CKPG

By Dione Wearmouth

Workplace Harassment

New study finds workplace harassment exacerbated by pandemic

Nov 23, 2021 | 5:08 PM

PRINCE GEORGE- New research from the Woman Abuse Council of Toronto (WomanACT) found workplace harassment is disproportionately affecting women. The Workplace Culture Safety Survey, an Angus Reid study of 964 Canadian employees found that around 43% of workers in BC have experienced some kind of harassment in their workplace. According to Harmy Mendoza, Executive Director of (WomanACT), that number is accurate for 50% of women respondents and 30% of male respondents. However, Mendoza says there are many reasons why people feel uncomfortable reporting incidences of harassment.

“Safety was the number one reason. A total of 33% of respondents told us that they are feeling pretty concerned of their safety or free from backlash from the perpetrator,” she explained.

Stigma and fear of reprisal or termination are other reasons employees hesitate to report harassment and violence in the workplace. Many respondents also explained that inaction from management on previous reports of harassment left them fearful of reporting future incidences.

WomenACT says in many instances, the pandemic has only exacerbated the issue, as three-in-10 workers in leadership roles claimed that the working from the home/hybrid model has made it more difficult to confirm reports of unsafe or uncomfortable experiences in the workplace.

“The pandemic has brought an additional layer of complexity and what we can see is that evidence has shown that harassment has increased for those working remotely as well as change in nature. For example, this includes employees receiving sexual messaging through email, text messages, work spaces, etc,” she added.

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Mendoza wasn’t shocked by the results, as workplace harassment incidences are not uncommon.

“It is an important opportunity to continue to try and continue to address this important gap. And I think what we can do is we can learn more about what to do when we are witnessing or we are experiencing some sort of harassment,” she added.