Measures to Prevent Workplace Harassment: Creating A Reporting System
The next stage in preventing
workplace harassment is creating an internal reporting system for instances of
harassment and discrimination. They can have a dual purpose of being a
prevention measure of sorts-it's something else that communicates the company's
stance on harassment and suggests that any instances will be taken seriously-as
well as a way to properly address cases of harassment at work. Creating one
takes some degree of care, as you want to make sure that it will be easy for
employees to use and that it will do what you want it to do.
This article will look at
what needs to be done in order to create an effective internal reporting system
for workplace harassment. The discussion will include why it is a necessary
component to have in your business, what issues may be involved with it, how to
get employees to use it, and how the system should be set up. Additional topics
will include who should be responsible for managing the system and handling the
reports, as well as aspects of confidentiality that should be addressed.
Why Is It Necessary?
The usage of reporting
systems in the workplace for problems has long been something that experts have
recommended. As a part of their report on harassment in the workplace, the EEOC
highly recommend that business leaders implement reporting systems as a part of
their anti-harassment efforts and as a pathway to take action.1 The
need to report is heavily stressed, as too many choose not to report out of
fear of retaliation or not being taken seriously.2 To be honest,
nothing can be done to stop a harasser if their actions are not reported or
made known to those who have the authority to stop and punish them.
As mentioned previously, a
formalized internal reporting system is another way for businesses to show
their employees that they will take all instances seriously. Basically, it's a
part of how business leaders and employers can show that they are going to do
what they say they are going to do. It's a uniform way that can be used
throughout the business, which provides constancy from case to case. As there
are also government agencies, like the EEOC, who have their own reporting
system, one within the company can serve as a compliment and a stepping stone
towards submitting reports to those groups. Not all cases will need to be
handled by government agencies or in court, so having the option to handle them
within the business can also save everyone some time and distress in an already
difficult situation.
Why Do Employees Not
Report Workplace Problems?
There is often more cases of
problems like harassment occurring in the workplace than what ends up being
reported. Almost too often employers are left unaware of issues happening right
under their noses in their business until the problem reaches epic proportions.
Then questions as to why no one said anything, despite so many knowing about
the situation in some cases, are brought up. Some employees may not even consider
reporting issues until things escalate or become severe because they view it as
a last resort. There's almost a stigmatism associated with being the person who
reports an issue-being a "snitch" or a "narc" sometimes seems worse than the
problem itself so it's left alone. The attitudes surrounding reporting are as
much of a problem as the issues (not) being reported. So why don't employees
report despite understanding the severity of the situation? Some reasons
include:
Retaliation-Fear
of retaliation is a legitimate concern for those who report workplace problems,
harassment-related or otherwise. People don't want to be punished for doing
what they thought was the right thing or for standing up for themselves. Fear
of being singled out as a target for reporting something is akin to the
playground mentality of pointing out tattletales and turning on them, and it
makes it so much harder for anything to be done to stop it.3 Concerns
about retaliation didn't always suggest that the fear was that the harasser
would target the person reporting, but that retaliation would come from other
co-workers and management. In some cases, there was concern that the victim
would turn on a bystander for reporting harassment, as the victim may be
subjected to worsening harassment from their harasser and blame the
bystander/reporter.
Poor Understanding-In
a 2014 poll regarding reporting sexual harassment at work, four out of five of
the respondents stated that they did not report instances, with some of them
claiming that they felt it was too minor to be worth the time or that they
could handle it on their own.4 This suggests that there isn't a
clear understanding of harassment and what counts as a reportable event. There
are options available, no matter how minor the harassment may seem, and not
everyone seems to realize that. If a person doesn't think reporting is going to
do them any good based upon what they know or understand about harassment, then
it's not very likely that they will take the time to report.
Problem Source-Sometimes,
the reason why a person doesn't report harassment is due to who the harasser
is. There are genuine concerns that nothing will be done against someone who
has power and authority in a business, such as a supervisor or even the
employer. The status of these harassers provide them with some backing and
support that their victims might not have access to. In cases where the
harassment occurred in a male-dominated workplace and the victim was female,
there are aspects of masculine culture that downplays even the severest
harassment simply because it's a woman being harassed by her male
peer/superior.5 Disparity of power between the harasser and the
victim can make reporting seem like a wasteful effort if the harasser has more
power.
