It’s no secret that workplace harassment has been in the spotlight in recent years. From the #MeToo movement to a greater focus on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating safe workplaces gradually started to become a priority for many employers.
But as companies worked towards this goal, the global pandemic caused a surge in remote working – and everything shifted.
Not only did the video technology invite colleagues into our home, it also invited customers, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders in giving them insight and opportunity to observe details of our lives that would otherwise remain private. We might expect that colleagues at work may know something of our lives outside of the workplace, but we wouldn’t expect clients etc. to have that access. Organisations have a responsibility to protect employees from harassment inside the workplace but remote working means we need to extend that to external groups our staff may come into contact with during the course of employment.
As it completely transformed the way we work, we invited colleagues and clients into our homes in a way we never had before. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before boundaries started to blur – your home became your workplace.
Details were forgotten, and few organisations anticipated that teams would be gaining access to very intimate details of their employees’ and colleagues’ lives. The ability to peek inside each other’s homes created fertile ground for sexual harassment, bullying, and other types of workplace harassment.
Recent research found that more than one in four women say they have experienced unwelcome sexual behaviour online, and close to half of working women have reported experiencing harassment online through sexual messages, cyber harassment and sexual calls, since the start of the pandemic.
Ellen Pao, former CEO of Reddit and co-founder of the diversity and inclusion nonprofit Project Include, found that harassment has actually increased during the pandemic, and people in marginalised communities reported experiencing more harm than others.
Another survey found that 26% of respondents experienced more gender-based harassment, 10% found more bias related to their race or ethnicity, and 23% of those aged 50+ reported a spike in age-related abuse since the onset of the pandemic.
Dealing with remote harassment
In order to deal with harassment taking place in remote locations, managers need to set clear expectations to ensure boundaries are observed.
By making sure norms are defined, employees are less likely to experience an overstepping of boundaries by their colleagues. Implementing policies similar to those that would be adhered to in an office location will help to keep the lines from becoming blurred.
While policies can reduce negative interactions, they don’t completely stop bad behaviour at work. To truly make a difference, companies need to build cultures that support people coming forward when they are experiencing harassment or other forms of mistreatment.
To do so, managers need to develop several paths to report issues which should be communicated to their teams. Ensuring that there are resources available to all of employees, or setting up an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) where employees can consult with an objective third party to get the support they need, are key steps to take.
Navigating and managing a remote team comes with many hidden challenges.
For more information about how identifi Global can help you, contact us.
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