(Phase 3 — Project Spotlight)
Compiled by Team Law and Humanities
Workplace harassment and its unexplored forms.
The word “Harassment” is not unheard of; thus, it needs no introduction. Many of us have witnessed at least a single incident of harassment over the years irrespective of gender, age or anything else for that matter. Over the years, countless new forms of harassment have been identified. While most of us are familiar with the common forms, there are a few that need recognition, especially in the context of the Workplace. Recognizing the various forms alone would not suffice. We, as the next generation of the workforce, must take the initiative to prevent such incidents in our future workplace.
Hence, with this article, our aim is to introduce the unexplored sides of harassment in the workplace. In order to do so, we shall first and foremost discuss the types of harassment that prevail in the workplace. For a better understanding of how to handle such incidents, we shall take a look at the policy initiatives that are implemented by renowned corporations domestically and internationally such as — MAS Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lankan Airlines and Google Inc. This way we hope to educate on the types of harassment as well as provide an idea on how harassment is addressed in workplaces.
Going forward, we shall start by discussing some of the common forms of harassment that cannot be ignored due to their frequency of happening in a workplace;
Sexual Harassment
One such common form is Sexual harassment. This refers to harassment that is sexual in nature and generally includes unwanted sexual advances, conduct or behaviour. Other types of harassment might take some time and increasing severity to create a hostile work environment for the victim, whereas sexual harassment typically brings about discomfort and negatively impacts the victims’ life immediately. Sharing sexual photos (pornography), Sexual comments, jokes, questions, Inappropriate sexual touching, Inappropriate sexual gestures and invading personal space in a sexual way can be cited as examples of Sexual harassment.
Over the years, Sexual harassment in the workplace has taken changed its form to include what is now known as Quid pro quo sexual harassment, translated to “this for that”, which is a type of exchange-based sexual harassment. If job benefits are offered to an employee on the condition that they partake in some form of sexual conduct, it’s typically referred to as quid pro quo sexual harassment. In exchange for romantic or sexual services, the victim may: Receive a job offer, promotion and a raise etc.
Though we might have not been aware of the exact term to refer to such harassment, this is one of the most common forms experienced by individuals, especially in the context of Sri Lanka. The interesting aspect is that this form has no limits or bounds with regard to the sector of work in which it takes place. For instance, most of us have a misconception that only an individual who works in a literal “Office” experiences such incidents. But in reality, it is evident that this has crept into fields such as sports as well with the recent scandals involving the Sri Lankan Women’s Cricket team. Therefore, there is not a single sector we can discard for not being affected.
To give an overview of the available legal and policy incentives, sexual harassment is a criminal offence that is covered by the Penal Code. In addition, the Bribery Act, Industrial Disputes Act and Prohibition of ragging and other forms of violation Act cover this aspect as well. Further, the International Labour Organisation together with the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon has issued a code of conduct to prevent and address sexual harassment in workplaces. Thereby a comprehensive guide is provided addressing areas such as prevention, action, redress etc. however, even with these legal remedies available, workplace sexual Harassment often goes unreported and women employees who experience the sexual harassment has failed to report the harassing behaviour or to file a complaint because of the social or professional retaliation in the domestic scenario. According to the reported statistics, throughout the last two decades, Sri Lanka has been experiencing a high rate of increasing incidents regarding sexual harassment towards women at workplaces regardless of their social, economic or educational position. The problems at the workplace, discourage women to continue working and it has become a significant threat to the working women in Sri Lanka. (Pathiraja, P.M.A.S, 2018)
Verbal Harassment
Another commonly experienced form is verbal harassment. Verbal harassment can be the result of personality conflicts in the workplace that have escalated beyond the casual eye roll or something more serious. Unlike discriminatory types of harassment (such as sexual), verbal abuse is often not illegal. Instead, verbal harassment can be someone who’s consistently mean or unpleasant. For this reason, a lot of verbal harassment can be particularly damaging since it goes unnoticed and unresolved.
