Understanding harmful behaviours in organizations: the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System for Workplace Behaviours (HFACS-WB)

Harmful behaviours in organisations such as incivility, bullying, hazing, harassment, and self-directed harm pose persistent risks to individual well-being, organisational effectiveness, and operational readiness, particularly in military contexts. Addressing these behaviours requires approaches that move beyond individual-level explanations to examine the systemic conditions under which they emerge. This article introduces the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System for Workplace Behaviours (HFACS-WB), a systems-oriented framework adapted from the well-established HFACS framework for system safety. Grounded in human factors theory, HFACS-WB extends existing perspectives by conceptualising individual, social, supervisory, and organisational factors as interacting elements within a layered system of organisational defences. The article describes the theoretical foundation and architecture of HFACS-WB, illustrates its applied use through analysis of existing organisational data, and shows how findings can be aggregated to identify recurring systemic vulnerabilities. The framework is further positioned within an integrated Behavioural Risk Management System to support enterprise-level prevention, oversight, and decision-making across organisational contexts. While the manuscript presents a framework-level contribution rather than a comprehensive validation study, it outlines directions for future research, including empirical validation, reliability assessment, and evaluation of intervention effectiveness.