What Sensitivity Training Is. And, What It Is Not!
Sensitivity Training is one of the most misunderstood forms of workplace training in Canada. We at Sensitivity Training Canada, a thought-leading service provider, have written this article to bring much-needed clarity to the marketplace and to clearly distinguish Sensitivity Training from other learning interventions that it is often confused with, but fundamentally is not.
To begin with, Sensitivity Training is not equity, diversity, inclusion, or culture training. While those forms of training focus on identity, representation, systemic inequities, and cultural awareness, Sensitivity Training has a different purpose and legal grounding.
It is also not civility training. Civility training emphasizes courtesy, politeness, and respectful manners, whereas Sensitivity Training goes far deeper into the legal, psychological, and behavioural responsibilities that exist in modern workplaces.
Finally, Sensitivity Training is not political-correctness training. Its objective is not to police language for social or ideological reasons, but to prevent real and measurable harm in professional environments.
So what is Sensitivity Training?
Sensitivity Training sits at the intersection of Human Rights and Labour and Employment Law. It is centred on professional awareness in the workplace and is grounded in the legal and ethical obligation to maintain psychologically safe work environments.
The core premise is simple but powerful: every individual is responsible for managing their own behaviour, language, and conduct to ensure they do not cause psychological harm to others at work.
Across every Canadian province and territory, legislation exists that supports psychological safety in workplaces. Employers carry the primary legal responsibility for creating safe work environments. They do this through policies, procedures, leadership practices, and performance management systems. However, while employers shape the overarching workplace context, it is the day-to-day interactions between employees that create the lived reality of any organization. A workplace is not defined by its policies alone, but by how people speak to one another, respond to conflict, manage emotions, and exercise judgment in real time.
This creates a dual set of responsibilities. Employers must establish clear standards, policies, and consequences related to interpersonal conduct. At the same time, employees must understand how their words, tone, assumptions, reactions, and behaviours affect others. Sensitivity Training operates precisely within this shared responsibility space. It equips individuals with the awareness and skills needed to navigate complex interpersonal dynamics while remaining compliant with legal and organizational expectations.
As a result, Sensitivity Training addresses a broad and interconnected range of topics. These commonly include effective workplace communication, workplace mental health awareness, anti-sexual harassment, anti-bullying, anti-harassment, workplace restoration following conflict or complaints, cultural competency, anger management, emotional regulation, and respectful conflict resolution. While elements of equity and diversity may be addressed within this context, Sensitivity Training is not EDI training, nor is it limited to identity-based considerations.
This distinction is critically important when selecting training providers. The most effective Sensitivity Training providers are not exclusively cultural trainers.
While cultural training professionals play a role in organizations, they are typically not qualified to address the full spectrum of legal, psychological, behavioural, and operational risk-management issues that fall under the Sensitivity Training umbrella.
Sensitivity Training requires expertise that spans employment law awareness, Human Rights obligations, workplace mental health, behavioural accountability, and conflict dynamics.
In short, Sensitivity Training is about protecting people and organizations alike. It is about reducing legal risk, preventing psychological harm, restoring trust, and ensuring that workplaces function as safe, professional, and productive environments.
When properly understood and delivered, Sensitivity Training is not ideological, punitive, or superficial. It is a practical, legally grounded, and essential component of modern organizational practice.
Team Sensitivity Training Canada