The dramatic increase in complaints of sexual misconduct and harassment stands as an example to all employers that victims in Massachusetts are coming forward and speaking out. Office culture is expected to evolve as the definition and understanding of sexual harassment evolves as well.
Employers who were once content to do the legally mandated minimum with regards to sexual harassment training and awareness now run the risk of exposing themselves to scrutiny from those who expect them to have a responsibility to do more.
“Avoiding the issue is bad for employee well-being and business, but so too is a narrow, compliance-based approach,” David Ballard, the director of the APA’s Center for Organizational Excellence, was quoted in response to the poll “Workplace Sexual Harassment: Are Employers Actually Responding?” “We know from psychological science that relying solely on mandated training designed primarily to limit the organization’s legal liability is unlikely to be effective.”
Paula Johnson, president of Wellesley College, commented recently in an article about sexual harassment in higher education that “the cumulative effect of sexual harassment is extremely damaging.” She urges the public to understand that sexual harassment is inherently about power dynamics: “the put-downs as opposed to the come-ons.” While these behaviors are difficult to articulate and further difficult to prove as being directly related to sexual harassment, many times they have shown to have laid the groundwork for further sexual assault and overt gender discrimination.
Employers Can Change Office Culture
Employers should foster a zero-tolerance culture and encourage employees to speak up immediately if any form of sexual harassment is witnessed in the workplace. When employers leave nothing in the dark, employees feel safer about calling out negative behavior. All employees should be continuously reinforced that reporting sexual harassment will not be punished under any circumstances.
Employees should be made to feel comfortable in calling out off-color jokes, unwanted physical contact or the use of pet names such as “sweetie,” even if it was not meant with malicious intent. Coworkers should be encouraged to act as social guardrails for each other to address behavior which another employee may not realize is offensive to someone. This can effectively curb negative behavior and reduce the probability that negative power dynamics will gain any traction in the office culture.
Companies should go a step further and should include language about bystander interventions in their updated sexual harassment policy.
Another way for businesses to change the office culture is by encouraging diversity in positions of power. Businesses that strive to create gender, race and ethnic diversity in management and C-suite positions send a clear message to the company and general public that they are able to recognize strength in everyone. This creates a culture of inclusiveness and stands as a powerful reminder that there is room at the top for people of widely different races, genders and backgrounds within the organization.
Companies should have a robust sexual harassment policy in place that is incorporated as part of the company on-boarding policy. The policy should be easily accessible in the employee handbook and should include language about there being zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination.
The policy should also explicitly state that it applies to all employees of the company, including management, and that reporting instances of harassment will not negatively impact a person’s employment in any way. It should be retrained yearly and regularly referenced in situations regarding office culture.
Everyone should be an active participant in preventing harassment, doing so will help us as a society to cultivate a workforce focused on mutual respect, integrity and diversity.
Resources for Victims
The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) protects “workers from discriminatory treatment based on your membership in a protected class, such as race, color, creed, national origin, age, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and more.”
The MCAD dictates that you have 300 days from the last discriminatory act to file an official complaint. If you or someone you know feels that they have been the victim of workplace harassment, it is crucial that you speak up as soon as the incident happens.
In these days of heightened awareness, it is simply not enough for employers to teach their employees how to recognize behavior when it happens. Rather than take a passive reactionary stance against workplace assault or sexual violence, movements like #MeToo have turned up the pressure on employers to take an active role in fundamentally changing the office culture around employee dynamics and sexual harassment.
Michael O. Shea is an attorney with The Law Office Of Michael O. Shea. The firm has been serving the Greater Pioneer Valley area for over 25 years with a focus on sexual harassment cases.
