Canadian Safety Reporter

4 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 CSR | August 2014 | News in 2012 — said they have person- ally experienced workplace ha- rassment in their own life, down from 28 per cent in 2012. similarly, the percentage of Canadians who have witnessed workplace harassment has dropped to 25 per cent, down from 33 per cent just two years ago, according to the survey of 1,501 people. More men reported witness- ing workplace harassment than women, while more women said they experience harassment per- sonally in their own work life. roughly one in three female workers previously have or cur- rently are experiencing work- place harassment. "it's encouraging that inci- dents of workplace harassment appear to be declining. it sug- gests recent legislation and in- creased education against work- place harassment in Canada is helping. However, the fact that roughly one out of every four people still admit to experienc- ing it personally is hardly cause for celebration," said jana raver, associate professor at Queen's school of Business. "society has made great strides in virtually eliminating many traditional job-related risks, and now we must apply the same commitment to eradi- cating workplace harassment, which is often less obvious." Making workplace harass- ment all the more difficult for employers to eliminate is its changing nature. the percentage of employ- ees reporting a male harasser has declined from 50 per cent in 2012 to 42 per cent in 2014. in contrast, the percentage of workers reporting female ha- rassers has remained the same at 23 per cent. the percentage of employees who reported they have wit- nessed workplace harassment inflicted by both males and fe- males has jumped to 35 per cent from 27 per cent in 2012. "While Hollywood may ste- reotype workplace harassers as males, the survey reveals that an increasing percentage of Cana- dians now report witnessing it from both genders," said raver. Worker protections to protect workers, employers must recognize the changing — and increasingly more complex — nature of workplace harass- ment. "Because of the complexity of harassment, it's very impor- tant to have strong prevention in place," said lynn Groulx, a senior policy advisor for the Canadian Human rights Commission (CHrC) specializing in workplace harass- ment. the CHrC de- fines harassment as offending or humili- ating someone phys- ically or verbally, threatening or intim- idating someone, or making unwelcome jokes or comments. the Canada la- bour Code and provincial human rights laws also pro- tect employees from harassment related to work, while the Criminal Code pro- tects people from physical or sexual assault. the Canadian Human rights act protects employees from harassment based on race, national or ethnic origin, co- lour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, fam- ily status, disability or pardoned conviction. increasingly, however, cases of workplace harassment are based on more than one ground of discrimination, said Groulx. "the procedures are so com- plex, even for a small workplace, to make sure you're complying with what's required under the law," she said. "employers need to have written policies and written procedures in place and the policies, hopefully, would be drafted in consultation with the employees and the union, if there is one." simply drafting a policy, how- ever, is not enough. Policies must be implemented and supported by employee training. Due dili- gence also requires employers to follow up on instances of work- place harassment in the subse- quent months. "it's not one-size-fits-all, as if everyone experiences ha- rassment the same way," said Groulx, arguing employers need to adjust their perception of workplace harassment to better understand employees' perspec- tives. another perception that re- quires adjustment is the mis- taken belief employers are responsible for the complete eradication of workplace ha- rassment, according to zaheer lakhani, lawyer at Bernardi Human resource law in Mis- sissauga, ont. "the issue is not preventing harassment, but responding to complaints of harassment," he said. "there's always going to be harassment in the workplace — the issue is that as an employer you have an obligation to ad- dress it." But dealing with the increas- ingly complicated complaints of workplace harassment is no small feat, he said. too many employers continue to address harassment without the proper training, often choosing em- ployees to investigate who are unprepared and unable to main- tain objectivity. Many employers instinctively choose human resource staff to address or investigate claims of harassment, but few invest the time and money necessary to train those employees, said lakhani. "People are governed by so many protective legislations and there are so many competing interests," he said, adding that personal biases and workplace politics can also cloud an inves- tigation. By recognizing the chang- ing nature of harassment in the workplace and adjusting policies, procedures and train- ing accordingly, employers will be better equipped to address complaints and protect em- ployees. While the way employers un- derstand workplace harassment may be shifting, the way they address it should never change, said lakhani. "you still have to do the same investigation and you have the same duty to be mindful of your policies and you have the same duty to make sure you're neutral and fair." SURVEY < pg. 1 HR needs training on investigating harassment claims Credit: lightwavemedia/Shutterstock

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