Harassment - When Incivility Crosses the Line
Last week in our newsletter, we asked the question, “Does your leadership behavior foster incivility?” and we linked over to our Harassment Awareness training program for managers.
Boy-oh-boy did that send up quite a few red flags! Several of you even asked if harassment could happen to remote worker.
Many of you said that they thought once most workers were scattered to remote locations like their homes or only visited their worksites occasionally, the problems of harassment would quickly dissolve.
Nothing could be further from reality. Unfortunately, harassment and discrimination are still alive and well...even in the remote work world.
What surprised many of us was the extent to which remote work made it easier for some employees to engage in harassing behaviors. One of the primary reasons is the channels through which remote work occurs….text, phone, video...are often unmonitored, unrecorded, or occur outside employer-sponsored platforms.
So, when does behavior cross the line?
Inappropriate or sexually suggestive messages sent via email or text.
Inappropriate images or offensive jokes sent through a work communication channel like Zoom or Slack.
One gender of worker being constantly asked to video chat by their supervisor while excluding other workers of the same gender.
Inappropriate comments or references made during a team meeting.
Inappropriate remarks about a coworker’s attire on a 1:1 video call.
Making a racial innuendo in an instant message, text message, video call, or email.
Here are 4 ways to help you prevent remote workplace harassment:
Regularly remind managers and employees that company Anti-Harassment and Conduct policies still apply.
Encourage workers to loop in colleagues or their manager on meetings if they are not comfortable in a 1:1 setting with certain individuals.
Ensure that employees are aware of any and all harassment reporting methods they have at their disposal.
Make online Harassment Awareness training for all managers and training for employees an annual event.
Addressing harassing or inappropriate behavior issues from a workplace culture standpoint is a great way to develop healthy organizational norms and practices. It is also crucial to remind employees of harassment policies and to ensure your managers are educated, and therefore, empowered to take a hardline stance against inappropriate behavior.
Not sure what you can do to stop workplace and remote Harassment? Visit our eLearning Harassment Awareness training programs for a free brief Preview. Do it before November 25th to receive a very SPECIAL DISCOUNT EMAIL for our Harassment Awareness training for all managers.
Coming next week, we’ll be focusing on OSHA’s COVID-19 Workplace Vaccine-or-Testing Policy rules due to be published in The Federal Register on 11/5/21.