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Workplace culture is the sum of what leaders consistently say, do, tolerate and reward. In South Africa, workplace culture in South Africa is shaped not only by leadership behaviours and business strategy, but also by constitutional values of dignity and equality, local philosophies such as Ubuntu, and a robust labour law framework that sets explicit expectations for safe, fair, and respectful workplaces.

This article unpacks how Ubuntu, psychological safety and South Africa’s labour law framework shape workplace culture, and what leaders can do to prevent toxic workplace culture and fear. Understanding this interplay is essential for directing culture deliberately, preventing toxicity or fear, and intervening decisively when problems surface.

The Human Foundation of Performance

Ubuntu – often expressed as umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (“a person is a person through other people”) – centres on connection, respect, and shared humanity. Recent South African research links Ubuntu leadership characterised by empathy, collaboration, and mutual respect, with stronger employee engagement which is of course a core driver of performance and retention. Leaders who practise Ubuntu in daily management – how they run meetings, resolve conflict, and recognise contributions – create the conditions for people to bring their best to work and support healthy workplace culture.

A complementary, evidence-based concept is psychological safety i.e. the shared belief that people can speak up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes without fear of humiliation or punishment. Pioneering work by Amy Edmondson and subsequent professional guidance show that psychological safety at work is foundational for team learning and innovation, and that it grows from leaders’ behaviour when they invite input, respond appreciatively, and model fallibility.

The business case is clear. Analyses during the “Great Resignation” found toxic workplace culture to be the strongest predictor of attrition – ten times more important than compensation – underscoring why culture-building is a retention imperative rather than a “soft” initiative.

South Africa’s Legal Baseline

South Africa’s Employment Equity Act (EEA) prohibits unfair discrimination and expressly recognises harassment as a form of unfair discrimination (Section 6(3)), which places a legal duty on employers to prevent and eliminate workplace harassment. The 2022 Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace issued under the EEA, broadens the understanding of harassment (including bullying, online abuse and covert behaviours), extends protection beyond the physical office, and sets out prevention, policy, training, and procedural requirements.

The Code sits alongside South Africa’s ratification of International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work, which entered into force domestically on 29 November 2022. C190 affirms everyone’s right to a world of work free from violence and harassment, and calls for prevention, protection, enforcement, and remedies across both formal and informal settings.

Employer liability is real: Under EEA Section 60, an employer may be deemed to have contravened the EEA if it fails to take “the necessary steps” when harassment is reported. Recent Labour Court and appellate commentary reinforces that employers must act promptly and effectively when complaints arise, or risk liability and compensation awards.

When harassment or misconduct leads to discipline, employers must still ensure substantive and procedural fairness. South Africa’s new consolidated Code of Good Practice: Dismissal (effective 4 September 2025) replaced Schedule 8 and the old retrenchment code, clarifying fair process across misconduct, incapacity and operational requirements, with flexibility for smaller employers – useful guidance when allegations relate to toxic conduct.

Two other statutes directly support a healthy culture:

• The Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) protects whistle-blowers and, after the 2017 amendments (now reflected in 2024 consolidated texts), obliges employers to implement whistleblowing procedures and provide written feedback – typically within 21 days – about steps taken on a disclosure. Building trust in speak‑up systems is a legal and cultural priority.
• The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) governs how investigation information is collected, used, secured and shared. Employers must ensure proportionate monitoring, strong confidentiality, and timely breach notifications to the Information Regulator and affected individuals in the event of a security compromise.

Shaping Culture with Intent

There are many ways in which leaders can direct workplace culture in South Africa by design, rather than by default:

• Make values visible in routines, not posters: Culture consolidates in the micro-moments that leaders control e.g. how they run stand‑ups, allocate stretch work, respond to bad news, and follow through on commitments. Translating Ubuntu and psychological safety into practice means leaders invite dissent, credit learning, and respond to reports without retaliation – behaviours repeatedly associated with stronger team performance and innovation.
• Codify expectations clearly: An integrated culture framework gives managers practical guardrails and makes accountability possible. This includes values, behavioural examples, anti-harassment policy aligned to the 2022 Code, disciplinary rules aligned to the 2025 Dismissal Code, as well as speak-up and investigation procedures aligned to the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) and POPIA.
• Build speak‑up capacity and trust: Provide multiple channels (manager, HR, independent hotline), protect confidentiality where possible, and close the loop with timely feedback under the PDA. Many whistleblowers stay silent because they think that nothing will happen; a predictable response process reverses that perception and reinforces fairness.
• Measure and tend the climate: Short, regular pulse checks on psychological safety help leaders to see where fear may be creeping in and where coaching or structural change is needed.

