This article was published on AG on June 2, 2025.
Legally, it is not so much the intention behind your actions in the workplace that matters but the impact of those actions, explains Karen Fugle.
Workplace discrimination often persists in subtle ways – unseen, unspoken – yet its effects can be profoundly unfair. One of the recurring tensions I’ve noticed is the unconscious assumption that a person’s intention justifies the impact of their actions. But does it?
Too often, behaviour is excused as ‘just banter’ or brushed off with ‘no offence meant’, even when it clearly causes discomfort or exclusion. This becomes a problem when the person affected is left to absorb the consequences while the person responsible hides behind their intent.
In my view, organisations and individuals in the architectural sector need to shift their attention from what someone meant to how their actions are received. Without that shift, we risk creating cultures where people feel sidelined or unsafe – where they can’t speak up without being told to lighten up.
Legal and psychological perspectives: why impact matters more than intention
Under UK law, discrimination and harassment in the workplace are judged primarily on their effect, not the intent. The Equality Act 2010 makes this clear across several types of discrimination. For example, harassment is defined as unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic (sex, race, age, etc) that has the purpose or effect of violating someone’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. This means that even if no harm was intended, harm caused can still be unlawful.
Similarly, indirect discrimination occurs when a neutral policy or practice puts someone with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage – again, irrespective of intention – unless the employer can show the rule is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
This principle has now been reinforced by the Workers Protection Act 2023. Coming into force last October, it introduced a proactive duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
The mental pivot: from defensiveness to listening
Legally, the direction of travel is clear – it’s the impact of our actions that matters. But psychologically, this can be a difficult shift for many people.
It requires a moment of pause – that split-second pivot away from self-defence and toward listening. Someone might say: ‘But I didn’t mean it like that’ or ‘It was just a joke’. That’s a natural reflex. But staying in that place can shut down the conversation and leave the person who raised the issue feeling dismissed or silenced.
What we need instead is the ability to say: ‘I hear you. I can see how that landed, even if I didn’t intend it.’ That simple shift – from intent to impact – is what opens the door to reflection, learning, and behaviour change.
Culture and consequences: how ‘just banter’ becomes a problem
In many architecture practices and construction sites, a comment that causes offence is still often brushed off with ‘I was only joking’ or ‘You’re too sensitive’. But jokes, nicknames or casual remarks that reference someone’s gender, race, age or background – even without malicious intent – can create a working environment that feels isolating or hostile.
The evidence is clear. A 2024 survey by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) found that over one third of architects had experienced insults, stereotypes or jokes related to protected characteristics – and 53 per cent of women reported experiencing this kind of behaviour. It’s not isolated; it’s cultural.
Employers who fail to address these behaviours risk more than low morale. Employment tribunals in the UK are increasingly seeing claims that centre around so-called ‘banter’ – and many of these result in compensation being awarded, particularly where the employer failed to act once concerns were raised.
Case example: when a ‘compliment’ crosses the line
In Bratt v JGQC Solicitors Ltd (2024), a junior legal secretary was told by her employer that she ‘looked nice’, followed by the comment: ‘Am I allowed to say that?’ While framed as a compliment, the context – including previous inappropriate remarks and power imbalance – made the comment unsettling and unwelcome. The tribunal found that this and other conduct amounted to sexual harassment, noting that even a seemingly harmless comment can violate someone’s dignity if it’s part of an unwanted pattern.
This case challenges the myth that ‘it was just a compliment’ is a defence. The tribunal focused not on the speaker’s intention, but on the impact of the words – reinforcing that it’s how a comment is received, not how it was meant, that defines whether it crosses the line.
Of course, not every complaint will be valid. UK law recognises this. Employers aren’t expected to prevent all offence, but they are expected to act reasonably and take proportionate steps. Clear policies, fair processes and a willingness to listen – even if a complaint turns out to be unsubstantiated – provide both legal and cultural protection.
From intention to impact: reflections and forward steps
The shift from focusing on intention to recognising impact is not easy, but it’s essential.
It asks people to pause before getting defensive, to listen instead of justifying, and to accept that we all have blind spots. Whether you’re leading a practice, managing a site or part of a team, being open to feedback about how your words or behaviour land is part of building trust – and part of building a better industry
The key steps are:
Acknowledge that impact matters You might not have meant offence but if harm was caused, it needs attention.
Create space for reflection Training helps, but so does making time to ask: How did that come across? or What am I not seeing here?
Strengthen leadership accountability Those in senior roles must model the shift – not by being perfect, but by being willing to listen and adapt.
Back it up with structure Policies, codes of conduct and regulatory standards now reflect the importance of respectful, inclusive behaviour. But they only work when people feel safe to speak up, and feel confident they’ll be heard.
If you’d like to continue this conversation, I’d encourage you to attend the Women in Architecture UK talk at this year’s London Festival of Architecture. Unseen, Unspoken, Unfair: Challenging Workplace Discriminationwill explore the realities of bias in professional environments and what we can do, collectively, to challenge them.
Karen Fugle is a leadership and career coach with SleepingGiant Consulting and a Women in Architecture committee member
For additional readings and insights, be sure to explore the following links:
Click here to dive into the data collected from a one-question survey conducted prior to the WIA event, focusing on the pressing issue of discrimination.
Click here to engage with impactful discussions from the WIA event in the UK, where speakers addressed workplace discrimination and the urgent need for change within the industry.