible in recent enforcement actions. Recently the EEOC sued Michigan-based Davis Cartage, alleging that the company knew of sexual harassment by an executive and failed to correct it after an earlier complaint. The allegations have not yet been adjudicated.
In July, Bouchon Restaurant and Thomas Keller Restaurant Group settled an EEOC lawsuit alleging, among other things, that the companies failed to take appropriate action despite receiving complaints of sexual harassment.
3. Pay attention to what happens after the report.
One of the most important periods begins after the employee reports the incident and leaves the room.
Their manager still has to supervise her/him. Work assignments, performance conversations, and other ordinary interactions continue. Those interactions can become more complicated after someone has reported harassment.
Retaliation does not require an employer to agree that the underlying complaint had merit. The EEOC explains that employees are protected from retaliation for reporting or opposing discrimination and advises employers to make sure managers understand their responsibilities after a concern has been raised.
A recent EEOC case shows why that period following reporting of a complaint deserves attention. In July, three Texas auto dealerships agreed to pay $925,000 to resolve a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit. Among the allegations was that a male sales manager was transferred and later terminated after reporting sexual harassment of female colleagues.
For leaders, this requires awareness of how actions may be experienced after a complaint. A change that has a legitimate business explanation may still raise questions if it comes soon after an employee speaks up, including whether the action could be viewed as retaliatory. That makes communication, consistency, and documentation especially important during this period.
4. Make reporting worth the risk
There is a larger leadership issue here.
The 2025 Women in the Workplace study from McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org found that entry- and mid-level women were less comfortable disagreeing with coworkers and taking risks than other employees.
There are many reasons an employee may hesitate to report workplace misconduct. HR Acuity’s 2025 Workplace Harassment & Misconduct Statistics report found that 22% of employees who experienced or witnessed misconduct in 2025 did not report it. Among those who stayed silent, 46% cited fear of retaliation.
When an employee reports harassment, leaders may be learning about conduct they had no idea was happening. That gives the organization an opportunity to understand the concern and address it before the situation develops further.
I've seen throughout my career how much the response to a workplace concern can influence what follows. Employees pay attention to what happens when someone speaks up. So do their coworkers. The way the organization responds can shape whether employees see the reporting process as something they can trust or something they would rather avoid. Over time, that can influence whether people feel comfortable raising concerns of their own.
For leaders, the responsibility continues after the report has been made. Every response is an opportunity to show employees what the organization stands for when its policies are put to the test. When people see that concerns are taken seriously and handled thoughtfully, it can strengthen the trust that makes it possible for others to speak up when something isn't right.
Katherin Nukk-Freeman is an employment attorney and co-founder of SHIFT HR Compliance Training and Nukk-Freeman & Cerra.