In the wake of lots of accusations of sexual misconduct in the workplace, businesses all over the world are evaluating their policies, and most of them are re-writing their rules of engagement whenever it comes to training, disclosing, and response plans for sexual misconduct and unacceptable behavior. These procedures include things like workplace harassment, sexual harassment, equal employment opportunity, as well as health and safety at work.
When it comes to addressing concerns of sexual harassment in the workplace, having policies and processes in place is not enough on its own. Training and policies must both be in place for an employer to be considered to have taken all reasonable precautions.
It is not enough to have one or the other; you must have both! This indicates that training on sexual harassment is required, and the reason for this need is that employees benefit from receiving training on sexual harassment because it helps them recognize, report, and resolve cases of misconduct that are of a sexually suggestive. Go to https://www.sexualharassmentprevention.net/what-is-the-danger-of-ignoring-workplace-sexual-harassment to learn more.
In this article, we will discuss the top five advantages of sexual harassment training for your company, with the goal of assisting you in answering the question: Is sexual harassment training truly needed?
Fosters constructive interactions in the workplace
Researchers at the University of California led by Sarah Pressman discovered a significant discovery that shed light on the causes of death among humans. Persons who were fat had a 20% greater chance of passing away before their time, alcoholics had a 30% greater chance, smokers had a 50% greater chance, and people who had bad social interactions had a whopping 70% greater chance.
The health and longevity of your employees are both negatively impacted when they are subjected to sexual harassment. Training on sexual harassment not only enlightens participants about what constitutes and does not constitute sexual harassment, but also makes it abundantly obvious that the workplace has zero tolerance for behavior of this nature.
It can help employees improve and develop strong professional relationships among themselves, as well as reduce stress and burnout levels, which immediately increases the amount of work that can be done. Read more here.
Helps identify sexually inappropriate behaviors
Training on sexual harassment is an efficient and effective technique to raise understanding of the various types of behaviors that are acceptable and unacceptable to different people in different situations. Through training, ambiguities can be clarified, and participants can see how inappropriate behavior that is allowed to persist can escalate into harassment or discrimination.
Strengthens the loyalty of staff members
The sending of a message that preventing sexual harassment as well as other inappropriate behaviors is crucial and will not be considered acceptable is accomplished when management makes workplace training program, such as workplace bullying, sexual harassment, and discriminatory treatment, mandatory for all staff during induction and on a constant schedule thereafter.
On top of that, the workers will have a greater sense that they are cared for, which will lead to increased productivity.
Reduces legal liabilities
If an individual brings legal action for sexual misconduct against a colleague, your organization will be interrogated about whether or not your employees have received training regarding anti-harassment laws. This is because the employee who brought the legal action was a member of your staff. In the event that they discover that no training has been offered, your company may be subject to significant monetary fines.
Furthermore, this may have an effect on your company’s reputation, stakeholder value, and staff turnover rates in addition to the loss of significant sums of money. The test of any and all reasonable steps, which usually includes policies in place and ensuring that you are also offering training to personnel both at the beginning of their employment and on a regular basis, is so frequently overlooked.
Motivates individuals to come forward with reports of sexual harassment
According to the data from the Australian Human Rights Commission, only 19% of those who are victims of sexual harassment come forward. This indicates that supervisors, managers, and executives may miss noticing 83 percent of occurrences until it is too late to do anything about it.
Employees can be effectively educated and encouraged to report incidences or prospective concerns through the use of an efficient instrument called training. It is a straightforward method of conveying to them the procedure for filing a complaint, and it also raises awareness of the policy your organization has in place regarding sexual harassment as well as other inappropriate behaviors.
Conclusion
When we start to evaluate the benefits of offering appropriate sexual harassment training courses, it makes investing in one an essential thing for any business.
Not only does this demonstrate to your staff that you care about them and are making an effort to do what is best for them, but it also provides protection to your company, which could save you big bucks in legal fees, investigations, and claims for vicarious liability. Additionally, it helps maintain your stakeholder value, keeps your staff members, and keeps your brand’s credibility intact.