Harassment Training For Employees: 4 Major Benefits

Harassment training for employees may help them detect different types of harassment, learn how to respond successfully in the case of an occurrence, and understand their role in avoiding it and encouraging respect. Building a pleasant workplace requires training managers and employees to recognize and respond to all types of harassment. While every employee has the right to work in a safe environment, every employer must guarantee that this is the case. Respectful, inclusive, and tolerant workplaces are the need of the hour.

Both employees and management must get workplace harassment training. Training is important because it not only eliminates incidences of sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination, and other unfriendly conduct, but it also helps to prevent them. It also keeps you out of court, avoids penalties and fines, and keeps you out of the spotlight.

Why is Harassment Training for Employees Important?

• Workers have the right to feel safe at work. Employees realize that their company cares about their well-being when they get good harassment training. They might also feel more secure knowing that their company is on their side if harassment occurs.
• Employees will learn how to recognize harassment and what to do in the instance of sex discrimination or sexual harassment with adequate training. Individuals who didn't understand their conduct exceeded the sexual harassment boundary can also make changes to their behavior through training before things get out of hand.
• Appropriate training can assist in alleviating fears about the consequences of reporting infractions. When employees see or witness infractions, they may feel encouraged to report them. Employees will get to know the processes and measures to follow while reporting harassment offenses if they get effective harassment training.
• Employee training may have a significant influence on their lives both within and outside of the office. Those who didn't know what harassment appeared like or was too hesitant to speak up about it may now have the guts to speak out about any harassment violations they encounter as a consequence of their workplace training.

Detecting Harassment in the Workplace

Of course, any aggressive or harassing conduct or activity in the workplace is inappropriate. As a result, it's at the top of every HR manager's list of things to avoid. You might be asking, though, what exactly constitutes harassment.

Harassment can take the form of physical or verbal abuse. If this occurs in the workplace, it might result in instant dismissal and, in certain situations, legal action. On the other side, verbal harassment is harder to identify. This is because the precise behaviors associated with this are subjective. In general, verbal harassment is described as discrimination against a person, including verbal abuse against LGBT people.

As an employer, it's critical to understand the most frequent forms of harassment. Managers can then take action to avoid this from happening again.

Harassment in its Two Most Common Forms

Although there are numerous varieties of harassment, there are two that are very common in today's workplace.

Harassment of a sexual nature

This covers any sexual harassment as well as unwelcome sexual behavior. This might include everything from posting sexual images to making unwanted touches or gestures. Sexual jokes or remarks are also included in this category. This is, unfortunately, one of the most well-documented kinds of workplace harassment. As a result, a sexual harassment statute was enacted to safeguard employees. In fact, any behavior of this sort is unlawful and subject to prosecution.

A hostile workplace

Harassment is defined as any situation that creates a hostile working environment. Any degrading, disparaging, or discriminating act qualifies as demeaning, derogatory, or discriminatory. And that's because it generates considerable uneasiness and has a detrimental impact on a person's work performance.

"What behaviors are considered grounds for a toxic work environment?" many companies wonder. Any prejudice against members of specified groups falls under this category. Race, gender, sexuality, religion, pregnancy, age, and so on. It is the employee's responsibility to bring situations of harassment to the employer's attention. Following that, appropriate legal or disciplinary action against the wrongdoer might be taken.

Workplace Harassment Prevention Training

Many of the courses are generic and cover the principles of workplace harassment training. Here are some pointers for delivering workplace harassment training to employees.

• Concentrate on enhancing workplace culture

Harassment training is intended to unite rather than divide, resulting in a more pleasant workplace atmosphere. When selecting instructors and training modules, make sure the content focuses on developing working relationships rather than fostering workplace division.

• Improve your understanding of inappropriate behavior

The purpose of workplace harassment training is to raise awareness of undesirable behavior. With the emergence of the #Metoo campaign, many employees are unsure where the lines are drawn, particularly in the gray regions. The ideal harassment training for employees includes real examples of what constitutes unacceptable behavior and how to make decisions that do not lead to workplace conflict, prejudice, bias, or fear.

• Employees should be trained on a routine basis.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) select task force on workplace harassment concluded that frequent, interactive training customized to the company is a vital step in proactively addressing and preventing abuse. Periodic training keeps workers informed about changes in rules, policies, and procedures, and it's a practical approach to keep harassment prevention at the forefront of their minds all year.

• Accessibility

Accessibility is another important aspect of training. Companies of all sizes, huge, and small, don't always have time in their hectic schedules to plan in-person training sessions. If you discover that this is a barrier to your company's compliance with mandated training requirements, look for a training course that allows your staff to receive adequate training even if they don't have access to an email account or a computer.

Employee Harassment Training Has Many Advantages

You may be asking why these training programs are being implemented. The short answer is that the advantages are numerous. Take a glance at a few examples below.

• Harassment and discrimination in the workplace are being reduced

Simply noticing and displaying the actions that constitute harassment teaches employees what is and is not acceptable conduct. As a result, individuals will be aware of the implications of their acts and will be less inclined to repeat them. This, in turn, decreases workplace harassment.

• Online training is both efficient and convenient

Companies without the resources for in-house harassment training will benefit from online harassment training. It is cost-effective since it minimizes training expenditures, and it is convenient because it can be completed from home.

• Encourages the submission of reports

Employees will be taught how to report harassment. This will encourage employees to report harassing behavior, allowing management to tackle this issue more quickly.

• Enhances the culture of the workplace

Individuals might be inspired to act responsibly via workplace harassment training. As a result, the organization's and its reputation must be safeguarded. Through training, the organization's basic principles and goals for addressing harassment must be successfully communicated. All of this adds up to stronger and more supportive workplace culture.

In a Nutshell

You should choose a program that is inclusive and includes sexual harassment awareness for people of all genders and sexual orientations. There are numerous gray areas in today's modern world that individuals are unaware of, and they want expert help to ensure that they are not unwittingly fostering a toxic work environment.