Whilst shifting to home working has benefited many, businesses must evaluate the risks this has brought to staff who face more covert online bullying and harassment. Employer Partner, Hannah Botes, explains more in her article…
With Covid-19 entering our lives, the work environment has changed with business priorities having to shift dramatically to ensure continuity. Following Welsh Government guidance, many businesses have moved online to help curb the virus and protect the NHS and this has been a great development to increase flexible working and supporting people in having a more agile work/life set up. However, employers need to re-evaluate potential risks that these new working practices can bring. Lone working, late nights and isolation have meant that harassment, bullying and even sexual harassment have become more covert and possibly harder to spot than before.
Employees are now more likely to be contacted on a one to one basis through video calls and home/work boundaries can become blurred. This means anyone who is being harassed may be subjected to harassment outside of the normal office hours making it possible for the harassment to continue at home. Social distancing laws mean that if you are in the workplace, there may be less witnesses around to see any unwanted or inappropriate behaviours (having witnesses around is usually a deterrent). In addition, employers are also relying on external contractors or freelancers to temporarily support the business, and maybe even juggle the onboarding of new employees, all of which may not be fully inducted in the values and behaviours the organisation expects.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual Harassment is defined by ACAS1 as any unwanted behavior of a sexual nature. This can be a one-off event or an ongoing pattern of events. It can include flirting; gesturing; sexually offensive jokes; emailing, texting sexual content; sexual assault; touching someone against their will, for example hugging them; making remarks about someone’s appearance or outfit; gaslighting. Working in isolation of others can make sexual harassment even more possible.
Gaslighting
Gaslighting2 in the workplace is when an employer or employee behaves in a way that’s aimed at distorting their co-worker’s view of reality or even make them question their own sanity. Results of gaslighting can be increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, and increased anxiety. The shift to more psychological abuse means it is harder to detect but just as damaging to staff mental health, productivity, and morale.
Other examples of harassment reported during the pandemic have included managers muting other team members on zoom calls and women not being sent calendar invites therefore excluding them from meetings3. As meetings tend to be online, if the victim hasn’t been invited, they may not realise this is happening initially.
For those staff who are on furlough, it is important to remember that the company still has the same obligations towards its employees as after all, they are still employed. Whilst on furlough, you are not permitted to carry out any work that would ‘make money’ or ‘provide services’ to your employer. Although it is illegal for employers to contact employees to carry out work whilst accessing the Government Furlough Scheme, many are still doing so. Employees are completing work for fear of redundancy or not being returned to work when furlough ends.
Chwarae Teg’s research into the impact of Covid-19 also highlighted that there were also instances of women who declined to be furloughed, despite the help it would provide to balance childcare, for fears about their career progression, putting them under a great deal of pressure.4
Due to the economic downturn, many women feel they cannot report what is going on for fear that it will be turned against them and they may end up losing their jobs. During a time where redundancies are looming and there are less jobs to move to, many staff will not want to ‘rock the boat’ and therefore not report issues. It is important that there is transparency around furlough selection and redundancy processes and that a robust selection criterion is constructed to avoid any room for victimisation or discrimination.
So, what can organisations do?
- Review key policies such as disciplinary, bullying & harassment and homeworking in the context of the current climate
- Review your current risk registers and consider mitigating steps that the organisation can take
- Review and communicate your codes of conduct and remind all staff about the expected standards of behaviour
- Ensure HR staff (or equivalent) are visible and accessible even in remote circumstances, so staff can raise concerns
- Review your selection criteria for furlough and redundancy to ensure it’s fair for all staff
- Reiterate processes for raising concerns or grievances
- Support managers and provide refresher training on how to effectively manage remote teams
- Ensure remote onboarding and induction processes are reviewed to reflect the values of the organisation