Workplace harassment is an alarming issue that plagues many organizations, with 70% of all workers having experienced it at work.
Bullying and prejudice can harm your employees and damage the overall work environment.
In this article, we will explore various types of workplace harassment, shedding light on their definitions and implications. Both employers and employees must understand them and take appropriate measures to address and prevent them. It is a must to create workplaces where everyone can thrive without fear of harassment.
1. Discriminatory Harassment
Discrimination occurs when a group of people is treated less favorably than another group because of their identity. Some common examples of workplace discrimination include:
- Race or color: Treating employees or job candidates unfairly because of their race, skin color or complexion.
- Religion: Harassing workers because of their religious practices or beliefs or lack thereof.
- Sex and gender: Discriminating against someone because of their gender or specifying a preference for a particular gender in a job description
- Sexual orientation: Harassing someone or denying them fair compensation for their sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation
- Age discrimination: Discriminating or harassing someone for being old. Note that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects employees over 40.
- Pregnancy discrimination: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) states that you should treat pregnancies as any other temporary illness, i.e., you cannot deny them promotion, reduce pay, or fire them.
- Disability discrimination: Harassing someone for their disability, relationship with someone who is disabled, or perceived disability. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes it illegal to deny them a fair wage or reasonable accommodation. The Rehabilitation Act also prohibits discrimination in federal employment.
Discriminatory harassment can take the form of demeaning treatment, shouting slurs or insults, and sending harassment calls, emails, or texts. As an employer, you may be liable to pay damages if your organization is sued for harassment.
You can prevent discriminatory harassment by creating and implementing a clear anti-discrimination policy. It should give examples of what constitutes discrimination, how employees can report discrimination, and the disciplinary actions that will be taken if found guilty.
2. Sexual Harassment
Workplace sexual harassment can take many forms and can come from customers, clients, coworkers, or supervisors. Examples of sexual offenses can include:
- Staring or leering
- Suggestive comments and jokes
- Sexually explicit pictures, emails, or text messages
- Request for sex, sexual favors, or dates
- Inappropriate comments about someone’s body
- Inappropriate or unwanted touching
- Sending or sharing pornography
- Aggravated sexual battery, rape, or sexual assault
- Posting or distributing intimate or incriminating videos or images of someone online without consent.
You can prevent sexual workplace harassment by creating safe online and physical working environments, providing training and support on the importance of addressing harassment, and encouraging workers to report sexual harassment claims.
Being registered as a sex offender can have serious consequences, such as loss of employment, inability to obtain professional licensing, rent homes, find work, or government assistance. If any of your employees feel like they have been unjustly accused of committing sex offenses, you can connect them with lawyers to address their case.
3. Bullying
You can define workplace bullying as repeated and continuous less favorable treatment of one person by another; colleagues, supervisors, and subordinates can all be involved in bullying. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, 30% of adults experience bullying in the workplace. Examples of behavior that constitute bullying:
- Yelling, swearing, or screaming
- Excluding or isolating a coworker
- Undermining or intimidating employees by not giving them due credit for their work, unreasonable deadlines, setting them up for failure, and reminding them of old mistakes.
- Unfair criticism, humiliation, or offensive jokes
- Withholding critical information, such as details about meetings, projects, or deadlines.
- Invading their privacy
- Spreading gossip, false information, or rumors both online or in person
- Monopolizing supplies and other resources
- Stealing credit for their work
Bullying can lead to toxic workplace conditions that can harm one’s mental health. As an employer, you must create an anti-bullying policy and thoroughly investigate all allegations with appropriate action taken, such as termination of employment. It’s best to establish an open-door policy to learn more about your employee’s dynamics and encourage them to report any incidents.
4. Online Harassment
Online harassment or cyberbullying is done over the internet or through the use of electronic devices. After the pandemic, an increasing number of employees started working from home, making online harassment highly common. It includes:
- Posting inappropriate pictures
- Threats to reveal private information
- Sharing personal details about coworkers in a work-related group chat
- Unwelcome messages that are sexual
- Micromanaging your staff, such as by heightened monitoring to ensure employees are productive during remote work
- Sending offensive messages or threats
It can lead to low morale, affect productivity, and lead to poor employee relations. Compared to workplace bullying, it is easier to investigate cyberbullying because of a “paper trail” where you can easily find negative comments or text messages.
You should develop a reporting system that allows employees to report online abuse (you can include an anonymity option as well). Conduct thorough investigations and deal with the matter promptly and adequately to reinforce the message that you will not tolerate cyberbullying.
5. Quid Pro Quo Harassment
In this form of sexual harassment, someone in a position of power, such as a manager or supervisor, demands sexual favors from a worker in return for benefits, such as wage increase, promotion, better hours, or to avoid determents, such as getting fired, having a pay cut, or being given a demotion. It also applies to job applicants where hiring supervisors promised them a job in exchange for a sexual favor.
To prevent this, create a system that allows employees to report claim confidentiality and anonymously, investigate any allegations and impose disciplinary actions, and provide training on sexual harassment policies to both employees and supervisors so they are aware you will take punitive measures.
6. Retaliatory Harassment
Retaliatory harassment is when employers, company administrators, or managers punish employees for complaining about discrimination or harassment, such as by firing, withholding training opportunities, denying raises, or demoting them. Failing a complaint is a protected activity, making it illegal for others to react in this manner. Consider hiring a trainer who can instruct your HR staff members on how to address retaliation complaints.
Endnote
Workplace harassment, in all its forms, significantly threatens your employee’s well-being and your organization’s integrity. Recognizing the different types of harassment can help you adopt preventative measures and build a more inclusive and healthy workplace. Encourage open communication, implement anti-harassment policies, and provide training to fight against workplace harassment. Be vigilant in addressing complaints and taking appropriate actions to maintain a safe and respectful work environment. Your employees deserve to work in an atmosphere free from discrimination and harassment.
