Steps to Take Against Harassment and Violence at Work

Harassment and violence at work can come in many forms. The signs are not always visible, even to the most experienced people in HR. In Malaysia, recent developments have ensured that individual plaintiffs can bring civil suits against perpetrators of sexual harassment, but the Employment Act does not currently recognize other forms of aggression.

Types of harassment:

Discrimination - quite common and includes racial, gender, religious, sexual-orientation and age-related harassment.

Personal – Bullying and includes unnecessary critic remarks and other offensive behaviours. It can also include cyber bullying.

Physical – Includes gestures like ‘playful shoving’, direct threats, destroying property, and other physical attacks or threats.

Power – Includes both verbal and physical attacks, usually exercised by someone in a position of power.

Psychological – Isolation, belittling, discrediting actions all constitute this type of harassment.

Sexual – Unwanted sexual advances, conduct or behaviour is believed to affect at least one in four women in the workplace across the globe, and includes exchange-based sexual harassment from someone in a more senior position.

Steps for employees to counter harassment:

Firstly, the most important step is the filing of a complaint or the request for a meeting with the HR department. In the event of no response, legal advice can be sought or the matter van be reported to the police. Any type of harassment needs to be spoken about to colleagues or supervisors; by rallying support and making things known, many battles have been won.

It is also important that every employee is aware of their rights, even under perfect employment conditions. Finally, publishing any personal matters on social media should be avoided as they can backfire and harm any person’s career.

Management can tackle harassment:

HR departments should be open-minded and approachable so that workers can feel free to complain. They need to seek transparency and by taking immediate action they show willingness to get to the root of issues.

It is essential that every organization has a code of ethics to which everyone has to abide or be held accountable. An in-house councillor is a valuable asset to every organization; they deal with far more issues than just harassment.