Canadian Safety Reporter

CSR | January 2018 | News No complaints doesn't mean there's no problem ©2018 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-7798-2810-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher (Thomson Reuters, Media Solutions, Canada). Canadian Safety Reporter is part of the Canadian HR Reporter group of publications: • Canadian HR Reporter — www.hrreporter.com • Canadian Occupational Safety magazine — www.cos-mag.com • Canadian Payroll Reporter — www.payroll-reporter.com • Canadian Employment Law Today — www.employmentlawtoday.com • Canadian Labour Reporter — www.labour-reporter.com See carswell.com for information Safety Reporter Canadian www.safety-reporter.com Published 12 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Subscription rate: $129 per year Customer Service Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5106 E-mail: customersupport.legaltaxcanada@tr.com Website: www.thomsonreuters.ca One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1T 3V4 Director, Media Solutions, Canada Karen Lorimer Publisher/Managing Editor Todd Humber Lead Editor Jeffrey R. Smith Assistant Editor Mallory Hendry Marketing & Audience Development Manager Robert Symes rob.symes@thomsonreuters.com (416) 649-9551 Circulation Co-ordinator Keith Fulford keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com (416) 649-9585 Sales Manager Paul Burton paul.burton@thomsonreuters.com (416) 649-9928 operations for Actualize Con- sulting in New York City. "Every organization should have a clear policy about sexual harassment that includes how to report an incident and the consequences for the harasser," says Wekelo. Training, too, should be re- freshed and repeated on a regu- lar basis. "I spoke to one indi- vidual who is a contractor and has been with a company for 20 years and I asked him, 'When's the last time you had sexual harassment training?' and he said 20 years ago.' Things have changed tremendously since then," says Wekelo. "I'd suggest a refresher training course every year, or so." Part of any training should in- clude encouraging employees to speak up when there's inappro- priate behaviour. "It's about de- veloping trust in the workplace, where everyone feels safe," says MacKenzie. "Anyone who finds themselves in a situation where they're being harassed has to feel they can say, that's not okay for me, and not fear repercussions or feel their life is going to be- come more complicated if they speak up." Simplifying the process of making a formal complaint can help bring these issues to light. "One option is to set up an on- line form that employees can use to submit complaints." She adds, "Then at least the you can get ev- erything down on paper and you have it all documented. Just from a legal perspective, I think it's re- ally important." Some action required Even without a complaint, a manager needs to act if they wit- ness or hear about an incident of sexual harassment. "Manage- ment gets hung up on this point and tends to think, well, nobody complained so I'm not obliged to do anything," says MacKenzie. However, Canadian law says employers have a responsibil- ity for ensuring that their work- place is free from discrimina- tion and harassment. "A leader doesn't have the luxury of turn- ing a blind eye on this, but they also don't have to come down on the subject in a heavy-handed manner." MacKenzie says man- agers should have a conversa- tion with the person engaging in the harassing behaviour and let them know that what they're do- ing is not okay in the workplace. "Check in with the person on the receiving end, as well," she adds. Swift consequences Any policy should outline how an organization will respond to sexual harassment, and then those steps need to be followed to the letter, says Wekelo. "Or- ganizations should take a zero tolerance stance and just make sure every single complaint is handled immediately." She adds, "If people know the behaviour isn't tolerated, then it's not going to happen as much and people will step forward more, too." Bowes recommends suspend- ing the perpetrator with pay un- til an investigation is complete. "An organization should then provide private counseling for the complainant, determine if the complainant needs time off work, and make arrangements for their support," says Bowes. Starts at the top Pau points out that, as with most issues involving organizational culture, leadership sets the tone. "What's missing in some organi- zations where sexual harassment is a problem is that there's not an honest, genuine belief that em- ployees are and should be respect- ed at all levels," says Pau. "Some- times an organization can say it but not mean it, and employees can see if you walk the talk." High profile cases of sexual ha- rassment might just be moving the needle on that, however. "We did a session recently and people were really opening up and emo- tional about the topic," says Pau. "It's started a conversation in a lot of workplaces and people are feeling more safe about having those conversations." She adds, "It's pretty incredible how many people are coming forward with stories and I think it's just the tip of the iceberg." When the conversation re-ignites trauma A 2014 study by University of Mary Washington researchers found women who experienced frequent sexual harassment displayed signs of trauma associated with PTSD, including re- experiencing the trauma and avoiding people or things that may remind the victim of the harassment. "For people who've experienced sexual harassment in the past, all the headlines and conversations on the subject may be bringing up issues and concerns they don't want to face head on, right now," says Pau. "That's certainly affecting health and safety in the workplace, as well." To help with this, Pau recommends organizations offer employee assistance programs for anyone who might need a hand dealing with re-experiencing trauma. "We've seen some of our clients have employees who are really upset at work, and it turns out there's no specific problem with work, but just these emotions coming to a head," says Pau. Sexual harassment < pg. 3 Training should include encouraging employees to speak up

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