“It’s only a bit of banter”, or is it? What can be learnt from the Macpherson report of 1999 following the murder of Stephan Lawrence 6 years earlier in 1993? In this training session we will revisit the report to unpack the contentious issue of workplace banter, as seen through “canteen culture”, as a key issue that arose within the Metropolitan Police at the time. Not pulling up on such behaviours, enabled a breeding ground for racist and inappropriate behaviours to become part of a normalised culture. In this training workshop, we look at the tenets of workplace banter, so that we can still have fun, whilst understanding which lines can or can’t be crossed. When is a conversation fit for the workplace or when should it remain at home or not be said at all? Are there strategies to manage workplace banter effectively and how do we build positive workplace cultures, free of psychologically unsafe environments?
Attendees will:
- What is banter and its key tenets?
- What are appropriate and inappropriate conversations in the workplace?
- The politics of enunciation – Who says it makes a difference.
- When and how to call it out
- Reporting processes
- Building a positive workplace culture
- Psychological safety
