How To Deal With Sexual Harassment At The Workplace

The issue of sexual harassment has been prevalent in the workplace. In several instances, workers have come out and confessed to being sexually harassed either by a colleague or managers. Workers need to feel safe in the environment they work in for them to fully exploit their potential and produce extraordinary results. Unfortunately, sexual harassment in the workplace has contributed to workers’ poor performance. It puts a threat to the workers safety, and this affects the worker mentally, physically, and even financially. When an employee complains that they are experiencing sexual harassment of any form, the employer should investigate the matter thoroughly. Failure to this may lead to legal costs associated with harassment claims as well as increased absenteeism on the side of the employer. Below are some of the ways to deal with sexual harassment.

Develop A Policy.

As an employer, it is your responsibility to create an anti-harassment policy and ensure all employees adhere to it. Insist that sexual harassment will not be tolerated at the workplace and describe the action to be taken against anyone accused of harassment. Develop a clear definition of sexual harassment to ensure everyone understands what it is. The policy should clearly outline the process of making sexual harassment complaints, to make it easier for victims to report any incident as soon as it occurs. It is good to note that most people avoid reporting harassment because they fear that they will lose opportunities such as promotion and so it is good that the employer gives provisions for such actions. Above all, ensure that you abide by all the policies you have written so that justice is served, should there be a case of sexual harassment.

Education On Sexual Harassment.

Apart from writing the policy on sexual harassment, it is good to go further and educate your workers on how to identify sexual harassment and the best way to respond to it. Let them understand the specifics of harassment, including behaviors that might be associated with it. If possible, make use of training videos in these presentations to give a more accurate visual representation of undesirable behavior. Remember to also provide training to the managers and supervisors so that they learn how best to prevent sexual harassment and how they should respond to this issue, as the leaders in that organization.

Sexual harassment is a serious issue, and employers should not take it lightly. See to it that the people handling it can be trusted to ensure that all complaints are treated with the required professionalism.