Virtual Harassment on the Rise

The pandemic continues to disrupt the workplace.  With the pandemic physically separating employees from their colleagues and clients, one would expect that incidents of workplace harassment would be fewer.  However, that was far from the case.  Two recent surveys  reported that incidences actually increased. 

A survey from Project Include noted that over the pandemic:

• 25 percent of respondents experienced an increase in gender-based harassment

• 10 percent experienced an increase in race- and ethnicity-based hostility

• 23 percent of respondents who were 50 years and older experienced increased age-based harassment or hostility.

And, according to another survey by Deloitte, 52 percent of women have experienced some form of harassment or microaggression in the past year.

Returning to the office provides an opportunity to recalibrate behavior to ensure that people are re-learning appropriate norms.  If your workplace is still remote, a manager or supervisor could reiterate standards in a video call and certainly intervene if inappropriate comments or interactions are noted.  Employees should be reminded that there are many people willing to listen to any complaint, such as any manager or supervisor, senior manager or HR representative. 

With remote work being a more casual work environment, it seems that some behavior is also more causal. The more causal workplace and a blurring of work and home behaviors might negatively impact an employee’s level of professionalism. Interactions over the computer or phone are usually unmonitored and may allow for more intimate conversations that get out of hand. No one can over hear or observe inappropriate behavior. Pandemic conditions added to the stress, making employees feel more angry or likely to snap, or feeling overwhelmed and leading to bad decisions or reckless behavior.     

The remote workplace uncovers countless opportunities for virtual harassment.  Examples are:

·      Sexts or video chats, jokes sent via Slack or on a video conference app

·      Forwarding inappropriate website links or links to YouTube videos

·      Screenshotting images of a coworker or posting on social media about a co-worker

·      Sharing inappropriate sexual stories or anecdotes or “something you saw on TV last night”

·      Starting unwanted, online conversations of a sexual nature

·      Intimidating, bullying, or berating a fellow employee

·      Making derogatory comments about a co-worker or client in meetings or chats

·      Sharing inappropriate sexual innuendoes or images via video call, text, or email

Work From Home also makes it more difficult to interact with a person of authority to report inappropriate comments or behavior.  And limited time for one-on-one meetings with managers and supervisors might not allow sufficient time for explanation since often video meetings are scheduled one after the other. 

Returning to the workplace requires a recalibration of behavioral norms.  Employees must be conscious of their conduct at all times and remember that there is a different standard expected -- behavior that is socially acceptable may not be professionally appropriate.

Continual reminders of standards of professionalism are useful, and any time a comment is made, a manager should use it as an opportunity for reiterating the standards of conduct.  Silence is license to continue the behavior, and everyone is accountable for their own interactions.