Canadian HR Reporter

N E W S 12 www.hrreporter.com Will the rise in remote work lead to an increase in online harassment? When an employee makes what seems like a harmless comment about a colleague's appearance while chatting on a video call as everybody works from home, that doesn't mean it's not worthy of discipline or at least an investigation by human resources, finds John Dujay "I don't think anybody really turned their mind to [this issue] even before COVID." Blurred lines between harassment and discipline Another challenge? Sometimes, a legitimate disciplinary message can be muddied because the way an employer or colleague speaks cannot be accurately conveyed with virtual tools, according to Ian Brown, a partner at BOYNECLARKE in Dartmouth, N.S. "When you're dealing with electronic communications, tone doesn't come across clearly and it's a pretty broad spec trum for misunders tanding. That's something that employers and employees have to be very cognizant of — more so in the remote environment than in person — because there isn't that ability to have that face-to-face conversation where you're seeing those psychological cues and gestures." Sometimes, the line between legitimate criticism of an employee and actual abuse can be difficult to recognize. "A lot of meetings are now being done over Zoom and so that's certainly another venue where harassment could take place. Harassment, maybe not directly connected to the workplace, can also pop up in the form of Twitter, social media, LinkedIn, Instagram. It's not obviously connected to the workplace, but a lot of people are simultaneously on social media platforms while at work," she says. "And perhaps even more so because they are in their own home, they feel it's a bit more of an informal setting and so they might be venting or telling a joke about something in the workplace, but it still could be construed as harassment." A potentially troublesome comment that's conveyed through digital means is no different than an in-person remark, says Lucifora. "Harassment doesn't need a physical element or some sort of geographical connection or anything like that. Just because it's done online over the internet, over a phone call, video conference — whatever the case may be — harassment is still harassment." Having a lot of people work remotely tends to create a more informal workplace setting, says Michelle Henry, a partner at BLG in Toronto. That could lead to people being more casual in terms of the comments that they make, such as what a colleague is wearing. "A lot of conflict I see is along those lines, whether it's legitimate harassment or employee-perceived harassment. It can run the whole spectrum from a situation that certainly needs to be sorted out and discipline is appropriate and other ways where it might be used as a shield because employees who feel pressure to do the work feel it's harassment," says Brown. "It's potentially a big risk for employees both financially and with respect to morale and reputation." The best way to ensure a critical message doesn't veer into harassment is to send a constructive message, says Lucifora. "It shouldn't just be 'You did a poor job on that,' it should be 'There was room for improvement.' There could be the negative feedback but then also ways that that employee can improve because then it changes from just making someone feel bad about what they've done but also saying, 'OK, this is how you can improve in the future.' There should always be a clear takeaway message for improvement," she says. "But if it's not meeting a sales target, that's obviously, typically objective because you either meet a certain number or you don't; that's ideal when "When you're dealing with electronic communications, tone doesn't come across clearly and it's a pretty broad spectrum for misunderstanding." Ian Brown, BOYNECLARKE WITH a sudden onset of virtual workspaces accompanying the coronavirus outbreak, there could be a new, emerging threat for employees: harassment from managers and colleagues through the soaring use of online technology. A s m o r e e m p l o y e e s u s e v i d e o - conferencing tools or log into social media while working from home, the problem might become more ac ute, says Samantha Lucifora, a senior associate at Monkhouse Law in Toronto. MANY EMPLOYERS FAILED TO PROPERLY INVESTIGATE IN 2018 19% Number of women who reported harassment in workplace, compared to 13% of men 3,563 Number of Ontario employers cited for violating harassment obligations 7,800 Number of instances when employers were cited for failing to follow the law Sources: Source: Statistics Canada, Globe and Mail

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