Why is workplace harassment still so prevalent?
The federal laws against such behavior are extremely strong. Between 2010 and 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission collected more than $698 million in penalties from businesses for failing to curb the behavior. Several states have put in place strict laws as well. And yet, workplace harassment continues to threaten female employees. What can we do about it? Can harassment training help?
Every anti-harassment law recognizes the value of effective employee training. They have stringent training requirements. The California law mandates one-hour training for employees and two-hour training for supervisors. Businesses must train new employees within 30 days of joining, and then every two years. In New York, employers need to train workers every year.
The training objectives cover topics ranging from bullying to how employees can file a report with the EEOC. There are hundreds of harassment training programs available in the market that cover the subject matter.
Unfortunately, most of them aren’t effective enough. Why? Because they fail to instill high standards of workplace behavior in their learners.
How to make your harassment training more effective
What you need is a training that aims at inducing behavior. Your anti-harassment program may not work, unless your workplace has a high standard of workplace behavior.
You need a training that is informative, aims at behavioral change, and has well defined training objectives. So, what should be the objectives of your training?
You can begin by visiting the EEOC website. Visit the websites of your state government as well. New York employers should visit the NYC Human Rights website, and the California employers should visit the DFEH website.
You could pick up a standard training program from any of these websites. Unfortunately, they may not serve your purpose. The training might cover you legally, but the training will not help you to set better behavioral standards. And without such standards, you will not be able to deal with the actual problem.
Remember, the cost of failure can be really high. EEOC can penalize you. Legal expenses, negative business reviews, higher absenteeism, and employee turnover would hurt business severely as well. Businesses lose $22,500 per employee to harassment.
To prevent such heavy losses, you need a training that fuels behavioral change.
Objectives of harassment training
Your first objective should be to help employees understand what workplace harassment is, and how it happens at work. Employees can face such suppressive behavior from a co-worker, a client, or a supervisor. Your training should cover all possible scenarios.
You’d need to cover all forms of harassment, and what conducts makes up harassment.
Include the definitions of quid pro quo and hostile work environment in your training. If your state mandates training on bullying and sexual assault, ensure to include the two. Ensure that everyone knows what conduct the company policy prohibits at work.
Send a clear message against quid pro quo harassment. Supervisors should know that negative actions against female employees could face an audit, unless they can prove that it was necessary. Ensure that employees know that your organization prohibits quid pro quo behavior, and it carries a severe penalty.
Cover the federal and state anti-harassment laws as well.
Under the US law, employees have the right to a safe workplace. Employers need to put in place policies and procedures to handle complaints. Your training should put forward the company policy in clear terms. Ensure that trainees develop a good understanding of the internal grievance procedure. They should know how they can file a complaint with the management. Inform them about the external channels that they can use for reporting harassment.
Bias and Harassment
The next point that you need to cover is bias. Bias, especially unconscious bias, is a major driver of workplace harassment. Careless comments, even if not directed at an employee can lead to a hostile work environment. You’ll need to address his behavior as well.
Cover all forms of bias, including bias against age, gender-identity, race, nationality and sex. Consider training your employees on stereotyping, managing diversity and inclusiveness. You might also need to train employees on managing emotions and reactions.
The main objective of your training is to instill high standards of personal conduct. Ensure that employees understand the difference between accepted and prohibited conduct.
A similar approach should be taken against quid pro quo behavior. Make it clear to all employees that the organization has a zero-tolerance policy against quid pro quo. Do not forget, employers are directly liable for harassment by supervisors.
Employers and supervisors can also be held responsible for retaliating against employees who report harassment or take part in a harassment investigation. Employers can be held liable for retaliation, even if they had no information about it.
Training programs for supervisors are generally longer than those for other employees. California requires a 2-hour training for supervisors.
Supervisors have the extra responsibility of ensuring a safe workplace for the employees. The law considers harassment as reported if it has been brought to the attention of a supervisor. Supervisors are legally obliged to report such incidents. Additionally, you’ll have to train them in identifying signs of harassment around them. They must also learn to respond to an ongoing situation.
These are the objectives that your training needs to cover. The value you put on each objective in your training depends largely upon the business you are in. A training fit for a retail outlet in New York may not be fit for a restaurant business in California. Discuss your business scenario with your training provider before finalizing your training program.
In conclusion
As a trainer, you need to ensure that everyone understands that harassment is illegal. Everyone should gain a clear understanding about it from your training. Your training should inform them about the negative consequences of harassment. Unless your staff grasps the damage that such behavior causes, they will not be able to embrace higher standards of behavior.
Consider adding group discussions and interactive activities to your training. Such activities can increase the effectiveness of the program. But, the real effectiveness of your training depends on the diversity and inclusiveness training. Use your training time to help employees to deal with unconscious bias. It’s an extremely important activity for creating a harassment-free workplace.
What are your views on harassment training? If you want to add to the objectives that we have covered, please leave a comment below.