Battling Harassment and Discrimination in the Public Sector

Recent news is rife with stories of workplace discrimination and harassment claims. Buoyed by the social media tag, #MeToo, these claims have ended the career of more than one powerful business executive and they have damaged the reputation of some well-known companies. While the public sector has been spared from some of the more scandalous headliner examples of bad behavior, it is not immune to the effects felt across many industries. When asked, most working adults would agree that discrimination and harassment should never be tolerated in or out of the workplace. Yet, you need look no further than Google News to know it is still a problem. However, there are ways to combat the trend. Human resource professionals need to enhance their skills toolbox to be prepared to stop this behavior.

Just prior to the start of the #MeToo movement, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a report summarizing the findings of a task force assigned to study harassment in the workplace. Specifically, the task force looked at workplace behavior that violated civil rights laws even before it rose to the level of a formal claim. The results are summarized below.

Harassment Problems are Persistent

In 2015, there were approximately 90,000 claims of misconduct based on the designations of protected groupings such as sex (which includes orientation, gender, and pregnancy), race, nationality, religion, and disabilities. Bearing in mind that some of the groups have been protected for decades, this statistic is a little grim. Further, for every case that is formally reported, there are three more that are not. Most workers endure harassment because they believe that they will not be taken seriously by their leadership, ostracized, or even face retaliation.

The Case to Stop Harassment

Without a doubt, providing a safe and stable work environment is a goal of almost every business executive in the public or private sector. Beyond simple human decency, hostile environments cost local governments in operational and financial efficiency and hurt their reputation. In the public sector, this means taxpayer funds are used to cover claims and decreased employee morale becomes apparent. The EEOC recovered nearly 165 million dollars for victims of harassment. That figure does not include the time and productivity lost to the entity, damage to the entity’s reputation, and other less tangible harm. Stopping harassment before it starts makes good sense.

Leaders Must Take an Active Role

This almost goes without saying, but leadership really sets the tone embraced by the whole organization. You need look no further than Uber to understand how workplace culture starts at the very top. Leaders and elected officials must be willing to do more than just speak. They need to give time and resources to develop effective anti-harassment systems. Employees need to be trained regularly on acceptable behavior. They need to know that they are protected and that retaliation for incident reporting will not be tolerated. Those who are tasked with responding to reports need to be rewarded for doing their job, and penalized for failing to do so. Organizations that take the time to develop a healthy culture will thrive.

Leadership is Committed…Now What?

Nothing is as sure to elicit a groan as easily as workplace training. However, proper training is one of the most effective ways to combat bad behavior. In the past, harassment training focused on legal liability. The most recent training, however, is focused more on worker engagement, and it is this type of training that is the most effective. For example, like anti-bullying campaigns in public schools, the latest harassment training has centered on peer intervention. In other words, if you see bad behavior, intervene. Victims often feel isolated. Intervention training is designed to combat that feeling of isolation.

Workplace Evaluation

One of the easiest ways to start reviewing harassment training and policy is with a self-evaluation. OneBeacon Government Risks has developed checklists to help that are available for download. The results are easy to understand. If an item cannot be checked off, you need to review that part of your anti-harassment policy.

The public sector may not have suffered from the fallout of #MeToo as drastically as our colleagues in private industry, but we need to remain vigilant and proactive. Setting the culture from the top and providing proper support for your employees is the most effective way to combat harassment and discrimination.