The black dress protest, #MeToo and Time’s Up. It’s a movement gaining strength about taking a stand against sexual assault, harassment and inequality in the workplace. You’ve heard about it non-stop in the media, but #MeToo is not just for Hollywood. Offenders of sexual assault and harassment in the workplace are being outed publicly and it’s already making waves closer to home.
We’ve seen two high profile Australian entertainment professionals (you know who they are) accused of unthinkable workplace behaviour. We have seen Lisa Wilkinson quit her job highlighting gross pay inequality at her workplace. The spotlight is currently on the entertainment industry, but with the #MeToo and Time’s Up army behind it, we will see a rise of people speaking up in other industries.
In Australia, we know that sex discrimination including sexual harassment (unwelcome sexual advance, unwelcome request for sexual favours or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature) is unlawful. And we know that while a person who sexually harasses is primarily responsible, employers can be held responsible for acts of sexual harassment committed by their employees. But is it really about what is lawful or not anymore?
In 2018 and beyond, let’s shift our focus to identifying what is right and wrong. We need to create a workplace culture that protects our employees and we need to become, in the words of Oprah Winfrey, ‘the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say “me too” again.’
The time is now to take a good look in the mirror and reflect on your company’s culture and processes and how that encourages or discourages a zero-tolerance and anti-harassment workplace.
If you need support to take the lead on ensuring nobody ever needs to say “me too” in your workplace, give our experienced team a call today.
Our latest thoughts.
If everyone was the same, the office would be a dull place indeed. It’s almost a given that there will be some level of healthy disagreement and conflict in any dynamic workplace, but it’s when these conflicts become disruptive – or impact on the welfare or productivity or employees – that further action is required.
You may already know that Human Resource Management, or HRM, refers to the core administrative HR functions such as arranging employee benefits and establishing employee policies and practices.
Everything’s going along swimmingly, your staff all seem happy and there’s no reason to worry about employee engagement, right? Ideally, you’ll be looking for the signs of disengaged employees on an ongoing basis, because research indicates that only 53% of employees across Australia and New Zealand are engaged at work.
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