Obvious verbal harassment behaviours include things like threatening, yelling, insulting or cursing at a victim in public or in private. The issue we notice here especially in the Sri Lankan context is that individuals tend to normalise verbal harassment as something they cannot avoid or generally happening. Therefore, most would not even consider this to be a form of harassment but rather something that comes along with being employed. This is a common reason for labour turnover in many organisations, especially those that employ unskilled labour.
Based on studies on the same, it is identified that workplace bullying has a strong positive impact on the intention to quit sales representatives in Sri Lanka. The results elaborated that even though organizations are attempting to provide a supportive culture for their employees, they would not like to remain in the company if they are bullied. (Silva, H. M. S. V., & Senarathna, P. V. N. N, 2020)Therefore, this is an area that requires sound policies to tackle the issue.
Now that we have understood a few of the common forms, next we would like to highlight some of the less explored areas such as;
Power Harassment
Power harassment is a common form of workplace harassment that’s characterized by a power disparity between the harasser and the harassed. The harasser exercises their power by bullying a victim who is lower on the office hierarchy. In many cases, the harasser is a supervisor or manager who victimizes subordinates.
Power harassment isn’t limited to a certain type of behaviour. It can be verbal in the form of intimidation, or it can be physical in the form of acts of violence. More often than not it’s psychological. The harasser subjects the victim to Excessive demands that are impossible to meet, Demeaning demands far below the employee’s capability, Intrusion into the employee’s personal life.
This is evident in Sri Lanka irrespective of gender and is visible in both the private and the public sectors alike. The social and cultural background of the country surely plays a role where subordination and respect are given much prominence especially when backed by a position. Thus, suitable policies must be introduced to address this aspect as well.
Cyberbullying
Another recent addition to the list of harassment is Cyberbullying. This is increasingly becoming common with employers embracing new technology in order to appeal to younger employees and reaping the benefits of a digitally connected world. Cyberbullying and online harassment are serious concerns for employers. Among many, many other things, online bullies may: Share humiliating things about the victim by mass email or mass chat, spread lies or gossip about the victim on social media, send harassing instant messages or text messages directly to the victim. While not many cases have been reported in public, this is something many can relate to personally. This takes a common form such as where various ‘’cliques’’ in the workplace discuss another employee in a humiliating manner.
A very recent example of a situation involving cyberbullying was experienced by employees of Sri Lankan Airlines. In the wake of the pandemic, several of its employees and their immediate families were subjected to discrimination, distress and embarrassment over various social media platforms implying that they are a threat to public safety. We shall discuss more on the same when analysing the company’s policy in the paragraphs to follow.
Retaliation Harassment
The next form that we would like to introduce is Retaliation harassment — a subtle form of retaliation and an often-overlooked type of workplace harassment. Retaliation harassment occurs when a person harasses someone else to get revenge and to prevent the victim from behaving in such a way again. This type of harassment typically has three parts: Employee A files a complaint about Employee B following which Employee B finds out about the complaint and who made it. Employee B harasses Employee A to get revenge and deter them from filing further complaints. Employee B, in this case, would be harassing Employee A as retaliation.
As much as it sounds like a child’s play, this is a frequently happening but often overlooked form in Sri Lanka. As discussed earlier, this has a relationship to many of the forms discussed above as people often do not react to incidents due to the fear of retaliation.
Third-party Harassment
Another often overlooked area of harassment in the workplace is Third-party harassment. This refers to a type of harassment that’s perpetrated by a “third party” — someone from outside of the organization. Instead of the perpetrator being a boss, supervisor or colleague, he or she is a vendor, supplier, customer or client of the company. Victims are often young adults in “low-status” or “low-power” jobs (think: cashier or sales associate). Their position in the company, their lack of experience and their reluctance to cause a scene make them ideal victims. Because third party harassment doesn’t fit the typical narrative, it remains under-recognized and is often swept under the rug. Regardless of who the harasser is, an employer’s responsibility to take steps to stop the behaviour is the same.
