As a new manager, I want to ensure my team members never foster a hostile workplace. What steps should I take?

According to a study from the University of California, Los Angeles, the Rand Corp., and Harvard Medical School, nearly 20 percent of workers say they face a hostile work environment. It's a monumental problem, but to avoid it, there are two main steps.

First, you have to fully understand what it is. A hostile workplace is defined as an environment in which pervasive and unwelcome conduct based on race, age, gender, religion, or other categories protected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission creates an intimidating or offensive atmosphere. To reach this legal threshold, a hostile workplace must largely stem from a superior's behavior or his or her acceptance of such conduct. Management must also generally fail to address these problems after they've been alerted to them. Examples of a hostile workplace include unwanted touching, offensive jokes, and displaying racist or sexually inappropriate pictures.

The second step is to actively discuss the above criteria with staff, refer members to whatever information your company's human resources department has on the topic, and educate them on HR's process for reporting the proscribed behavior. By offering your team information that instructs and arms them, you can cultivate a workplace that doesn't cross the line from harmonious to hostile. E