Building a Culture of Respect for Safer Work Environments

 

Recognizing Workplace harassment 

PA Senate Republicans state, "Sexual harassment is not a political issue. It is a human issue." 

This issue is all too prevalent in our society. Women and men waking up going to their 9 to 5 just like the rest of us. Forced to experience being degraded and disrespected by a customer, patient, or even coworker. Our society has a culture of keeping matters of sexual harassment in the workplace a little too hush hush, attempting not to disturb the peace or make a company look bad. We need to stand up for working people and make an active change to prevent cases of harassment and pay respect to victims. Businesses need to address sexual harassment, protecting employees, by holding staff accountable for their own actions and fostering a safer work environment through internal mechanisms.

Nikki Graf reported on the #MeToo movement, "About half (51%) say the recent developments have made it harder for men to know how to interact with women in the workplace." Since the 2017 #MeToo movement opinions have shifted on what is and what is not a joke anymore. The woke agenda has infected our society so much that now anything you say can be twisted. The safety of our employees and businesses are now at risk. We need to come together as a society and take initiative within our own workplaces to create meaningful change focused on the unique needs of different work environments. This issue has turned from a societal matter into a political one. 

Companies have a responsibility to protect their staff, especially women. Businesses need to implement mandatory trainings for all employees, male and female, prior to starting in the workplace environment. These trainings should be tailored to each businesses unique environment to make sure it is suitable specifically for their employers and employees. These trainings should explain what harassment in the workplace is but still explain that everyone is accountable for their own actions. These trainings should educate staff how they can report harassment cases when they see them and what the consequences are within the business when harassment cases arise. Republican Senator Charles Grassley said, "I am convinced that sexual harassment training is vitally important to maintaining a respectful and productive working environment in congress." Businesses need to take action for their staff and create specialized trainings for all employees and employers. 

Government procedures and policies are not enough to keep employees safe, who could be, our mothers, wives, daughters, even grandmothers. There are some policies like the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that do have benefits for citizens but being expanded into businesses takes away from why the law was made and cannot adhere to specific workplace needs. Amanad Farahany states, "Titled VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This law applies to companies with 15 or more employees." This policy will benefit many employees, but it will not help employees in small business settings. This shows companies will benefit from creating their own structured policies to better suit the needs of their staff in addition to government policies they would like to include. 

Policies written by businesses, themselves will better suit the needs of that specific work environment. They can also set up business autonomy and make sure that companies are protecting themselves. Employers need to take a personally active role in preventing sexual harassment from happening in their work environments. There are government policies that could help structure anti-harassment plans but overall, they should be made by the company themselves. EEOC states, "The cornerstone of a successful harassment prevention strategy is the consistent and demonstrated commitment of senior leaders to create and maintain a culture in which harassment is not tolerated." The leaders of companies need to take responsibility and step up for our family members while they are in the work environment. When harassment cases arise in the workplace businesses need to conduct internal investigations making sure to it is fair to both the accuser and accused. Communication is key and communicating with staff in the workplace setting about a zero-tolerance policy and stressing how serious the company is about sexual harassment will help keep staff safe. 

Fostering healthy work environment needs communication among all staff in a work environment. We need to shift cultural norms and bring this issue back to the societal matter it is, not a political one. Companies need to take responsibility for their anti-harassment policies and advocate for their employees through internal methods of communicating the issue of sexual harassment. We need to protect employees that are citizens, family members, friends, and loved ones. Staff need to be told what is right and wrong at their place of employment and be told what will not be accepted. Businesses need to protect themselves and their staff by implementing trainings tailored to their environment, a zero-tolerance policy for harassment, and making sure all employees have access to resources as needed. Businesses need to shift the narrative in their unique workplace, addressing these issues, and building an environment where all employees feel valued and protected.