Getting Ahead of the Problem

Toxicity flourishes when poor behaviour is ignored, when pressure outruns capacity, and when people fear repercussions for speaking up.

Prevention rests on a few management disciplines:

• Set and model standards for interaction: Use the Harassment Code’s definitions and examples to clarify what “respectful” looks like, including guidance on digital conduct, covert bullying, and exclusionary behaviours. Train managers to distinguish legitimate performance management from harassing conduct, and to intervene early with coaching and, if needed, formal steps.
• Design work to reduce chronic stressors: Overload, chaotic reprioritisation, and “heroics as normal” corrode civility and safety. The MIT analysis shows that toxic cultures drive resignations across industries, so leaders should attack the root causes such as prioritisation, resourcing, and predictable schedules alongside behaviour norms.
• Reinforce speak‑up protections: Publish your anti-victimisation stance and PDA process, acknowledge concerns, document actions, and give written updates within stipulated timeframes to sustain trust.
• Know your legal triggers: Ensure that managers understand when an allegation or pattern triggers obligations under the EEA Harassment Code (e.g. risk assessment, interim measures), as well as the evidentiary and process requirements to manage both people risk and legal risk.

Handling Workplace Harm Lawfully

A practical, lawful response when toxicity or fear surfaces includes the following:

1. Receive and triage the report: Thank the reporter; assess immediate safety and consider interim safeguards such as separation of parties or schedule changes proportionate to the risk. Document every step from first contact; these records matter under section 60 EEA and the Harassment Code.
2. Protect confidentiality and data: Limit access to “need‑to‑know,” secure documents, and handle monitoring or evidence collection (e.g. emails, Closed-Circuit Television recordings) consistent with constraints as per POPIA and the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA). Communicate how personal information will be used and stored.
3. Appoint an impartial investigator: Scope the issues against your policy and the Harassment Code’s definitions, gather evidence fairly, and give all parties the chance to respond. Avoid conflating disciplinary decision-making with fact-finding to strengthen procedural fairness under the Dismissal Code.
4. Decide and act proportionately: If allegations are substantiated, apply sanctions consistent with your disciplinary code and the new Dismissal Code (and with due regard to context, seniority, and precedent). If not substantiated, still address relational or climate issues (e.g. mediated agreements or coaching) while protecting parties from retaliation.
5. Communicate outcomes appropriately: Inform the reporter of the resolution and the steps taken within the limits of confidentiality and privacy law. The PDA’s feedback duty reinforces the importance of keeping reporters informed to maintain trust in the system.
6. Offer support and repair: Where harm occurred, provide access to counselling, leave where appropriate (as contemplated in the Harassment Code), and a plan to rebuild working relationships. Then, monitor the team’s psychological safety over the following quarters and address any aftershocks.

A Leadership Checklist

Directing culture is a leadership discipline, not an HR memo. To anchor a healthy workplace culture:

• Model Ubuntu and psychological safety daily – invite dissent, show curiosity, and normalise learning from mistakes.
• Keep your framework current by aligning policies to the 2022 Harassment Code, PDA feedback duties, POPIA, and the 2025 Dismissal Code. Train managers on these obligations.
• Design for prevention by monitoring workload and scheduling, addressing chronic stressors, and tackling incivility early. Remember the attrition cost of toxicity.
• Operate a credible speak‑up system with multiple channels, anti‑retaliation measures, and timely feedback.
• Investigate and decide fairly with impartiality, confidentiality, proportionality, and documentation that meets both cultural and legal tests.

From Principles to Practice

South African leaders don’t start from a blank slate. You have a values-rich context (Ubuntu), a strong evidence base (psychological safety), and a clear legal floor to work from (EEA, the 2022 Harassment Code, C190, PDA, POPIA, and the 2025 Dismissal Code).

When leaders translate these into everyday habits – how they listen, decide, and follow through – culture shifts from fear and silence to dignity, fairness, and performance.