Should Workplace Sexual Harassment Victims Just Find a New Job?
Most clients use our systems to help employees report Code of Conduct violations. So when I saw last night’s episode of ABC News 20/20 was focused on sexual harassment, I had to tune in.
Much of the episode focused on Gretchen Carlson and her emotionally grueling struggle with sexual harassment that began shortly after being crowned Miss America and continued for decades culminating with her settlement with Fox News following her lawsuit aimed at Roger Ailes.
As a viewer, I was sympathetic to her, and as a father of three daughters, I was enraged at how she was treated over those years. However, Ms. Carlson was poised and strong and sought justice for the injustice wrought on her. She was passionate, articulate, and poised during a tough interview and on traumatic issues. You should watch this if you can – it was emotional and raw, and anyone in this field needs to see it.
The episode also continued to offer general advice from HR professionals and told another story from someone without the gravitas of Ms. Carlson, a woman named Lauren Jones. You can watch her interview in part 5 of the episode.
Interestingly for all HR and ethics professionals, she recorded much of the interaction with leadership, and you quickly see why retaliation is feared and should be. It was this section of the episode that I took issue with. The advice was to “tolerate harassment until it has been at least three times and is so egregious that it may cause you to leave the company.”
Wow! Being forced to leave a company that permits and defends a culture of predatory behavior is wrong, and I don’t care how you slice it.
I was reminded of President-elect Trump’s comments when asked what advice he would give his daughter Ivanka if she experienced workplace sexual harassment in an August 2, 2016 interview.
“I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case,” Trump said.
No. Workplace sexual harassment is against the law, is against most reasonable companies’ Code of Conduct, and is morally reprehensible. It saddens me that our culture dictates that when women are victimized by sexual predators and traumatized by these actions, they should “quit and find a new job.” This behavior cannot and should not be endorsed or looked past.
Putting A Stop To It
This is one of the primary motivations for companies implementing employee hotline and case management solutions – to gain a culture of transparency and refuse to allow a tolerance of predatory conduct to persist. Case management solutions should allow both named and anonymous reporting to protect those employees at risk or in fear of retaliation, and they should provide capabilities to identify repeat offenders. Third-party firms should always manage these systems to maintain the objectivity required for their effectiveness.
Our experience has been that two kinds of organizations implement solutions of this type. One type has a legal compliance mandate that they need to comply with. As a result, there is little interest in the solution's effectiveness but a focus on regulatory compliance.
The other type of company believes in a work environment that is safe and predator-free and that they want to encourage employees to share openly without fear of retaliation because they want to be a better place. As a result, they find longer-tenured employees and higher efficiency. Greater company loyalty. A safe place.
As CEO of our company, I feel a sacred trust with our employees to ensure a safe workplace, free of predatory behavior and a transparent culture. I’d like to think that our customers agree as well.
The ETHIX360 blog brings you weekly updates on all things human resources and compliance.
MEET THE AUTHOR
J Rollins is the co-founder and CEO of ETHIX360. J is a well known leader and innovator who has served on senior leadership teams ranging in responsibility from Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, SVP of Product Strategy and Chief Operating Officer.
ABOUT ETHIX360
At ETHIX360, our goal is simple: to provide an affordable, flexible, and comprehensive answer to employee communication, policy management, corporate training and case management on issues related to corporate ethics, code of conduct, fraud, bribery, and workplace violence.
