Today, hybrid workplaces have become a popular trend in the business industry worldwide. Many employers have scattered their employees across physical offices and remote work environments. This is because of the convenience it offers to those who prefer to work from home or in the office, and its ability to promote higher productivity for the business.
However, although hybrid workplaces can benefit both employees and organizations, they can also be susceptible to digital harassment and other improper conduct. It can involve inappropriate comments or jokes sent through an employee’s chats/emails/text messages, cyberstalking, intentionally muting an employee during online meetings, and sending offensive photos.
Due to these circumstances, every employer needs to learn how to handle harassment issues within a hybrid work environment. That way, your workforce will be protected and assured of a safe company for them.
Keep reading this article to learn how to handle harassment in a hybrid workplace.
- Perform An Anti-Harassment Policy Check
With the increasing number of harassments committed in a hybrid work environment, it’s essential to conduct a policy check. This is to ensure that misconduct against remote workers will be taken seriously, like in a face-to-face work setting. When you have the right anti-harassment policy in place, you can effectively handle any form of misconduct within the workplace.
To examine your policy, you can start by checking if the provisions effectively address certain inappropriate behaviors, including bullying and intimidation, and verifying that specific channels are still accessible by workers who are victims of digital harassment.
Remember, by reviewing your anti-harassment policy, you’ll know what needs to be modified or reinforced to ensure both your on-site and remote workforce is protected against all forms of harassment.
- Optimize Anti-Harassment Training
To properly navigate harassment in a hybrid workplace, it’s also vital to optimize training from time to time. Ensure that all forms of training are available to all in-person and remote employees. For example, you can conduct training sessions through video conferencing and other online meetings. You can also ensure that all training presentations are accessible to everyone in your hybrid work environment.
Meanwhile, an employer must understand the importance of training in effectively handling harassment issues within your organization. By sending your employees to a sexual harassment training California or wherever you may be located, you can gain the following benefits:
- Improves Employee Well-Being: When you give training to your workforce, they’ll more likely feel that they’re valued in the workplace and you’re concerned about their welfare. As a result, they become much happier and more satisfied when performing their jobs on-site and remotely.
- Enhances Productivity And Retention: Having anti-harassment training can help show your employees that you have policies in place to ensure their protection. When they’re trained to identify harassment and other forms of misconduct, they feel safer in the workplace, making them more productive in their roles.
- Keep The Communication Lines Open To All Employees
Because your workforce is a mix of in-person and remote employees, it’s also crucial to ensure all lines of communication are open. You can do it by constantly providing company-wide reminders about how to spot misconduct. You can inform them about the available channels to use in reporting harassment and that you’re available to help address their safety concerns. You can also set specific virtual meetings addressed to remote workers to let them know that their safety and comfort are also a priority.
By doing all these, you can ensure your remote employees’ safety.
- Conduct Proper Investigation
Even if some of your employees are working remotely, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t conduct a proper investigation. To properly handle harassment issues in your hybrid workplace, you should also develop specific investigation procedures to understand the problem and hold the responsible party liable for misconduct. By investigating, you can show the offended employees that you also safeguard their rights against all forms of harassment.
Hence, you need to remember specific procedures to ensure a proper investigation. For example, you must stay neutral until you have the results, find some opportunities to support or contradict the allegation, secure documentation throughout the process, and ensure the confidentiality of all parties. Doing so can help you obtain a more favorable outcome for your investigation.
Bottom Line
Managing a hybrid workplace can be challenging. You have to balance the needs of your in-person and remote workforce to ensure a safe working environment for everyone. However, harassment and improper conduct happen even in remote work settings.
Therefore, it’s best to keep the information mentioned in this article in mind to deal with harassment in your hybrid workplace. That way, you’ll know how to effectively and fairly navigate specific sensitive issues without compromising everyone’s comfort and safety.
