Eliminating Humiliation: A Leadership Imperative for Safe and Dignified Workplaces

A source produced by the Resilient Workplace Institute

Humiliation include being talked over, put down, slighted or humiliated by a manager, colleague, customer, supplier or external contractor which results in you not participating openly in discussions.

What is Humiliation?

A dignity-based violation

Humiliation refers to behaviour that demeans, belittles or degrades a person in a way that undermines their dignity. It is deeply linked to shame, powerlessness, exclusion and loss of status.

According to Schneebaum (2021), humiliation is the primary harm in dignity-based theories of bullying and harassment. It is the emotional outcome that creates long-term psychological injury, often with more impact than overt physical acts.

Bandes and Fisk’s foundational legal work (2001) shows that workplaces historically normalised humiliation, expecting workers to endure it as part of the job. This normalisation remains powerful today—many individuals minimise the harm because it is not physical or sexual.

Power and control

Varman (2023) found that humiliation is often deliberate—a tool used by managers or colleagues to enforce compliance, assert dominance and silence dissent. In their study, humiliation included symbolic acts (exclusion, mockery), sexualised humiliation, and physical degradation.

Fisk (2006) adds that humiliation can be embedded in organisational systems—such as appearance policies, surveillance, and hierarchical rituals.

How Humiliation Manifests as Harassment

Humiliation is not always loud. It is often bureaucratic, subtle, or hidden in managerial behaviour. Examples include:

• Public criticism, reprimand or shaming

• Mocking or belittling comments

• Excluding a person from meetings or communication

• Assigning demeaning tasks

• Micromanagement intended to embarrass or disempower

• Sarcasm, rolling eyes, and ridicule

• Publicly highlighting mistakes

• Sexualised comments intended to shame or humiliate

• Appearance-based criticism or humiliation

• “Punishment seating” or isolation

• Performance reviews used as a tool of embarrassment

• Disciplinary processes conducted in humiliating ways

These behaviours often form a pattern rather than a single incident. The cumulative effect is deeply harmful.

Across the bullying literature, humiliation is consistently listed as a core behavioural marker of harassment (Sansone & Sansone, 2015).

Why Humiliation Matters: The Psychological & Organisational Cost

A. Health consequences

Research shows humiliation triggers:

• Anxiety and depression

• Trauma responses and hypervigilance

• Sleep disturbances

• Somatic stress disorders

• Long-term psychological injury

Sansone & Sansone (2015) describe humiliation as one of the most corrosive forms of workplace mistreatment due to its connection to shame and identity destruction.

B. Productivity consequences

Humiliation leads to:

• Withdrawal and disengagement

• Lower performance

• Avoidance behaviour

• Communication breakdown

• Higher error rates

• Presenteeism

When employees feel humiliated, they stop taking initiative—they fear exposure, criticism, or further ridicule.

C. Turnover and talent loss

Humiliation is one of the strongest predictors of resignation.

Moloi (2025) found that academics experiencing humiliation were significantly more likely to consider leaving the institution.

Your Harassment Risk Assessment data shows a similar trend:

• Higher humiliation scores → higher predicted turnover

• Strong correlation between humiliation and toxic team cultures

• Humiliation often clusters around specific managers, allowing targeted interventions

Evidence from South Africa

South African studies confirm that humiliation is widespread, measurable and harmful:

• Badenhorst (2022): Support staff in higher education report significantly more humiliation than academics.

• Moloi (2025): Humiliation strongly predicts intention to leave.

The HRA/HRI dataset (24 months of national data) shows:

• Humiliation is among the top three non-sexual harassment types.

• High humiliation correlates with low psychological safety.

• Women report humiliation at higher intensities than men.

• 63% of humiliation comes from direct managers, not peers.

These findings align with global research: humiliation is a primary mechanism of workplace harm.

Why Humiliation Is Often Overlooked

It is subtle and easily disguised

Unlike physical harassment, humiliation is contextual. Perpetrators can claim:

• “It was just feedback.”

• “I was joking.”

• “They’re too sensitive.”

• “That’s my leadership style.”

Reporting systems fail to capture it

Incident-reporting mechanisms are designed for events.

Humiliation is cumulative.

