Prevention is the best medicine for stopping workplace harassment
6:30 a.m. on a Monday. You’re in the office early waiting to speak with Shawna, your new estimator, who scheduled the meeting at the end of the day Friday. Shawna is an African-American woman in her mid-fifties who has been with your business for six months. She’s easily the best estimator and probably the hardest working employee you’ve ever hired. Friendly, professional and engaging, she immediately gains the trust of customers and insurers alike and never misses an opportunity to tout your shop’s services. You wonder how you ever did business without her.
This morning, unfortunately, a decidedly angry Shawna confronts you and describes, in detail, offensive comments made to her by Duane, your most veteran tech. Shawna reports Duane has regularly made remarks about her figure since she started. In addition, he calls her “grandma,” frequently noting Shawna is the oldest employee in the shop. On top of all that, just yesterday, in Duane’s work bay, Shawna noticed a cartoon she finds racially offensive.
You know Duane as the shop joker, a well-liked and respected man who is just as likely to tease other workers as he is to help them through a tough job or offer the occasional ride home. Duane is a little “rough around the edges” and could stand to brush up on his social skills, however. Has he, in this case, crossed the line? Shawna believes so and states that friends have encouraged her to contact a lawyer.
Right now, your shop is looking at workplace harassment charges in three different categories: sex, age and race. You have a ticking time bomb to defuse. In the next few minutes, you have to convince Shawna to trust you to take care of the problem. Following that, you have to investigate her claims, talk to Duane and work out a solution—which could include disciplinary action.
How effectively and smartly you perform these tasks will determine whether you send Shawna quickly back into a comfortable work environment or whether you disrupt your business and open your shop up to legal action.
Looks like a no-win situation that could cost you at least one employee and/or the positive, friendly work atmosphere you have labored so hard to create, right? Wrong. Truth is, you can effectively prevent or resolve such problems by having a harassment prevention program already in place. Both accessible and affordable, these programs are a necessity in the modern workplace. They’re also serious medicine to cure some very serious workplace ills.
Defining harassment: Unwanted, objectional behavior
Mention harassment and most people think first of sexual harassment. Workplace harassment, though, can take a number of forms. Strictly speaking, it involves any behavior that upsets, humiliates, intimidates or offends. It includes verbal and physical actions. It also has fallen under the scrutiny of the federal government for three decades.
Beginning in 1964 with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal government passed a series of laws to protect workers from discrimination—unfair treatment based on an individual’s inclusion in certain social categories. Other laws have included the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. These laws protect individuals from unequal treatment based on various factors.
To be unlawful, harassment typically must be severe or pervasive—part of a pattern of harassment. A single occurrence, such as telling an ethnic or off-color joke, therefore usually is not. However, a single occurrence might violate a workplace policy, which often is far broader than federal or local guidelines and typically adopts zero tolerance guidelines.
Workplace policies are strict for several reasons: to optimize protection of employees, to create healthy work environments and to protect employers from litigation. Employers realize that small infractions quickly can get out of hand and lead to more serious problems. Individuals who feel harassed can legally hold employers responsible and sue for damages citing grievances such as personal suffering and emotional distress. Better to set stringent harassment policies that prohibit any potentially offensive behavior than deal with the consequences of minor problems left unchecked. This way, employers can best guarantee employees a dignified, safe work environment and prevent small problems from turning large and litigious.
Workplace policies are effective in preventing harassment in many cases because they help employees define and identify harassment. One challenge in dealing with harassment is that behavior that passes as acceptable in one instance may qualify as harassment in another. For example, if two employees share a lewd joke and neither feels offended, harassment has not occurred. The same goes for potentially offensive language, physical contact, pranks and other behavior. If no one is offended, harassment has not occurred.
This gets more complicated should a third party be involved. If another employee overhears the joke or language and finds it offensive, that person may consider it harassment.
Harassment ultimately is determined by the individuals subjected to it. It is based on the recipient’s response, not the perpetrator’s intentions. Even if the person engaged in the behavior means no harm, the person subjected to it decides whether the behavior is objectionable.
In the Shawna/Duane scenario, Duane might believe he’s flattering Shawna when he comments on her figure. He might refer to her age as a means of joking about his own advancing years. He might not find anything racially objectionable about the cartoon in his work area. None of this matters. Shawna’s perception determines whether the behavior is harassment.
Important here, too, is the fact that workplace harassment isn’t just tied to the workplace. Harassment can occur at any company-sponsored event—whether it’s work, training or even a party. Employers legally are just as responsible for off-site harassment as they are at their own shops.
Challenges and ambiguities like these make having a harassment policy a necessity. If employees know what constitutes harassment, they can avoid it and deal with it. Having a policy allows them to address and resolve harassment issues through an established path. Your job is to set this policy, teach it to your employees and enforce it.
Prevention Programs: Using the Caliber Model
Where do you begin setting up a harassment policy? Since some harassing behaviors also violate the law, become familiar with your legal liabilities and responsibilities. The federal government has taken great strides to help employers in both areas. In 1999, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) set regulations specifically to guide employers on liability for unlawful harassment committed by supervisors. The guidelines also spell out, in detail, what is expected from employers regarding the response to and prevention of harassment.
