What’s in Your Return to Work Plan?

I have always said I want to work myself out of a job. My personal mission is to end workplace harassment Right now, the workplace as we knew it is gone. Thanks to a pandemic and mass exodus from physical work spaces to homes, workplace cultures have changed, environments have changed, and relationships have changed. No one knows what those things will look like when we go back to physical workplaces. Many people don’t have a workplace to go back to and many will continue to work from home; regardless, it is uncharted territory.  

Just because there is no physical workplace, doesn’t mean harassment has gone away. Virtual harassment exists and while it’s too early to have any statistics on it, online and social media trolls have been actively harassing for years. Things shift and the workplace may look and feel different, but a nasty or suggestive joke, back-handed compliment or sexually demeaning comment directed to you or a colleague is still inappropriate whether you experience it in-person or virtually. Asking someone to stop inappropriate behavior is okay and should be part of the new conversation happening as employees go back to work.  

Now is exactly the right time to start a conversation about eliminating sexual harassment, bullying and retaliation from your workplace. Uncharted territory into a new normal is an opportunity to examine what is and is not working. Does your “Return to Work Plan” cover respectful behavior and how inappropriate behavior is handled? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t, but it is worth discussing.

Start a conversation about cultivating a culture of comfort and confidence where employees feel safe to share ideas, a workplace where employees are comfortable to speak openly, honestly and respectfully with those around them. Maybe you started that conversation months ago. Maybe that conversation was forgotten amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Maybe it was pushed to the background because the physical workplaces haven’t existed for a few months. No one wants to return to a work environment that was previously toxic, disrespectful, filled with distrust or worse.

A harassment-free environment is a productive environment with engaged and connected employees, and it is not too much to ask for. That type of culture is worth striving for, talking about and working toward. We’re normalizing a conversation that should have taken place decades ago and that is bringing inappropriate workplace behavior out of the shadows and the ability to stand up for yourself and others to eliminate it. It will take a collective mindset to accomplish and is worth a conversation.