• Employees rarely report humiliation because:

• They fear retaliation

• They think HR won’t take it seriously

• They don’t want to seem weak

• Reporting itself feels humiliating

Historical legal blind spots

Bandes & Fisk (2001) argue that law traditionally undervalued dignity, focusing on physical harm. Modern frameworks, however, recognise humiliation as a central harm.

Humiliation in the Modern Regulatory Framework

ILO Convention 190

C190 explicitly includes:

• Psychological harm

• Degrading treatment

• Humiliating behaviour

• Abuse of power

• Harassment that undermines dignity

Employers must take steps to prevent, identify, and address humiliation as violence and harassment in the world of work.

ISO 45003

Lists humiliation as a psychosocial hazard in areas such as:

• Poor leadership

• Interpersonal conflict

• High-demand/low-control environments

• Social isolation

• Negative behaviours and toxic cultures

• South African Code of Good Practice (2022)

• Defines harassment broadly and explicitly includes:

• belittling

• insulting

• humiliating conduct

• verbal or non-verbal behaviour that undermines dignity

This is a critical legal basis for employer responsibility.

South African Code of Good Practice (2022)

Defines harassment broadly and explicitly includes:

• belittling

• insulting

• humiliating conduct

• verbal or non-verbal behaviour that undermines dignity

This is a critical legal basis for employer responsibility.

Why Addressing Humiliation Is a Business Imperative

Harassment risk is governance risk

Humiliation is a leading indicator of deeper organisational problems:

• Toxic leadership

• Poor accountability

• Breakdown of trust

• Potential for whistle-blower suppression

• Increased safety risk in high-risk environments (mining, logistics, manufacturing)

It affects ESG, culture and reputation

Investors increasingly expect proof of psychosocial safety.

Humiliation undermines:

• Employer brand

• Gender equality (humiliation disproportionately targets women)

• Diversity and inclusion outcomes

• Safety culture

• Trust in leadership

Financial impact

Humiliation contributes directly to:

• Absenteeism

• Turnover

• Litigation

• Reduced productivity

• Increased medical aid and wellness costs

• Lower innovation

In high-turnover industries, humiliation can cost millions annually.

How Employers Can Prevent and Address Humiliation-Based Harassment

Measure it

Traditional reporting systems miss humiliation.

Digital assessment tools—like the Harassment Risk Assessment (HRA) and Harassment Risk Index (HRI)—allow employers to:

• Detect patterns anonymously

• Identify hotspots

• Benchmark against industry standards

• Measure year-over-year improvement

• Distinguish between occasional conflict and systematic humiliation

Data allows for targeted intervention, not guesswork.

Train managers and leaders

Managers are the largest source of humiliation.

Training should focus on:

• Accountability

• Respectful leadership

• Communication skills

• Trauma-informed management

• Feedback without shaming

• Aligning tone, intent and impact

Update policies and disciplinary frameworks

Policies should explicitly include humiliation:

• Public shaming

• Belittling

• Ridicule

• Demeaning comments

• Degrading work assignments

Employees need clear, safe pathways to report psychologically harmful behaviour.

Monitor organisational systems

Humiliation often emerges from:

• Performance reviews

• Disciplinary processes

• Work allocation

• Leadership communication

• Team culture

• Supervisor power dynamics

Organisations must audit these systems for dignity risks.

Build a culture of dignity

This includes:

• Zero tolerance for belittling behaviour

• Encouraging employees to speak up

• Protecting whistle-blowers and complainants

• Embedding dignity into leadership KPIs

• Ensuring psychological safety in teams

Dignity must become a central cultural value—not a compliance checkbox.

Conclusion

Humiliation is one of the most powerful and destructive forms of workplace harassment. It undermines dignity, safety and trust. It erodes mental health and organisational culture. It drives turnover and disengagement. And it often goes unnoticed because it hides in everyday interactions and normalised behaviours.

Modern global frameworks—ILO Convention 190, ISO 45003, and the South African Code of Good Practice—make it clear: humiliating conduct is harassment.

The organisations that will lead in the coming decade are those that recognise humiliation as measurable, preventable, and incompatible with a safe, productive workplace. Measuring humiliation through tools like the HRA/HRI and acting decisively on the insights is no longer optional—it is essential for employee wellbeing, organisational resilience and sustainable performance.

Humiliation is not “how we do things here”.

It is harassment.

And addressing it is one of the most powerful ways to build a truly resilient workplace.

Creating safer workplaces is not just a regulatory expectation — it’s a leadership imperative.