As more employees return to physical workplaces, HR managers may encounter more sexual harassment issues. To prevent such problems, consider these three commonsense tips that I derived from my 25-year career as a labor and employment law attorney, as well as my time spent as a workplace coach and consultant. The goal of following these tips isn't simply to avoid litigation, but to create and maintain physically and psychologically safe workplaces.
Tip 1: Beware the Slippery Slope
Sexual predators exist. However, in my experience, the vast majority of employees accused of harassment aren't predators or people seeking to harass others. In fact, they tend to think the opposite. They feel that what they're doing isn't unwelcome because they don't intend to cause any problems. They believe they're bringing light, joy and happiness into the workplace. You'll often hear comments from these people such as, "I didn't mean anything by it!" or "It was just a little joke."
I liken such people to travelers on a slippery slope. They take an initial step over the line, often a relatively small one. It might be an off-color comment or a compliment that goes too far. No one says "No" or holds up an obvious stop sign. So they take another step, and another and another. Unbeknownst to them, the slope has changed. They're now sliding downhill, rapidly increasing speed. Suddenly the cliff appears, and they can't stop in time to avoid falling off it. Crash!
Hence my most powerful tip for HR:...
Welcome to a new season of Everything Compliance—Shout Outs and Rants. We have a new host, Adam Turteltaub, and a new panelist, Rebecca Walker, joining returning regulars Matt Kelly, Jonathan Armst...