Harassment Prevention

Post-pandemic, mental health in the workplace has become a priority as never before—and preventing harassment is at the heart of the issue. One community-based mental health organization puts it this way, “When you are harassed at the workplace, this makes more room for anxiety to appear.”

Did you know that anyone can be an active bystander? The city of Chicago believes in this so strongly that they have recently mandated organizations to provide bystander training for all employees. And we at Kantola are responding.

In an era where many states and organizations are committed to eliminating workplace harassment, companies across the nation have put the focus on creating a better work environment for their employees.

Many organizations are taking measures to prevent harassment, but did you know that there are some specific challenges that are unique to the hospitality industry? It has to do with a blurring of boundaries between work and social activities that can create a situation where workplace harassment may go unchecked. Let’s look at the realities of harassment in the hospitality industry, why there is a prevalence of this kind of behavior—and the concrete steps that HR professionals like you and other business leaders can take to prevent it.

Harassment in the workplace can happen anywhere, but in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, it can pose a major risk by exacerbating an already critical issue: a shortage of talent. Let’s look at what the statistics tell us about harassment in this industry, why it’s critical to address it, now more than ever, and explore some concrete steps for making large-scale change.

At its core, organizations must ensure they have a harassment-free culture where everyone feels psychologically safe—setting a platform from which people can feel included, valued and appreciated. Let’s explore the way forward by looking at some of the most recent statistics on harassment and discrimination in the tech industry, come to grips with why harassment prevention must be at the top of the list when it comes to organizational priorities and identify concrete steps that you can take to get there.

In a post-pandemic office environment, employees are transitioning to a new way of working (remote, in-person or hybrid), and it’s creating a major shift in how they must navigate through the workplace.

For 75 years, SHRM has served millions of HR professionals who-in turn have continued on to impact the lives of billions of workers across the world. When we attended SHRM22 in New Orleans last week, we celebrated the relationships formed over those years and how we can move forward collectively to make workplaces better, for everyone.

The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) released a report in 2020 alongside the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund as a response to the #MeToo movement that swept the nation in 2017. The data revealed nearly one in five people (18 percent) said they had experienced discrimination or harassment based on gender and other aspects of their identities in the workplace—and that was two years ago.

It’s been some years since the #MeToo movement heightened awareness about workplace harassment, but that journey is far from over. During the time that has passed, we experienced an awakening and a call to “do something.” Now in 2022, a focus on inclusivity is reinforcing the charge that all people must be treated with fairness and respect.