Lack of Policies, Resources-Without the proper guidelines and resources, there isn't
much that can be done with reporting. Companies that lack the proper
information and resources available for employees to report harassment are
putting themselves at a serious disadvantage. It's not just there being an
outright lack of information-which is totally possible-but there's not enough
in place to put what information is
there to good use. If it's too complicated or vague, people are not going to
know how to use the options they have, or even know that they have options.6
How To Get Them To
Use It
A business could have the
best reporting system in the world for harassment but it does nothing if no one
is using it. Getting employees to report cases of harassment is going to be one
of the biggest challenges to prevention efforts for many of the reasons already
discussed. So how do you convince employees to use the system despite their
fears and concerns? Some of the ways that might be helpful include7:
Awareness and Accessibility-You want to make sure that the reporting system and other
options are well-known throughout the company. Make the information and the
policies regarding harassment explicitly clear to all staff and remind them on
occasion. It should not be treated as a secret and the information should be
kept in easily accessible places (e.g. employee handbooks). The system itself
should also be easily accessible, as it can be discouraging if it's too
difficult to use or find. Awareness and accessibility for the reporting system
should be brought up when new employees sign on, at regular training or
education sessions, when policies are updated, etc.
Commit To It-Leaders
of a business should not just create a system and then leave it alone: remember, you want to show that you actually care and that you're just not
saying that you do. Commit to your efforts, practice zero-tolerance, enforce
policies, get involved in training and educating staff, etc. Have an open door
policy with your employees to show that they can come talk to you if they need
help and that you can be trusted. Communicate that you care about helping stop
workplace harassment with both your words and your actions.
Stress Confidentiality-Part
of the reason why people fear retaliation for reporting harassment, or any work
problem, is that they are afraid that people will find out. If employees do not
feel that their complaint or report will remain confidential to the necessary
parties, they won't take the risk of reporting. Stressing confidentiality as a
major component of a reporting system, again, shows that the company is taking
things seriously and are willing to protect reporters from further abuse. While
confidentiality can only go so far-the proper authorities will need to know the
details of the situation, and harassers will often realize who reported them
based on the details-it should be respected and kept to the highest extent
possible.8 This means making sure that the information is
need-to-know and only sharing things relevant to the person information is
being shared with.
What Should Be
Included?
A good reporting system
should include several elements in order for it to work and for the proper action
to be taken in response. If you're putting together one from scratch rather
than a commercially available program, then you should consider including some
of the following9:
How Are Complaints/Reports Filed?-What channels do employees need to go through in order to
file their complaint? Is it in-person, electronically, a form, call-in over the
phone, or some other method? You have to decide how reports are going to be
filed in order for that information to be made available. There may also be
some value in having multiple methods available, so long as they are all
officially a part of the system and are treated the same.
What Information Is Needed?-Some businesses require a lot of information for
complaints while others want just the main details. Depending on the
circumstances, a reporter may not be able to provide a lot of detail (e.g. if
the harasser was anonymous) so not all complaints will be very extensive. There
will, however, be some that are very extensive because the harassment was extensive.
At minimum, a complaint should include who was involved, what happened, and
when it happened. A complaint should not be discounted if some of that
information isn't included or if it's not very detailed
Who Is Handling Reports?-In addition to deciding on what information and method(s)
of reporting is going to be used, you also need to decide on WHO is going to be
operating the reporting system. Most businesses and companies regulated it to
their HR department, but you can also assign it to specific staff members. If
you have a large system for reporting multiple issues (ethics violations,
safety, etc.), then you may want to put someone in charge who can handle things
effectively.
The Investigation Phase-Usually, the next stage in the reporting system after a
complaint has been made is to investigate the claims. This means verifying the
information in the complaint, interviewing those involved, and reviewing the
relevant information. Occasionally, the business' legal counsel may need to be
consulted just to make sure that the investigation is not overstepping any
legal bounds and is acting appropriately. Investigators can be someone outside
of the company, and there are businesses who offer those services. This keeps
things neutral and prevents any favoritism that can cloud the results.
Being Transparent-While
you want to keep harassment complaints confidential, there are going to be some
people who need to be informed of the circumstances. As mentioned, you want to
ensure that only those who need to know are informed as the investigation
proceeds and good judgement should be used in regards to private information.
Some companies will alert employees to serious instances, but will have a
summed-up and simplified version shared that omits personal details about those
involved. The person who filed the report, however, should be kept in the loop
about every stage of the investigation.
Finding Conclusions and Taking Actions-At the end of the reporting system's progress, a
conclusion should be reached. The results of the investigation should be shared
with the relevant people (the reporter, victim, harasser, HR, etc.) before
formal actions are taken. This ensures that everyone is on the right page
before further steps are made and people have time to prepare (e.g. get a
lawyer). At this time, any agencies that have not already been notified are
contacted as things move towards a resolution.