This is especially evident in the context of certain jobs such as Cashiers, Sales representatives, Customer Service Agents, Sales Associates etc, in Sri Lanka. Most organisations do not address such issues openly due to the fear of losing its customer. However, actions must be taken in instances such as this if the organisation wishes to reduce its turnover.
Expert tips on harassment emphasise the importance of Implementing, Updating, Reviving the corporate Policy, hence, discussing next would-be policies followed by renowned companies aimed at mitigating such incidents, especially how they have addressed and recognised the overlooked areas of harassment. From a vast choice of companies, we have selected three local entities as well as two of the global giants;
MAS Holdings (Pvt) Ltd.
MAS Holdings is one of the largest design-to-delivery solutions providers in the apparel and textile manufacturing industry in South Asia. Headquartered in Sri Lanka, with 53 manufacturing facilities across 16 countries and design facilities in key locations across the globe, the company produces for brands like Calvin Klein, Marks & Spencer, Nike and Victoria’s Secret among others. MAS Holdings employs more than 99,000 employees (70% women) globally, and close to 76,000 employees in Sri Lanka (70% are women). . MAS’s apparel customer portfolio includes global brands Victoria’s Secret, Nike, Marks and Spencer, DBA, lululemon, Soma, Columbia Sportswear and Ralph Lauren. MAS has broadened its focus beyond apparel to the fashion and lifestyle space, providing SAP-based IT solutions to the global apparel & footwear industry, privately owned industrial parks and launching Sri Lanka’s first international lingerie brand — amanté. (MAS Holdings Communication on Progress 2018)
MAS strengthened its existing anti-harassment policies and rolled out comprehensive tri-lingual communications to ensure all staff are aware of the standard Equal Opportunity and Anti-harassment Policy. Educational videos, workshops and email campaigns have been used to disseminate instructions on procedures for addressing claims of harassment, as well as awareness-raising of the types of behaviours that are considered harassment and bullying. The MAS Women Go beyond Program provides education, awareness and services in reproductive health and rights, female-related health issues, gender-based violence, career development for women and skill development leading to the creation of female entrepreneurs.
Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement education programme initiated by Gap Inc. is another initiative that helps female employees reach higher levels in their personal and work lives. This comprehensive programme covers eight structured modules: communication; problem-solving and decision making; time and stress management; water, sanitization and hygiene; execution excellence; general and reproductive health; financial literacy; legal literacy; and social entitlement, while gender roles and safety & security are learning aspects integrated across all modules.
This activity is focused on creating awareness among all employees on HIV and AIDS and its health, social and economic impact. This is done with the support of the International Labour Organization, and trainers have been trained in all MAS Business Units in order to ensure sustainability. The skills of on-site nurses are also developed to enable them to counsel workers who seek their assistance. Through peer educators who have been trained at all Business Units, these awareness programs are conducted at the community level. Behavioural change communication material has been developed and distributed in the form of posters, DVDs and picture story booklets. And also they have taken such actions too. (UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT COMMUNICATION ON PROGRESS 2018)
- Achieving and maintaining gender equality in senior management and board position.
- Achieving and maintaining gender equality in middle management positions.
- Equal pay for work of equal value.
- Flexible work options.
- Access to child and dependent care.
- Support for pregnant women and those returning from maternity leave.
- Recruitment and retention, including training and development, of female employees.
- Gender-specific health and safety issues.
- Gender-based violence and harassment.
- Education and training opportunities for women workers.
- Creating and maintaining workplace awareness of gender equality and, inclusion and non-discrimination for all workers.
- Mentoring and sponsorship opportunities for women workers.
- No practise for this criterion has been reported.
- Other established or emerging best practices.
So to summarize, MAS holdings have taken good actions to prevent workplace harassment in the company.
Sri Lankan Airlines
The next corporation that will be considered is the national carrier of Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan Airlines. Sri Lankan Airlines has introduced a comprehensive policy against harassment in the workplace, a pioneering move since 2007 which may have far-reaching consequences in work environments throughout the country.
While we have not been privy to view the policy document, sources (Financial Times, 2005) establish that the policy is contained in a 10-page document that provides detailed definitions on all aspects of a harassment complaint — including investigation, interviewing of witnesses, weighing of evidence, disciplinary action, and time periods by which the complaint must be dealt with. An investigation would commence within 48 hours of a complaint being made, and matters relating to any complaint would under normal circumstances be completed within a period of one month.
The Forms of harassment addressed in the policy include inappropriate or unwelcome behaviour, conduct not acceptable in a professional environment, assault, touching, staring, sending letters, pasting posters, bullying, insults, inappropriate jokes, spreading rumours, making threats, casting remarks, and giving inappropriate compliments. It also includes any action based on prejudices of a sexual, racial, religious, anti-gay, economic, appearance, disability or other nature.
Disciplinary measures include verbal warning, written warning, negative evaluation, order payment of compensation by the harasser, transfer, demotion, or termination of service, in the case of an employee. In the case of an external party being the harasser, the company could also take a variety of actions including repudiation of the contract. If necessary, any matter could be referred to any judicial authority according to the laws of Sri Lanka.
In analysing the policy, common forms of harassment such as Sexual and Verbal harassment have been addressed adequately. In addition, while not comprehensive, several elements that could be discussed under Third-party harassment, especially from the part of customers have also been included.
However, we notice a gap in the policy in addressing certain newfound forms of harassment such as Cyberbullying which was especially witnessed recently with regard to airline staff in the wake of the COVID uprise. In this scenario, the company did no more than issue a notice to the general public with regard to the same. Moreover, it is unclear if the policy includes any measures to prevent incidents regarding Retaliation and Power harassment. Further, It must be noted that there was no solid evidence to ascertain if the policy has undergone any updates since it was first introduced. This could explain the gaps in the non-inclusion of newfound harassment forms. However, in a rapidly changing world, there is no excuse to not adapting to the latest findings. Especially when the company deals with a global audience. Therefore, it is an area of improvement we have noticed. While stating the same, it must be noted that we have relied on facts and information that is solely available on online platforms. Thus, there can be limitations to our findings.
Nevertheless, Sri Lankan Airlines must not only concern with the compliance requirements domestically. Being a service provider catering a global market, it is essential that the carrier meets the compliance requirements of the countries in which it carries out its operations. Considering that the airline was in hot waters regarding a Sexual harassment case in India involving an Indian national and a former senior attached with the airline from Sri Lanka, it is important to establish that the local laws are being complied with in order to obtain a favourable verdict. Going forward, the airline must address this limitation in its actions and policies. (Sri Lankan Airlines, 2020)
In summarizing the efforts of the airline, it is commendable that they have a comprehensive policy, however, the gaps must be addressed in order to protect the employees further.
Google Inc.
Diverting our attention from local policies to the global context, Google is a constant name in the list of the world’s best employers. However, this narrative changed massively in 2018, with Google Employees Worldwide staged a Walkout, in solidarity with female and employees of the colour of the global giant, claiming harassment and sometimes even abuse. This wasn’t a one-off situation, in fact, Tanuja Gupta, a representative for Googlers for Ending Forced Arbitration, stated that this was in fact a situation that had been brewing for several years, that came to a brink when Andy Rubin and other male executives, of Google, were accused of misconduct, and while asked to leave the Company were paid with a 90 million USD severance package that led to the eventual Walkout. (Retro Report, New York [Retro Report ], 2020)
According to a report done by CBC Canada, the requests were simple,
- An end to forced arbitration in cases of harassment and discrimination.
- A commitment to end pay an opportunity inequity.
- A publicly disclosed sexual harassment of transparency report.
- A clear, uniform, globally inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously.
- Changes to their board of directors in particular appointing an employee representative to the board.
CBC Radio [CBC News ] 2018
In response to this global outcry of their employees, Google implemented policy documentation addressing harassment. Sexual harassment has been addressed comprehensively, with an expansive list of what Sexual Harassment consists of with the inclusion of both psychological harms as well as physical harm being included to that list. The policy document has also taken special consideration to address the fact that Workplace sexual harassment is not limited to a specific gender, sexual orientation etc. Further, it is an interesting point to note that Google has included one of the overlooked forms — Retaliation in its policy, defining it as “Retaliation means taking any adverse action against an employee or TVC as a consequence of reporting, for expressing an intent to report, for assisting another employee in an effort to report, for testifying or assisting in a proceeding involving sexual harassment under any federal, state or local anti-discrimination law, or for participating in the investigation of what they believe in good faith to be a possible violation of our Code of Conduct, Google policy or the law.” The Global Giant has also taken special steps to address the Third Party contractors, and give them the same rights as the full-time employees, with the addition of TVC’s to their Policy. (temporary and vendor workers, and independent contractors)
While there is no separate provision for Verbal harassment, it has been embedded in its Standard of conduct. However, even with several key forms addressed, Google is yet to provide clear cut provisions for Cyberbullying, Third-party harassment as well as Power harassment. (Google, 2020, Policy on harassment, discrimination, retaliations, standards of conduct, and workplace concerns (US))
This comprehensive policy has come after a severely harmful workplace environment was exposed, making it clear, that if the will is available, and the companies themselves are willing to hear the concerns of its employees, change can happen. The same can be said for the country as well.
References
Financial Times. (2005). Retrieved from Sunday Times: https://www.sundaytimes.lk/051009/ft/13.html
Sri Lankan Airlines. (2020, September 18 ). Retrieved from https://www.srilankan.com/zh_hk/Corporate/news-details/361
Pathiraja, P.M.A.S. (2018). Sri Lankan Women and Sexual Harassments at Workplaces: In Search of Law Reforms. 19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.
Silva, H. M. S. V., & Senarathna, P. V. N. N. (2020). Workplace Bullying on Employees’ Intention to Quit: A Study Among Sales Representatives in One of a Leading Sales and Distribution Company in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(2), 412–421.
Yahnke, K. (2018, January 17). 11 Types of Workplace Harassment (and How to Stop Them). Retrieved from i-Sight: https://i-sight.com/resources/11-types-of-workplace-harassment-and-how-to-stop-them/
Uniterra. (2020). Preventing Gender-Based Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace. https://ceci.ca/data/uniterra-casestudy-gender-en-web.pdf
MAS Holdings. (n.d.). Empower Women — MAS Holdings. EmpowerWomen. Retrieved September 5, 2021, from https://www.empowerwomen.org/en/community/organizations/mas-holdings
MAS HOLDINGS (PVT) LTD. (2018). UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT COMMUNICATION ON PROGRESS 2018. Https://S3-Us-West-2.Amazonaws.Com/. https://ceci.ca/data/uniterra-casestudy-gender-en-web.pdf
Google. (2020). Policy on harassment, discrimination, retaliation, standards of conduct, and workplace concerns (US). USA; Google. Policy on harassment, discrimination, retaliation, standards of conduct, and workplace concerns (US))
CBC Radio [CBC News ]. (2018, November 1). Google employees walk out to protest alleged sexism, inequality [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7bgDnVFfyQ
Retro Report, New York [Retro Report ]. (2020, January 14). Google Workers Walked Out Over Harassment. A Year Later, What’s Changed? | Retro Report [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqjIcG2Z-K4
Calling out “Un”-Professional Conduct.
Article By,
Phase 3 Lead — Thisari Amarasekara
Members:|
Menasha Samaradiwakara
Tharushi Kodikara
Anuradha Abewickramasinghe
Editorial by,
Team Editor — Ravihari Ravendrakumar
Menasha Samaradiwakara
