Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER DECEMBER 2018 NEWS 3 #MeToo movement leading to changed behaviours at work: Experts But preference for anonymity, fewer get-togethers leads to challenges for employers BY SARAH DOBSON JUST over one year ago, news broke about sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations against Hollywood producer Har- vey Weinstein. Similar allegations spread quickly as the #MeToo movement gained traction and toppled many leaders. So, how have employers re- sponded over the past 12 months? One-third of executives say they have altered their actions to avoid behaviours that could be per- ceived as sexual harassment, ac- cording to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Manage- ment (SHRM). ese include using careful or mindful language (24 per cent), avoiding specific topics or jokes (16 per cent), extreme reactions, such as not talking to women (11 per cent), no touching (nine per cent) and a policy change or new training (six per cent). In some parts of the United States, a leader might greet em- ployees with a hug or "sweetheart" or "honey," said Johnny Taylor, CEO of SHRM in Alexandria, Va. "ey were never intended to be anything but terms of endear- ment, pleasantries that were ex- changed," he said. "Whether they intended it or not, (the #Metoo movement) was an important way to highlight to those execu- tives that maybe you shouldn't do this, even if it was harmless." However, the changes have also meant some executives are going so far as to not invite female col- leagues to networking events or on business trips, said Taylor. "ose conversations are being had, quietly and privately, and… these are not serial sexual harass- ers who are worried about being caught, these are people who are just trying to manage the risk to their reputation and their lives, and these are otherwise very fine men… it's just risk management, period." It's important that people don't over-react, and know that a ran- dom suggestion by one person has never brought down a CEO, he said. "I appeal to their common sense, to say, 'You don't want your daughter, mom, wife, female friends to be excluded from op- portunities because of your para- noia.' I really put it in that context, and that helps them say, 'OK, I probably did over-correct.' But it's real and it would do us as a com- munity if in training we have those conversations." It's rare to see a single, isolated allegation by an employee — there's often a pattern of conduct involving various employees, said Sunira Chaudhri, a partner at Lev- itt in Toronto. "More often than not, when we're dealing with serious alle- gations in the workplace that are #MeToo-like and deal with sexual harassment or misconduct, it's not just one employee's experience." But while employers have cer- tainly looked at changing the workplace, many are hanging onto that work-hard, play-hard culture and mentality, she said. "Especially in industries where they're client-facing, there's a lot of pressure on sales or revenue generation, rewarding employees has often been (about) big boozy parties — and that culture has to change, frankly." Many female executives are worried about their opportuni- ties being limited, particularly if there's a reversion to the Old Boys club mentality because many members of management just don't feel like it's safe, said Chaudhri. "Many male executives are wor- ried about false allegations and they do wonder what could they possibly do to avoid that, or avoid the fallout of that? And what many are doing, or considering doing, is changing the way they do busi- ness, which could be very harmful for women." Executives have asked about how they should adjust their be- haviour, while looking to send a strong message to the company because if they're not behaving properly, then employees are not going to be able to know what standard behaviour should be like, said Stephanie Weschler, a partner at Stikeman Elliot in Montreal. e issue of being alone with people of the opposite sex is top of mind and often comes up in training, she said. "My answer to that is that is clearly that's the opposite effect HR > pg. 10

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