Lately, every time you listen to the news you hear about a new case of sexual harassment. Claims of sexual harassment have power; they can end careers, marriages and political aspirations.
The string of allegations in politics, Hollywood and beyond has emboldened others to speak out about sexual misconduct. This recent spotlight on an often hidden area of harassment has produced a swift increase in the number of cases filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and that rise is going to continue for quite some time. In fact, a
ccording to a 2016 report released by the EEOC, up to 85 percent of women/men have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, but only 70 percent of employees report the harassment.
Change is occurring. The surge of complaints has created a forceful push that is fueling an unprecedented new willingness of people to come forward. This cultural shift will affect the way we do business and the amount of complaints that a business receives. Businesses that do not train, investigate, and mitigate harassment will be considered complicit, and will be dealt with accordingly.
What is Sexual Harassment?
According to the EEOC, sexual harassment occurs when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.
Sexual harassment occurs in many situations. Listed below are a few examples of sexual harassment, not intended to be all-inclusive:
- Unwanted jokes, gestures, offensive content on clothing, and unwelcome comments.
- Repeated requests for dates that are turned down or unwanted flirting.
- Touching and any other bodily contact such as scratching or massaging a coworker's back, grabbing an employee around the waist, or interfering with an employee's ability to move.
- Sending emails of a sexual nature.
- Displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures, or posters.
- Playing sexually suggestive music.
In a perfect world, when an employee experiences harassment of any kind they will head immediately to HR. That is where a sensitive, well-trained professional conducts an immediate and impartial investigation followed by appropriate action to remediate or prevent the prohibited conduct from continuing. Since we all know we do not live in a perfect world, we have put together a list of the steps every organization should take that will put your organization on the right path.
1. Develop, Install, and Follow Strong Polices
Step number one in any workforce is to have a group of policies in your handbook that layout your sexual harassment policy, a general harassment policy, a policy that outlines how a harassment investigation will be conducted in your company, an anti-retaliation policy, and finally a policy that
prohibits an employee in a supervisory role from dating a subordinate employee and that details the steps required should a relationship form.
2. Train Your Staff and Supervisors on Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment prevention starts with a change of behavior. Behavior change is brought about by knowledge and training. Although some behavior is easy to identify as inappropriate, many actions that may appear innocent on the surface can be viewed as incidents of sexual harassment to others. Employee and supervisor participation in a workplace sexual harassment training is one preventive measure your organization can take to make staff aware of your policy on unacceptable behaviors, and how to report and address those behaviors when they occur.
3. Make Sure Victims Know how to Report
Employees need to understand that they have a duty to report sexual harassment concerns to their supervisor or the Human Resources office. They should also know how to bypass their supervisor and go to another member of management without fear of reprisal if needed.
4. Investigate Every Claim
Since sexual harassment can come in the form of many different actions, HR needs to be ready to investigate every claim that is brought to their attention and then take actions to remedy the situation. If a victim comes forward saying they were harassed, you need to act. Do not wait and ponder if this is "real" harassment or not.
5. Ensure No Retaliation
Assure the complaining party from the beginning that the complaint will be treated seriously, and that there will not be any retaliation for raising the issue.
When an employee reports harassment, they are usually already worried about the hostile treatment they may receive. The employee needs to know that you are there to help. For this reason, you may want to review your harassment policy with the employee explaining that they will not be penalized or reprimanded for reporting harassment. Not only will this help employees, but it may get them to report harassment before it gets worse or dangerous.
6. The Role of Managers in Harassment Prevention and Investigation
Supervisors are the front lines and they have a higher level of responsibility when it comes to recognizing and preventing harassment. As a supervisor, demonstrating that
you took appropriate steps
as outlined in your policy is crucial. Assisting in the investigation, ensuring that your staff is cooperative, and protecting the victim are all necessary roles for the supervisor. Demonstrating the supervisor
took immediate action
and the consequences for the perpetrator were appropriate is critical in building a safe environment and reducing liability.
7. Follow Up
The investigation's purpose is to determine whether sexual harassment occurred and, if it did, to swiftly correct the conduct so it does not happen again.
Regardless of the outcome, the investigator should meet with the complainant periodically to ensure that there has not been further harassment or retaliation. These meetings should take place approximately two weeks, six weeks, and three months after the investigation. After each meeting, the investigator must write a note in the file stating issues, concerns, and outcomes of the meeting. If the conduct has occurred again or there has been some form of retaliation, the complainant must be informed to initiate another complaint using the same procedures.
Times have changed. The percentage of employees who are harassed that did not report their victimization is decreasing. Allegations are increasing at a remarkable rate.
Organizations that handle harassment well, and they do exist, have leaders who show they care about preventing it from occurring in the first place. Investment in training on workplace discrimination and sexual harassment prevention is a must to ensure business goals are met and the organization avoids costly workplace investigations and litigation.
