Can you imagine
EEOC’s Task Force completed a “Study of Harassment in the Workplace” and identified five core principles proven to be effective in preventing and addressing harassment:
1. Leadership & Accountability
Commitment and culture from Senior management to create a culture of zero tollerance.
2. Harassment Policy
Every company should have a comprehensive and regularly communicated harassement policy in place.
3. Accessible Harassment Complaint System
Among several benefits this also encourages employees to report potential problems early.
4. Harassment Training
Training should educate employees about the company’s policy and complaint system and desired culture of respect.
According to Eli, Inc., a training company that helps organizations solve the problem of bad behavior in the workplace, these are the steps organizations can take:
1. Define Harassment
Clarify what this word means within your organization.
2. Require Employee Practice
Employees should know exactly what to do when confronted or when they witness something that makes them uncomfortable.
3. Focus on Leadership
Company leaders must personally exemplify the kind of behavior that they want their employees to exhibit, if they want to foster a culture where employees feel safe.
4. Stay Consistent
Changing ongoing behavior will take continuous long term effort. Create goals and routines that are ongoing and find ways to measure the progress.
5. Importance of Initiative
Leadership must make the initiative if they expect employees to follow.
A 2019 Harassment Prevention Study by ThinkHr In partnership with Impactly Inc. showed a low adoption rate for employee (non-supervisor) focused strategies. They recommend that organizations improve the following:
1. Include “bystander senarios” in employee harassment training
Include actions to take in the moment as well as how to report the incident within your organization.
2. Conduct “workplace climate surveys”
Find out what is working and what is not!
3. Encourage Reporting
Third party reporting tools can encourage employees to address incidents internally before they seek outside assistance