Harassment, Discrimination and Bullying in the Workplace: Prevention Techniques and Climate Update for 2020 and Beyond

OVERVIEW

Every day we are learning about more harassing, bullying and discrimination in the workplace on the part of men (mostly men — some women) who have been in positions of power over their (mostly) female victims. Women all over the country — indeed all over the world are yelling “#Metoo” and “Not Anymore”.

This dynamic #MeToo Movement has opened the door for many other women and girls to come forward to share their stories of abuse. Among the ugliest of them (in my opinion) is the young gymnasts – some not even teenagers – abused by their team physician. No more will vulnerable girls, boys and women passively accept demands for sexual favors.

That’s the plus side. The flip side is that any untoward behavior can be interpreted as harassment and abuse behavior. Professional careers can be lost due to these accusations. We need context. We need perspective. Complaints of tacky and inappropriate words should not rise to the level of demands for sexual favors, or actual sexual harassment. We need to look at the context. For example, in the sixties and seventies in many parts of the country, there was a tremendous push for sexual freedom. Some people believed that now that the birth control pill was available anything could go. Much of the accusations today come from behaviors that although inappropriate now were considered OK then.

We need to separate mildly offensive behavior from criminal behavior. We also need to be careful that we do not participate in a witch hunt, finding harassment, discrimination, and abuse everywhere.

This webinar is designed to go beyond the basic training to prevent harassment. It will talk about some touchy and probably not exactly politically correct ideas in a desire to provide a full understanding of what is happening today and what can be — and should be — prevented in the future.

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND

• It is mandatory for most people
• Being aware of the more subtle issues enables you to stay out of trouble
• Having your employees be aware saves you from lawsuits

AREAS COVERED

• Understanding the legal/social definitions of sexual harassment, discrimination, abuse and bullying
• Examples of subtle forms of harassment
• Knowing the “protected” classes of people and why one should not discriminate
• Management’s role in preventing harassment, bullying and discrimination in the workplace
• Appropriate and inappropriate behaviors in the workplace
• Understanding that work-related activities such as work-social events are subject to all the laws as if they were in the workplace itself
• Recognizing the value and problems as a result of the current #MeToo Movement
• Understanding the culture and the context

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Participants will:

• Recognize the different types of harassment and abuse
• Discover the context into which some of these behaviors occurred in the past
• Identify strategies for preventing being accused of sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination or abuse in the future
• Explore new ways of interacting with each other in the workplace — as well as in work-related social activities
• Understand different reactions to teasing
• Become aware of how easy it is to create a hostile work environment

WHO WILL BENEFIT

Anyone responsible for onboarding or managing an employee new to the company; from entry-level employee to senior executive – all will benefit.

• HR Professionals
• Training Professionals
• Senior Vice President
• Vice President
• Managing Director
• Regional Vice President
• Project Managers
• Directors
• Chief Learning Officer
• Senior Managers
• Business Owners
• Consultants