Preventing and managing sexual harassment – step 1: identify hazards

For example:

• Are all positions filled?
• Is there a workforce planning system or employee replacement process in place?
• Are staffing and resources reviewed in line with workload and available skills?
• Is there a plan in place to manage workload during peak or seasonal demands?
• Is workload shared fairly between employees?
• Have customers provided feedback about issues such as wait times or service levels?
• Are there any themes emerging from employee feedback or concerns that indicate exposure to sexual harassment?
• Is employee feedback encouraged and considered?
• Do employees feel comfortable providing feedback about sexual harassment?
• Do workforce survey results indicate or identify:
  • a lack of trust in leaders
  • employees feeling unsafe to speak up at work
  • a fear of reprisal and victimisation for raising concerns
  • exposure to sexual harassment or disrespectful behaviours in certain teams, certain roles or the organisation as a whole?

This includes in any free-text responses. What areas of concern have employees raised?

• Has there been a recent change in employee engagement or morale?
• Do leaders understand:
  • the law relating to sexual harassment and their obligations
  • the nature, drivers and impacts of sexual harassment?
• Do leaders understand their:
  • role in creating a culture of respect and inclusion
  • duty to role-model respectful and appropriate workplace behaviours?
• Do leaders have the knowledge and skills to identify sexual harassment and control associated risks?
• Are leaders supported by senior executives to identify sexual harassment (and other psychosocial hazards) and control associated risks?
• Are leaders trained in how to recognise and respond to early signs of psychological harm in the workplace?
• Have work tasks, content and scheduling been clearly defined and communicated to all employees? This includes contractors and labour hire workers.
• Are employees given reasonable time, resources and support to complete tasks?
• Does a review of workflows, tasks and schedules show any inefficiencies that may increase workload?
• Is the physical working environment appropriate and set up to reduce the risk of sexual harassment?
• Are employees regularly working in remote or isolated locations, or working alone?

For example:

• Are any employees working excessive or unusual hours?
• Are employees working late or night shifts?
• Are rates of sick leave and unplanned leave higher than usual or higher than average?
• Do rates of sick leave or other unplanned leave show any trends? For example:
  • higher levels of absenteeism in some work areas compared to others
  • more leave being taken at certain times.
• Are leadership positions dominated by one gender; for example, male?
• Has employee turnover increased?
• Is employee turnover higher than average?
• Is employee turnover higher in some working areas than others?
• What reasons do employees give in exit interviews for leaving the organisation? Are there themes emerging from exit interviews?
• Are there any issues identified that indicate exposure to sexual harassment or disrespectful behaviours?

For example:

• What hazards have been identified in these reports? Do they include reports of sexual harassment?
• Were workplace inspections done by appropriately skilled people and any employee representatives, such as HSRs?
• What areas of concern have employees raised in the psychosocial hazard identification survey? Are there procedures in place to consider, consult on and address concerns identified through the survey?
• What psychosocial hazards or risks have been identified in previously conducted psychosocial risk assessments? Has sexual harassment been identified? Are risk controls adequately controlling the identified risks of sexual harassment?
• Does the organisation have an incident reporting system or risk register for reporting incidents that affect employee health and safety?
• Are employees aware of, and using, the incident reporting system?
• Does the incident reporting system or risk register include psychosocial risks, such as those associated with exposure to sexual harassment?
• Are there complaints or reports of sexual harassment or disrespectful behaviours?
• Are there any trends or patterns in the data that show psychosocial hazards, including sexual harassment, are present?
• Is there a clearly defined process for how the organisation and supervisors and managers will respond to reports of psychosocial hazards and incidents, including sexual harassment?
• Is incident reporting data being used to inform proactive employee intervention?
• What is the source of the sexual harassment being reported?
• How often is sexual harassment being reported?
• Has sexual harassment and associated risk controls been identified in health and safety committee meetings? Has any action been taken to control risks associated with sexual harassment identified in the meetings?
• Are there any trends or patterns in the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) data that show potential exposure to sexual harassment or other associated hazards? Have any steps been taken to address previously identified sexual harassment or risks?
• Has claims data (including rejected claims) been analysed to identify trends or patterns of psychosocial hazards including sexual harassment?
• Has the information from these claims been used to review current risk controls and revise them if necessary?
• Is claims data analysed by areas like work location and role?
• What is being done to support employees who have lodged claims?

1. Is there a rigid hierarchical structure?
2. Does the workplace lack diversity?
3. Is the organisation’s management or leadership structure lacking diversity?
4. Is work distributed based on traditional, socially prescribed gender roles?
5. Is the workplace environment one where leaders’ authority is rarely challenged and employees feel unsafe to raise concerns or speak up?
6. Are work-related social activities or events inclusive?
7. Are employees working in remote or isolated conditions? Consider:

• employees working in geographically isolated locations
• employees working alone
• employees working out of scheduled hours
• employees working unsupervised
• employees working from home
• employees working from locations other than their usual place of work
• employees living in employer-provided accommodation
• employer-provided accommodation has inadequate facilities or cannot be secured.

8. Are employees appropriately supported? Consider:
   • new employees
   • young employees
   • migrant workers
   • casual, seasonal or fixed-term employees
   • employees living away from family and friends; for example, fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers or ship and flight crew
   • employees from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
   • employees who have previously been exposed to sexual harassment in the workplace.
9. Are employees exposed to poor-quality environments? For example:

• poor lighting
• crowded conditions
• areas that make it hard to move around or where employees need to touch each other to move past.

10. Are customers and clients disrespectful towards employees, including in online working environments such as private chat functions? For example:

• Customers or clients observed to be making sexualised jokes or comments.

11. Are potentially harmful behaviours tolerated or engaged in by management? For example, the workplace is an environment where:

• Crude jokes are common and generally tolerated.
• There are no incident reporting systems in place.
• There are no protected or confidential reporting options.
• Incident reports are not taken seriously or are not appropriately responded to.
• Employees are unwilling to use incident reporting systems because of possible retribution.
• Supervisors and managers are not addressing inappropriate behaviours.
• Bystanders are not calling out harmful behaviours.

12. Are there any images on display or lying around that may be offensive? This includes posters, calendars, magazines or screensavers.

1. Are employees at risk of sexual harassment based on job-specific requirements? For example:
   • Employees work with customers, clients, patients or members of the public.
   • The population they work is with predominantly one gender.
   • Employees work in unpredictable environments with individuals who have a known history of sexual harassment or who are:
     • under the influence of alcohol or other substances
     • in a state of confusion or disorientation
     • highly distressed or emotionally dysregulated.
2. If employees are required to wear a uniform, is it practical for the work?