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Thursday - Deterioration: porn, forced nudity and blatant emojis at work

Sexual harassment is filling our lives to the brim lately, and it happens to anyone and everyone.

Since the workplace is a breeding ground for sick power plays, here are the rules that everyone should internalize

Adv. Shlomo Yaakovovitz

07/26/2022

07/26/2022

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"Can you lower the camera a bit? I have to see the whole body, because this role requires representativeness."

These words were said recently, as part of a job interview held at Zoom, in which a candidate for the position of sales manager was asked by the interviewer to turn the camera away so that he could get an impression of whether her measurements fit the position in question.

This case is far from being a private case, but one of many examples of a phenomenon whose scope has grown significantly following the corona virus: sexual harassment at work - remotely.

A report by the company AllVoices, which operates a platform for providing feedback to employers and called "The State of Workplace Harassment" (The State Of Workplace Harassment) found that 38% of employees still experience harassment even though they work remotely. The harassment comes through emails, video calls, messaging apps Or even on the phone. These data are confirmed by a report by the association for victims of sexual assault, which revealed that during the corona virus, in the shadow of the transition to virtual work, there was a significant increase in complaints about sexual offenses and harassment on the Internet.

One Sunday about a month ago, a product manager at one of the largest consumer companies in Israel, 'Homed Latzon': he was holding a Zoom conference call with his employees, and suddenly, the camera fell and revealed the fact that he was holding the conversation while wearing only underwear and a shirt.

In another case, a team manager at the restaurant gave all the waitresses an emoji of a male penis sucking and wrote to them "We are before the evening shift. All of you must siphon the customers' money. There is no table without wine!".

In another case that happened about two months ago, an employee of the company tells personnel that the manager 'accidentally' sent a porn video in the departmental WhatsApp group.

After receiving cold reactions from some of the female workers, he apologized "Sorry girls, I forgot there were girls in the group".

Illustration (photo: ShutterStock)

The intensity and frequency of the harassment depends, as it turns out, on the status of the worker.

According to the results of the study, workers in junior positions were more likely to experience physical harassment and discrimination (55.8%), while female workers over the age of 45 experienced more psychological harassment (38%).

In addition, 34% of the participants in the survey admitted that they left a workplace due to harassment.

"Harassment can have a negative effect on the employee's workday experience, from the level of morale to the feeling of physical and psychological security and the loss of trust in the organization if the issue is not resolved," the survey editors noted and added "psychological security plays a large role in the employees' sense of personal well-being."

According to the survey, 52% of employees reported that they do not feel psychologically safe in the workplace.

The data that indicate an increase in the scope of sexual harassment, do not miss the civil service either.

A report recently issued by the Disciplinary Division of the Civil Service Commission indicates that in 2019, the Disciplinary Division received 214 complaints on the subject, while in 2021, the number jumped to 314. The statistics are very troubling to Guy David, Director of the Senior Disciplinary Division at the Civil Service Commission, who stated that "The legislator did state that sexual harassment is a criminal offense, a civil wrong as well as a disciplinary offense, with the aim of combating this phenomenon and establishing social norms of behavior that denounce it, however, more than 20 years after the enactment of the law, we witness that the struggle is still being waged with high intensity and we are It is still in the beginning of social internalization regarding the prohibition of behaviors that constitute sexual harassment."

In addition to the aforementioned, in the course of the last two years there has been another phenomenon: an increase in the number of lawsuits filed by female employees who have been harassed, against the employer. Apparently, the harassing party is the one who is supposed to bear the consequences of his behavior, but it turns out that the employers have also become an address for lawsuits. Against this background, we caught up for a conversation Attorney Shlomo Yaakovovitz, one of Israel's top attorneys in the field of labor law, an expert in claims for sexual harassment.

"Everything begins and ends with organizational culture and personal example" (photo: official website)

Tell me, what do you want from the employer?

After all , it is the employee who is being harassed

and they don't want anything from him, except for a small demand - that he comply with the requirements of the law.

The employer's obligations to prevent sexual harassment are enshrined in the Law for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment and the Regulations for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment.

An employer that does not act according to the provisions of the law and regulations exposes itself to a civil lawsuit by employees as well as to the imposition of fines or the filing of indictments by the labor law enforcement division.

And by the way, it is very important to know that regulations and laws to prevent sexual harassment apply to all employers, no matter how many employees there are.

In addition, they are also relevant to institutions for theoretical and professional education and also to the security forces.

An employer is required to appoint a person responsible for preventing sexual harassment.

In small workplaces (up to 10 employees) the employer is usually also the person in charge and he informs the employees when they start work.

In large workplaces or with several branches, more than one supervisor should be appointed.

The role of the person in charge is to receive complaints about sexual harassment, investigate the complaint, recommend action to the employer and provide advice, information, and training to employees who contact him.

The person in charge is required to be suitable.

It is not necessary for it to be a woman, but it is necessary to ensure that the person in charge is someone who has qualifications, professional status, human relations and knowledge of the law.

As of today, there is no obligation to undergo dedicated training on the subject.

The legislator did not refer to this and for the most part the attitude of the labor courts in the State of Israel is yes to discuss it.

By the way, various companies in the United States had a famous policy of requiring employees to avoid compensation claims and to resort to a secret arbitration procedure within the company, and only following a protest that erupted in 2018 did companies such as Google and Facebook cancel the internal arbitration obligation.

Like everything, it all begins and ends with corporate culture and personal example.

An employer who understands how much sexual harassment can hurt - both his employees and his pocket, will follow the rules and instill in the organization a culture that avoids unwanted courtship actions, compliments or comments of a sexual nature, and of course unnecessary touching.

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• sexual harassment

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• women

• men

• Law