People who live and work in California want to have a positive experience in the workplace. Unfortunately, issues such as sexual harassment still occur in spite of laws making such behavior illegal. Employers can do their part by preventing workplace sexual harassment.
The importance of preventing sexual harassment
Workplaces should have good diversity and inclusion standards. When employees are a mix of races, religions, genders, gender identities, ages and more, it shows that the place of employment truly values everyone, their professional positions and their contributions to the company.
Train employees to not engage in sexual harassment
One of the best ways to prevent a hostile workplace is to offer training sessions to teach your employees about the dangers of sexual harassment. You can train employees not to engage in sexual or any other type of harassment by educating them on company standards and policies. Along with training your staff, you can implement strong procedures to ensure that if harassment does occur, employees can immediately report it.
Raise awareness
Make your staff aware of what constitutes sexual harassment and what they should do if they believe they’re directly or indirectly affected by it. This can help your employees to be less tolerant of certain behaviors in the work environment.
Encourage openness
Encouraging openness in your workplace is important. It allows employees who are being harassed to feel free to speak up. When openness is encouraged, it makes the workplace a better place for all your employees, and harassment is less likely to happen.
Create a handbook
Create a handbook for your staff so that they have a reference that lets them know what’s considered sexual harassment and what they should do if it occurs. Your handbook should also clearly explain where employees can go if they wish to report an incident.
In spite of workplaces being more diverse than ever, sexual harassment still takes place in many companies regardless of size or industry. It is up to employers to put protocols in place that help prevent workplace sexual harassment.