From here, contact an attorney or management consultant familiar with federal law and local harassment laws. They can help you construct your policy and put together handbooks to inform and guide your employees. Consulting groups can be particularly helpful here because many already have guidebooks, films, posters and training information they can provide your employees. Many firms have placed their training resources online, giving your employees greater access to them.
How should you construct your training as far as content and scheduling? Consider the Caliber Collision model. They’ve been running their own harassment prevention program since 2001. Anie Chinarian, senior vice president, human resources, training and administration, says the training has helped Caliber create work environments where violations of its zero tolerance policy have been few and always quickly addressed.
At Caliber, all associates receive training. Chinarian says regular associates take a class, receive a company handbook with harassment information and sign on a sheet declaring they understand the policy. To help drive home company policy, Caliber annually revisits the subject. “At least once each year, a safety consultant stops at each shop and goes over the policy,” says Chinarian. “Managers get even more in-depth training. Twice a year they receive training sessions where harassment is discussed. They also go over a quiz where they work through questions describing possible cases of harassment.”
Discussing harassment scenarios can prove particularly effective during training. Knowing the guidelines is just the first step. When employees encounter harassment, they do so during personal interaction. Discussing these interactions illuminates how guidelines apply. “We show employees how something that is said can be interpreted as harassment. Tone is important. Other things like facial expressions and proximity are important,” says Chinarian.
In Caliber’s training sessions, associates learn to identify harassment and the steps to take should they experience or witness harassing behavior. They also learn what steps the company takes to investigate harassment complaints. “We encourage them, if they feel comfortable, to first approach the person who is bothering them, to let them know they are uncomfortable. But they’re not required to,” says Chinarian. “They can go immediately to a supervisor who is required to deal with it.”
At the end of training sessions, Caliber reinforces its no retaliation policy. Retaliation occurs when employees harass another employee who has reported harassment. Retaliation includes behavior ranging from threats to simply refusing to work with another employee who has filed a harassment complaint. It’s also another form of harassment with legal and civil repercussions.
“The key to stopping harassment is prevention,” says Chinarian. “People first have to understand the policy. Also, it helps to have an open-door policy to make people comfortable. They need to feel free to bring up this subject to supervisors. That way you don’t have people reporting problems out of the blue.”
If employees know company guidelines, they’re less likely to break rules. Sometimes employees exhibit objectionable behavior because they don’t realize it’s wrong or inappropriate. If they’re educated on what’s acceptable, they’ll know what lines not to cross. They also realize that creating a friendly, professional work environment is important to you.
Go back to the Shawna/Duane scenario. If you had a policy in place and Shawna felt comfortable talking to Duane, she could have explained to him that she was offended and that he should cease the offending behavior. That alone could have solved the problem at its earliest stages. If Shawna didn’t feel comfortable, you could approach Duane knowing he was aware of your policy. The training would help him see the mistake and avoid similar problems in the future (if he still has a future with your shop). A policy will further protect Shawna from more harassment by helping prevent retaliation.
What kind of disciplinary actions should you take? That depends on your policy and the situation. Obviously you want actions effectively sending a message that harassment will not be tolerated. You need to take action in order to show employees you stand by your policy. Not enforcing a policy is the same as having none at all.
Two final notes on policy and training: Consider adding guidelines on dating. Charges of harassment often arise from soured romances. You might want to ban employee dating or let your employees know some of the unattractive consequences of workplace romances. Also, to make training more effective customize it towards potential issues at your shop. If lewd jokes or e-mails are prevalent, make sure employees discuss harassment issues involving them.
Training: From necessary to mandatory
Running a large shop in California? If you have at least 50 employees (including temporary service employees and independent contractors), you fall under Assembly Bill (AB) 1825, effective beginning Sept. 30, 2004. It requires employers to provide two hours of sexual harassment prevention training to supervisory employees every two years. Training must include strategies for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace and include discussion on remedies for victims of unlawful harassment. California joins Connecticut and Maine, which also mandate training. In 2002, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that employers could avoid harassment liability if they have certain preventive measures, including training, in place.
If you follow political trends, you know that California frequently sets standards that other states adopt. If California is mandating training to prevent sexual harassment, it’s a good bet workplace harassment isn’t far behind. Federal and state legislatures, along with courts and the EEOC, have for years delivered the same message to employers regarding workplace harassment: be active and take preventive measures such as training to avoid or minimize liability. Set harassment prevention policies and practices. Teach appropriate behavior and set paths to address and resolve employee complaints.
Employers of companies both large and small have set policies that they and their employees benefit from daily. Preventing harassment is smart not just because it can protect you from liability—it helps create better work environments that, in turn, produce better products. These policies also can help you address other issues.
For example, the collision community currently faces two pressing problems: presenting a professional image to consumers and filling a growing shortage of technicians. A professional work environment—built around harassment policies—will both project a professional image while attracting and maintaining a diverse workforce.
Ultimately, preventing harassment is about building a better business. It’s not about putting all behaviors under a politically correct microscope and forcing co-workers to interact artificially. What you’re doing is instituting legal mandates (as you are required to), setting appropriate and reasonable standards of behavior, and giving your workers a path to follow should they run into problems. You can still have a shop where employees joke and kid-around with one other. You’re just giving them a way to resolve situations when the joking and other behavior crosses the line.
Look at the subject one other way. The millions of Shawnas in this world have one very reasonable request while they labor to keep you in business—to work with dignity and respect. This is your opportunity to deliver.
