The workplace has never been without risk. But the nature of those risks is shifting, and the organizations that recognize what’s happening and take proactive steps are the ones that protect their people, their culture, and their bottom line. Compliance training has long been a tool for meeting legal requirements. But increasingly, it’s also one of the most effective ways to get ahead of the risks that cost organizations the most.
Here are five of the most pressing workplace risks organizations are facing right now and what training can do about each one.
1. Harassment and Discrimination
Harassment and discrimination claims are not slowing down — they’re accelerating. In 2024, the EEOC saw a 9.2% increase in charges of discrimination over the previous year. The EEOC recovered nearly $700 million for almost 21,000 victims of discrimination in 2024 alone and those figures only capture what gets reported and formally pursued.
However, many employees who experience harassment never formally complain, leaving organizations with unresolved problems and undetected liability. Training doesn’t just fulfill a legal obligation here; it sets a tone. It tells employees what your organization’s standards are, what reporting resources exist, and that leadership takes these issues seriously. Done well, it shifts the culture before incidents occur, not after.
2. Workplace Violence
Workplace violence is broader than most people assume, and more common. According to OSHA, workplace violence encompasses any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening behavior at the work site — ranging from verbal abuse to physical assault to homicide.
While no organization is immune to workplace violence, certain industries face disproportionate risk, such as healthcare, education, and service sectors. Training equips employees and managers to recognize early warning signs, understand de-escalation principles, and know exactly how to respond and report. An informed workforce is a safer workforce, and organizations with documented training programs are in a far stronger legal position when incidents do occur.
3. Mental Health and Employee Wellbeing
Mental health has moved from an HR concern to a central business risk, and the numbers are stark. Employees with unresolved depression experience a 35% drop in productivity, costing organizations $210.5 billion annually in absenteeism, reduced productivity, and medical expenses.
The human picture is equally concerning. More than three-quarters of U.S. workers reported experiencing some level of burnout in 2024, with over half experiencing moderate to severe levels.
Training in this space serves two purposes. It helps managers recognize signs of distress and respond appropriately, and it helps all employees understand available resources and normalize seeking support. But access alone isn’t enough. When employees don’t know what’s available or feel stigma around using it, benefits go untapped. Training can bridge that gap.
4. Bystander Intervention
One of the most underutilized tools in workplace safety isn’t a policy or a reporting system — it’s the people already in the room. Bystander intervention training teaches employees how to recognize potentially harmful situations and step in safely and effectively, before they escalate. In fact, 67% of employees who completed bystander intervention training went on to apply those skills in a real-world workplace situation.
This is an area with a clear multiplier effect. When employees feel capable and empowered to act, they’re more likely to speak up early, catching issues at the moment they can still be resolved rather than after significant harm has been done. Organizations that invest in bystander training aren’t just adding a course to their catalog; they’re building a culture of shared accountability.
5. Retaliation
Retaliation is consistently the most common charge filed with the EEOC and one of the most misunderstood risks organizations face. Retaliation accounted for nearly 48% of all EEOC charges filed in 2024.
What makes retaliation particularly dangerous is that it can emerge in the aftermath of an organization doing everything else right. An employee reports harassment. The organization investigates. Then something changes for that employee, like a reassignment, a shift in tone, a sudden performance concern. Even without malicious intent, those changes can give rise to a claim.
Many managers simply don’t recognize when their actions could be perceived as retaliatory. Training that specifically addresses retaliation — what it looks like, how to avoid it, what obligations exist after a complaint is filed — and that reaches managers, not just employees, is one of the most cost-effective risk mitigation investments an organization can make.
The Bottom Line: Training Is Prevention
Every risk on this list carries a cost: financial, human, and reputational. Legal settlements, turnover, lost productivity, and damaged culture are the price of inaction compounded over time in ways that are rarely visible until they become impossible to ignore.
Training doesn’t eliminate risk. But it does something equally important: it demonstrates that your organization is taking its obligations seriously, sets clear expectations for behavior, and gives employees the knowledge and tools to act appropriately when it matters most. For HR leaders, legal and compliance officers, and executives alike, that’s not just a cultural investment. It’s a business one.
ComplyEQ’s library of expert-built, human-crafted compliance courses covers each of these risk areas and more, all designed to meet your legal obligations and build the kind of workplace culture where people can do their best work. Learn more about what ComplyEQ offers.
