The fines associated with harassment should be sufficient motivation for any organization to take the problem seriously. The indirect costs of harassment, however, dwarf anything we can clearly calculate.

People who experience harassment suffer a variety of psychological and physical repercussions. Studies have tied harassment to increased risk of depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse, unintentional weight gain or loss, insomnia, drug and alcohol abuse, and cardiovascular and musculoskeletal issues. These issues worsen with prolonged harassment.

Harassment hurts victims’ colleagues and co-workers as well. The EEOC points to mounting evidence that “employees who observe or perceive mistreatment in their workplace can also suffer mental and physical harm”:

One study found that employees, female and male alike, who observed hostility directed toward female coworkers (both incivility and sexually harassing behavior) were more likely to experience lower psychological well-being. These declines in mental health were, in turn, linked to lower physical well-being. According to the study, the drivers of these effects can stem from empathy and worry for the victim, concern about the lack of fairness in their workplace, or fear of becoming the next target.

Harassment drags down an organization’s bottom line. The claims management and investigation process siphons departments’ time and resources. Victims and bystanders often report difficulty concentrating on and engaging with work. Employee engagement and teamwork plummets while rates of tardiness and absenteeism increase.

According to the EEOC, “the mere awareness of sexual harassment among a work group can create a tense environment, negatively influencing the group’s day-to-day functioning.” Employees are more likely to neglect work and avoid each other. Furthermore, the Commission reports, the aftereffects of harassment can become a “contagion” that spreads throughout the workplace stresses and breaks down long-term team health.

Harassment leads to turnover. Faced with instances of harassment and a culture that permits misconduct and incivility, employees tend to “exit the scene.” In fact, some researchers contend that turnover constitutes “the largest single component of the overall cost of sexual harassment,” amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars per year. The reverse is also true: employers who take broad, holistic steps to reduce harassment tend to retain employees for longer than their competitors.

Additionally, harassment hurts an organization’s reputation and ability to attract new business. Perceived misconduct and incivility towards workers turns away not only current and potential employees, but current and future clients and customers. The EEOC reports:

Studies demonstrate that perceived sexual harassment in the workplace has a negative effect on attitudes toward the brand and brand image. Conversely, when internal stakeholders understand, embrace, and execute organizational brand values, the company has an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace and the brand has an opportunity to flourish. In this sense, internal brand strategies are critical for overall business success.

These associations with a brand may last for years. Consumers who witness or perceive harassment at an organization are “less likely to repurchase from the firm and express less interest in learning about the firm’s new services.”

Finally, organizations should keep in mind that no employee who engages in harassment, regardless of that individual’s profile at the company or contributions to the business, is worth protecting from allegations of harassment. As the EEOC report argues, “[e]mployers should avoid the trap of binary thinking that weighs the productivity of a harasser solely against the costs of his or her being reported.”

In making this point, the Commission references a recent Harvard Business School study, which found that “toxic” workers—even “top performers” who exhibit toxic behavior—have an overall negative impact on their organizations. No one gets a pass: