As we know, silence fuels harassment in the workplace. Employees often remain silent in the face of workplace harassment for fear of retaliation in response to speaking up and reporting their experiences. In addition, traditional internal reporting systems remain complicit and oftentimes encourage silence in the workplace, adding another layer of difficulty for employees to report.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), when policies require employees to internally report to their HR department, manager, supervisor, or a union representative, 70% of individuals who experienced harassment never report the incident, and instead are more likely to avoid the harasser, deny or downplay their experience or try to ignore or endure the behavior. Enduring this behavior and remaining silent can be incredibly detrimental to employee mental health and impact employee performance, costing companies up to $2.62 billion in lost productivity.
If we have learned anything from the #MeToo Movement over the past few years, it is that the standard reporting policies and systems in place are woefully inadequate and leave employees to suffer in silence. While some may focus on the lack of reporting, we understand that the real issue is the lack of solutions for safe and effective reporting.
That’s why our team at Work Shield is so passionate about the work that we do and the solutions that we provide. We believe that all employees’ voices matter and that it is critical that everyone has access and opportunities to be heard in the workplace. By removing internal bias and offering third-party investigations with certified professionals, we ensure that employees are able to speak up about their experiences. When business leaders implement solutions like Work Shield, employees can know that their voices matter.
We are committed to providing a safe workplace environment for everyone and every voice to be heard. To learn more about Work Shield, contact us here.
About Jared Pope
Jared is Founder and CEO of Work Shield, the only start-to-finish workplace harassment and discrimination reporting, investigation and resolution solution that protects employees, employers and cultures at the same time. Jared practiced law and ran a practice focused on human resources, ERISA, benefits and employment matters for over 15 years and is a knowledgeable resource on workplace culture and harassment and discrimination issues.
Connect with him on LinkedIn.
