Canadian HR Reporter

February 2019 CAN

Canadian HR Reporter is the national journal of human resource management. It features the latest workplace news, HR best practices, employment law commentary and tools and tips for employers to get the most out of their workforce.

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CANADIAN HR REPORTER FEBRUARY 2019 NEWS 3 Workplace harassment experienced by almost 20 per cent of women: StatCan Women also more likely to be harassed by employer's clients or customers BY JOHN DUJAY HARASSMENT and abuse on the job continue to plague many Canadian workplaces, according to a Statistics Canada study. Almost one-fifth (19 per cent) of women and 13 per cent of men reported they suffered some form of harassment in the past year, according to Harassment in Ca- nadian Workplaces, which used data from the 2016 General Social Survey on Canadians at Work and Home: "Harassment in the workplace comes in a variety of forms, as it can range from interpersonal mistreatment, such as disrespect, condescension and degradation, to more physical forms of harass- ment such as physical assault, sex- ual assault, bullying or the threat of harm." e problem persists despite ef- forts to address it, according to Irit Kelman, workplace investigator and trainer at Rubin omlinson in Toronto. "We do see harassment allega- tions all the time but (you can see) how pervasive it is when you look at the percentages and convert it: You've got almost one in five working women and one in seven working men who say they've ex- perienced harassment in the past year." Women (53 per cent) are also more likely to say they received harassment from a client or cus- tomer than men (42 per cent), found Statistics Canada. Harassment in all forms — sexual harassment, bullying or harassment — has been going on for centuries, said Wendy Giuffre, president and principal consul- tant at Wendy Ellen HR consul- tancy in Calgary. "It's only in the last 10 years that it's come to the forefront." But most employers are get- ting the message that harassment cannot be tolerated, according to Kent Highnam, program director at the School of Health, Commu- nity & Social Justice at the Justice Institute of British Columbia in Vancouver. "We're surrounded in society by the #MeToo movement and other social groundswells of awareness and advocacy, and that has to have an impact on the workplace," said Highnam. "ere is also a generational shift, there's more diversity in the workplaces now, there are people who identify with one or a num- ber of different genders, and it's al- most not an option for employers to not become more aware of and more sensitive to how this diver- sity needs to be accommodated in the workplace." Harassment and the bottom line Eliminating harassment is not only the right thing to do mor- ally, but also financially, said Dan Boucher, director of regulatory affairs research at Chartered Pro- fessionals in Human Resources (CPHR) Alberta, in Calgary. "In the short term, you've got costs associated with investiga- tions, with legal advice, but in the long term, the workplace where harassment is not addressed is going to suffer from higher turn- over from lower engagement and lower productivity," he said. "Our research in Alberta shows that the average cost for turnover per employee is just under $25,500," said Boucher. "On top of that, harassment can impact an employer's brand. If an employer is known to disre- gard harassment, then it's going to become all the more difficult to recruit talent, and the public relation costs to the organization are pretty substantial." Statistics Canada also found about 47 per cent of men and 34 per cent of women who had been harassed by a supervisor or man- ager had a weak sense of belong- ing to their current organization, compared with 16 per cent of both women and men who said they had not been harassed at work in the past year. Lower worker productivity can become more acute in abu- sive workplaces, according to Kelman. "e impact on someone who has witnessed harassment (can be) just as strong on the person TRAINING > pg. 9 "It's only in the last 10 years that it's come to the forefront." Talk to us today about how we can help your employees save money, save time and feel good. .com 1.866.383.6646 beyond WorkPerks ® is an exclusive discount program designed to enhance employee experience beyond the workplace. A benefi t program for the good times.

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