Workplace Harassment Policies: A Closer Look

Modern businesses are more in tune with their staff and workplaces than ever before. With hundreds of articles, case studies, and news pieces on the topic, there isn’t any excuse to let workplace harassment slide anymore.

Companies are held responsible for maintaining harassment-free workplaces. There’s a lot of work to do to make sure they meet these standards. At the same time, employees should also be made aware that they have recourse, and that there is no need to remain silent in situations like these.

What’s important is creating an atmosphere of transparency where everyone understands their role.

Join us, today, at Vision HR, as we unpack what employers, employees and job seekers should be looking out for in terms of workplace harassment.

Employers

Making changes to policies or approaches to workplace harassment is a fairly personal thing. It usually depends on the specific culture at your office, and the degree to which you have to change comes as a result of what kind of office you have.

What never changes, however, is that you do have to acknowledge the fact that workplace harassment exists and that it is a potential problem. With this in mind, make sure that there are policies in place to prevent, report, discuss and work through it.

If your policy is to stay silent on the issue, you may find your workplace toxifying as staff members bottle up their grievances.

Employees

With the widespread news of workplace harassment ousted in companies around the world, more people know their rights. As a result, workplaces are being put under the microscope for their stance on these stories.

It makes sense. As an employee, one of the biggest warning signs of trouble with harassment could be whether your company thinks harassment is “a big deal”. Pay attention to your employers’ reaction to news like the #MeToo movement and other public anti-harassment news.

Job Seekers

When companies take a stand on issues like workplace harassment, it’s effective when the messaging they use is both internal and external. On the external note, this is important in that marketing recruitment has become much more prevalent now than ever before. When job seekers approach companies they haven’t worked with before, reputation can come into play when making the final decision. The more the word gets out that these companies are soft on harassment, the more likely new talent may be to avoid them.

Work Harassment: Create A Safer Business

Workplace harassment is obviously an issue, in and of itself. What’s important to keep in mind, though, is that taking a stance and addressing the problem is often enough to set employees minds at ease to some degree.

From an employee perspective, you should try to make yourself aware of what your company’s harassment policies are, in case they ever apply to you.

Make work harassment something you used to worry about, with human resource services from Vision HR. Get in touch with us today, and let us help you create a safer workspace for everybody.

Vision HR