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The more empowered workers feel, the more likely they are to report instances of workplace bullying and sexual harassment, according to a workplace relations lawyer.
Following the release of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s fourth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces – titled 'Everyone’s business' – Moores practice leader Catherine Brooks said gone are the days when you can ignore the inappropriate remarks or behaviour.
“It doesn’t matter if someone is a top biller or the managing partner of your firm. True leadership is required at every level of the organisation,” she said.
“This means that you have to empower your staff to speak up, just as much as your key leadership contributors. Anonymous whistleblowing services can really enable a ‘speak up’ culture whilst ensuring that all allegations are properly vetted before they go any further.”
The faster that law firms lean into the next era of empowerment and speaking up, Ms Brooks said, the better equipped those institutions will be in dealing with complaints, allegations or crises.
“Firms should be thinking about the whole life cycle of employment and looking at how it can incorporate anti-harassment messages right from the start,” she said.
“Jobs ads should speak to the culture, onboarding processes should include videos from key leadership staff about the lack of tolerance of an abusive culture, staff should be given access to employee assistance pograms and peer-to-peer mentoring, so they know who they can reach out to if they’re not sure how to respond to or deal with inappropriate behaviour.”
Gender equality and diversity are also key to shifting culture and opening up conversations about appropriate behaviours and new ways of doing things, Ms Brooks continued.
“Gender-neutral bathrooms, non-gender specific language in policies, public support of the LGBTQI community – these are all examples of businesses incorporating inclusive practices to stamp out aggressive, hetero, white ‘stale, pale, male’ attitudes that no longer reflect our modern day workplaces,” she said.
Training is fundamental, Ms Brooks posited, and if this generation wants to teach its children anti-bullying messages, it has to lead by example by stepping up if someone else’s behaviour in the workplace is unacceptable.
“We need to go beyond the generic EEO or anti-harassment, discrimination, bullying training and actually run role plays, workshop case studies and facilitate bystander training so we all know how to raise the red flag – particularly given we all actually have a legislative obligation,” she noted.
“And, come on… we all know who they are: the perpetrators don’t often go completely unnoticed.
“In law firms, you only need to ask the personal assistants, the junior lawyers, those that have rotated out of a group, and you will find the culprits, the ones that are not quite right, those that need to be pulled into line.”
Now is the time, Ms Brooks concluded, for law firms to go beyond #MeToo and say yes to #NotOnMyWatch.
“With a groundswell of better trained new starters, combined with a younger generation that won’t stand for being made to feel uncomfortable, partnered with a leadership team committed to stamping out harassment, we will start seeing a big shift in the law and this will have a positive impact on our depression rates, staff loyalty and retention, along with a reduction in workers compensation and stress claims,” she said.
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
You can email Jerome at:
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Jerome Doraisamy
