DEFINING SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual harassment at work causes many problems. Victims often face serious difficulties in concentrating on their work. Not all employees understand what is meant by sexual harassment.
The Code of Practices and Eradicating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace defines sexual harassment as :
' any unwanted conduct of sexual nature having the effect of verbal, non verbal, visual, psychological and physical harassment '
- that might, on reasonable ground, be perceived by the recipient as placing a condition of a sexual nature on his/her employment ; or,
- that might , on reasonable ground , be perceived by the recipient as an offence or humiliation, or a threat to her/his well-being, but has no link to her/his employment.
Organization should make it very clear that sexual harassment is not acceptable behavior and any employee found guilty of such conduct will be punished.
HANDLING A CLAIM OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Moving on the major problem faced by anyone investigating a claim of sexual harassment is the lack of evidence. Most claim are one person's word against another, without any external corroboration.
In order to handle a sexual harassment claim, the worker should :
- inform a senior immediately when the sexual harassment occurs
- keep any documents, objects or other proof of the harassment
- make a police report against the harasser
- keep a record of what was said and done by the harasser.
If an employee fails to protect his employees from sexual harassment, he faces the possibility of the victims making a complaint to outsides parties such as the Labour Department of the media.
THE LAW AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT
The law says : According to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, companies should define their sexual harassment policies, prevention systems, procedures and service rules; establish internal complaints committees, and hold regular sensitization and awareness activities. An organization not observing this can face cancellation of its license to operate.
Half-hearted measures :
violence at work
Employers are required to ensure the workplace is as safe as possible for all employees. A safe workplace is not only free from accidents, but it is also violence free.
Violence includes not only physical harm or attempted physical harm, but also harassment and bullying.
Categorize of bullying :
- Violence which originates in the workplace and occurs in the workplace, for example revenge by an employee against unfair treatment by a supervisor or a fight between two employees when one believes the other insulted him
- Violence which originates in the workplace but occurs outside the workplace
- Violence which originates outsides the workplace and occurs in the workplace as when an angry husband enters a workplace but occurs outside the workplace and tries to abuse his wife, an employee in that workplace or in the case of a robbery or terrorist attack.
The potential violent worker has a personality described as anxious, depressed, paranoid, resentful, unable to accept criticism and often a loner.
The best way to reduce the risk of violence at the workplace is by:
- conducting a risk assessment to identify where and when incidents of violence may occur
- establishing strict rules prohibiting violence at the workplace
- designing and disseminating a procedure to deal with incidents of violence in the workplace
- providing training for all employees so that they will know what to do in such an event.
Risk management is a multi-disciplinary activity, typically involving a task force of senior managers from a variety of departments, including human resources.
Step to managing violence at work :
- find out if the organization has a problem
- decide what action to take
- take action
- check what you have done
IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES
WELLNESS PROGRAMMES
A wellness programme is a systematic attempt to encourage employees to live a healthy lifestyle. It is a healthy lifestyle. It is tremendous challenge to change employee habits which have developed over a lifetime.
An Employee Assistance Programme(EAP) may offer counseling services for personal problems as well as financial problems,stress and time management sessions, and medical advice, both physical and psychiatric.
What activities might be included in a wellness programme?
- keep fit/exercise classes
- regular talks on relevant topics such as :
- nutrition
- factors which contribute to heart diseases
- stress management
- regular medical check-ups
- stop smoking campaigns with support systems for participants
- retirement planning sessions
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Employers need to be aware of causes at work and attempt to reduce employees's stress levels.
Causes high level of stress :
- job insecurity and job strain
- poor supervision
- subordinates unable to build a good relationships with supervisors and managers
- overload certain individuals with work
- only give preferences to their favourite staff
- unable to communicate appropriately with the workers
- excessively long working hours and shift work
Reducing employees stress :
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry say ;
" The problem...is that is impossible to find a solution to find solution for an ever-changing, non-specified health issue.. The research does not provide hard statistical or scientific evidence of the link between 'workplace stress' and work-caused disease,"
REDUCING DRUG AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS
An outline of the duties of employers and employees under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
- Strategies for reducing drug and alcohol problems among the workforce. They should comprises:
- risk assessment
- dissemination of a company policy on drug
- information and education at the workplace
- training of supervisors
- assistance to employees for rehabilitation
The Guidelines also discuss issues relating to drug testing of employees undertaken by an employer. Any organization planning to conduct drug testing on employees will need to do the following.
- Establish a clear written policy
- Decide on cut-off points for positives results which must be stated in the policy
- Ensure positive tests are re-confirmed by an expert party
- Ensure careful chain of custody procedures are instituted and implemented at all the times
- Ensure confidentiality of the test results
- Decide what form an appeals process might take
INTRODUCTION
IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY AND EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT
Nobody denies that the human resource department should take all possible steps to improve the productivity and commitment of the workforce.
Productivity is defined in the form a ratio : OUTPUT/INPUT=PRODUCTIVITY
Human resource department in an organization influence the level of productivity achieved in many ways. There are a number of specific techniques designed to increase productivity through focusing on better utilization of the workforce.
Today, organizations emphasize quality in all aspects of all processes. Competition from companies both national and international is now reality of the most business.
Productivity techniques will only flourish in an organization which has a positive climate. The culture of the organization must encourage team-work, open communication, trust and good industrial relations. Human resources management experts can play a major role in developing culture of an organization.
