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“I think it’s senior management’s role, I really do,” said
Thomlinson. “In our practice we’ve seen situations where sophisticated,
enlightened HR professionals work diligently to try to make
this connection and invoke this kind of culture shift and they can’t
do it because people at the top don’t support it and don’t help them
fulfill those commitments.” Those in senior positions may claim an
education campaign is too pricey, an external investigation is too
disruptive or they may not want to confront a superstar.
Whatever the rationale, it’s not a stretch to imagine the toll this
inaction can have on morale and engagement.
“The impact can be huge,” said McNaught. “Sexual harassment
makes people uncomfortable. They tend to avoid the situation if
they can. They take sick leave or stress leave. If they’re at work,
they can be distracted.” Lingering stress and anxiety erodes employee
wellbeing and costs businesses money in the form of
increased health care and lost productivity.
On the flip side, there’s long-term gain in supporting these kinds
of initiatives.
“I really believe that when you invest in people and their ability to
work in an environment that’s free from harassment and discrimination,
then you’re allowing your business to thrive,” said Thomlinson.
CHANGING TIMES?
It’s too soon to tell if these past few years
are the beginning of a turning point – and
there’s no denying we still have a significant
problem. But as an increasing number
of businesses commit to preventing and
handling sexual harassment, courts and tribunals
award higher and higher sums to
victims, and headline-news cases keep the
subject top of mind, we might just be in the
midst of a slow evolution.
“Whether you can call it the Zeitgeist or
not, it’s clear there’s been a significant shift
in society’s attitude towards sexual harassment
recently,” said Thomlinson. “People
who used to be reluctant to come forward
to report this behaviour because of fear
that nothing would be done, or worse, that
they might suffer some kind of reprisal –
these people have been emboldened by this
cultural shift.”
If an HR professional can work with that
momentum and encourage the same positive
change in an organization, it’s a hopeful
sign for safer, more productive workplaces
down the road. n
Editor’s note: Sexual harassment can and
does occur in many different harasser-victim
scenarios, but for the purposes of this article,
the legal experts interviewed opted to speak
in wider generalizations based on the understanding
of men in the aggressor role, as the
majority of reported cases of sexual harassment
involve men as harassers and women
as targets.
26 ❚ OCTOBER 2015 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL