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Do You Know What Harassment is in Business and at Work?

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As the national discussion on workplace sexual harassment continues to gain momentum and attention, it’s also underscoring the need for effective workplace harassment prevention and awareness training. As an example, please review the brief harassment prevention training pop quiz below:

Which of these activities qualifies as workplace sexual harassment as defined by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

  1. Ogling / Staring. (Visual)
  2. Repeated requests for dates when the answer is “no.” (Verbal)
  3. Sexting. (Written & Visual)
  4. Grabbing a coworker without their consent and kissing them. (Touching)
  5. A manager demanding dates from all of their subordinates. (Power)
  6. Stalking. (Threats)
  7. Rape. (Abuse)
  8. Witnessing the harassment of coworkers. (Hostile Environment)
  9. None of the above.
  10. All of the above.

The answer, of course, is 10.

An effective in-person workplace Harassment Prevention and Awareness conducted by a subject-matter expert experienced in preventing, investigating and stopping harassment in the workplace (not just in harassment prevention training) not only makes the most sense, it’s also strong guidance from the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC):

Training should be conducted by qualified, live, and interactive trainers. Live trainers who are dynamic, engaging, and have full command of the subject matter are the most likely to deliver effective training. Since one of the goals of compliance training is to provide employees information about the type of conduct the employer finds unacceptable in the workplace, it is important for a trainer to provide examples of such conduct, or have individuals portray scenarios of such conduct, and then be able to answer questions. In addition, compliance training teaches supervisors and managers how to respond to a report or observance of harassment. These can be difficult situations and a live trainer is most suited to work through questions with the participants.

Does your organization – from the CEO to college interns – know what harassment is (and how to stop it effectively and consistently) in business and work?