Workplace

It’s time to get down to brass tacks. The real cost of workplace sexual harassment to businesses is devastating to the bottom line. Higher turnover, absenteeism, and lowered productivity are just the beginning of the results of a recent study, “Me Too: Does Workplace Sexual Harassment Hurt Firm Value?”, which looked at trends at thousands of companies.

It’s time to address sexual harassment in the workplace head on. Here are some insights from this study for CEOs and other business leaders to consider: Workplace sexual harassment is a serious and widespread issue – one that impacts the bottom line. Researchers found that sexual harassment in the workplace costs thousands of dollars per employee.

Not only does sexual harassment hurt a company’s bottom line, but it also negatively impacts employee well-being. Employees deserve to feel safe and confident that leadership will address instances of sexual harassment, misconduct and abuse swiftly.

Sexual harassment affects bystanders. Too often researchers found atmospheres of fear and intimidation, even retaliation. Leaders must create workspaces where all employees feel empowered, supported, and believed.

Sexual harassment is morally reprehensible. How a company chooses to foster a safe and healthy workplace environment is an important part of demonstrating the company’s values.

All employees deserve to feel safe and respected at work. That’s why RALIANCE is partnering with many companies and organizations to address sexual harassment, misconduct, and abuse. For more tips, please check out RALIANCE’s Open Letter to CEOs and Boards of Directors.

Staying healthy and happy at work starts with workplaces that support employees. Workplace leaders can make all the difference by prioritizing the safety and well-being of their employees.

The New York Times recently published an article on managing mental illness at work. The author defined mental illness broadly, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Those who have experienced sexual assault, abuse, and harassment and those who support them have some of the highest levels of these forms of mental illness. Many also often feel invisible and suffer in silence. Sexual assault victims represent the largest non-combat group of individuals with PTSD and triggers can range widely. For instance, employees managing the care of children or other loved ones who have been assaulted can bring on/bring back symptoms as well.

Laws protect employees against many forms of discrimination, and employees may seek reasonable adjustments in their work from their employers. In a world where corporate culture often prioritizes productivity over employee health, leaders must change the way we do business. Healthy workplaces where employees are valued and mental illness is not stigmatized balance the needs of the organization with the needs of the employee.

Each day, RALIANCE is helping leaders establish safe environments and strong communities. And in the meantime, this article offers many ideas on how to empower employees and is a call to action for companies to do a better job.

Ansari’s fall from grace deepened a crucial divide in the #MeToo reckoning, according to Vox’s Caroline Framke, exposing this duality of the “good feminist ally” who wore his Time’s Up pin proudly who also acted this way. Now the guy who wrote the book on Modern Romance is poised for a comeback. His new stand-up comedy special, “Aziz Ansari: Right Now,” premiered today on Netflix, in which he addresses the sexual misconduct.  

It begs the question in the #MeToo era: Are we ready to talk about redemption songs? 

According to the woman whose story sparked Aziz’s #MeToo spotlight, Ansari texted her later stating: “Clearly I misread things in the moment and I’m truly sorry.” (Babe.net January 2018). Also in this text he discusses his intention, not his impact. Far too often a so-called apology focuses on what was meant or wasn’t meant in the moment but does not acknowledge the harm. This is not an apology.

Inherent in this story is our tendency to want to boil down it all down to “he said, she said,” a dynamic that ignores the fact that people who do these things often make strategic choices to ensure there aren’t other witnesses, as well as all the ways cultural, social, and gender cues play into dating, sex, and relationships. Dating norms and assumptions are shaped by our culture – often not in healthy ways. Ansari took some time away from the spotlight to reflect on this incident.

#MeToo kindled a fire that is burning its way through organizations, industries, and our communities. The anger and pain caused by years of being silenced and ignored are still red-hot. We have yet to really focus on prevention – we can intervene earlier and change behaviors. We have to. There are no throw-away people. There’s no voting anyone off the island. What if they, too, want to have a comedy show on Netflix and want to be back in all of our good graces?  

Here’s a possible ruler – Did you:

Own it. You messed up. Don’t avoid or ignore it – take responsibility for your mistake.

Be proactive and seek help. Asking for help is a sign of strength and growth.

Put in place measures so this doesn’t happen again. Get an accountability buddy. Look at policies in your organization.

It doesn’t go away, but you learn to accept it. You caused harm. This does not define your entire character. Use this information to be better and do better.

What #MeToo started is a cultural revolution and building healthier and safer spaces takes time. It would be easy to focus on individual accountability and forget about community and wider societal accountability. We can also ask Netflix and other corporations and businesses what policies and practices are in place to ensure the artists they work with adhere to the standards and values they have as an organization? For more information about what employees, managers, HR professionals and even Boards of Directors can do, check out RALIANCE’s series of open letters.

Photo by David Shankbone. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported

Last week, approximately 100 Google employees, community activists and investors joined together to protest at Alphabet’s shareholder meeting and demanded change from the company on how it handles workplace issues, including sexual harassment and misconduct policies. Google is not alone. Companies and institutions across the country are grappling with these issues. With many thanks to the MeToo and Time’s Up movements, we are finally talking about accountability and prevention and starting to see a true public reckoning with attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs that must change.

So what can companies do to improve their sexual harassment policies and workplace culture?

While all employees have a role to play in the workplace culture, leadership comes from the top and chief executives and board of directors are ultimately responsible for establishing and maintaining an organizational culture where respect and civility are promoted and harassment is swiftly and proportionally addressed.

Here are a few key tips to consider –

Follow the best practices to prevent sexual harassment and misconduct in your organization. 

Identify conditions that place employees at risk.

Maintain a clear and comprehensive anti-harassment policy.

Implement training that works.

Promote a culture of respect and inclusion.

Change requires leadership and accountability.

Read our entire HR Open Letter Medium series published in April 2018 for more insights.

Our open letters addressed specific ideas for how to prevent harm to all the stakeholders in an organization: CEOs and boards of directors, CHROs and human resources executives, managers and supervisors; and importantly employees as the first line of defense. In addition to the best practices listed above, everyone in an organization can be an educated and engaged bystander. Companies can use employee surveys, engage their boards effectively, and boost educational efforts internally. Engaging outside help to review policies and coach leadership about impacting behaviors in the workplace is a wise investment in promoting a healthy work environment and limiting the risk of sexual harassment and misconduct going unaddressed.