The Human Factor
Harassment and discrimination are a sad part of working life. Here’s what you should know — Varun Reddy Sevva

In my last article, I had mentioned that conflict is inevitable when people work together and how managers must try their best to deal with conflict in a constructive way. Apart from this, harassment is another serious issue every manager should educate themselves on.

WHAT IS HARASSMENT?
Workplace harassment refers to any offensive, belittling, or threatening behaviour directed at an individual worker or group of workers by another individual or a group of workers - that is unwelcome, unsolicited, and usually, repeated. The victim of harassment may not necessarily be the person who is the target of the harassment; it could be anyone affected by the offensive behaviour. Also, for harassment to occur there does not have to be an intention to offend or harass. Harassment need not be a huge incident that attracts attention. It is quite possible that harassing behaviour may be of a minor nature.

However, such behaviour, when continued unaddressed over a period of time, can undermine the standard of conduct within a work area. However, incidents such as simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents cannot be considered as harassment. For any event to be considered harassment, the conduct must be so objectively offensive as to alter the conditions of employment.

Discrimination, which could be construed as a type of harassment, refers to the refusal by any organisation to employ or continue to employ, or to deny a right, benefit or opportunity (intentionally or unintentionally) on the basis of identity, physical, or mental condition or any other disadvantage as mentioned in the next sub-section. There are various types of discrimination which could be classified into the following broad categories:

Identity Discrimination: This involves targeting an individual using words, deeds, and actions for, but not limited to, religion (or personal belief), race, ethnicity, gender, skin colour, sexual orientation, and age. Sexual harassment, a part of Gender/ Sexual Orientation harassment, involves unwanted and unwelcome words, actions, gestures, symbols, or behaviour of a sexual nature that make the target feel uncomfortable.

Condition Harassment: Although it is not quite as common as Identity Discrimination, it is also possible for one to target individuals based on their physical and mental condition. This involves Pregnancy Discrimination and discrimination based on disability.

Hazing: This term refers to the deliberate and planned persecution as part of induction into a group, and is usually illegal.

Bullying: This is a general term covering physical/psychological harassment, including threats and intimidation, perpetrated against any individual. In recent years, bullying in the workplace has come to light as being much more widespread than previously thought, especially with the advent of cyberstalking. Over time, bullying can results in trauma, which is a psychiatric injury.

Authoritative Harassment: A form of harassment which occurs when a superior authority abuses their position of power to coerce, intimidate, and demean their subordinates. This could include, but is not limited to, repeatedly singling out an employee or a group of employees for meaningless jobs that are not part of their normal duties.

Workplace harassment should not be confused with advice or counselling on work-related behaviour which might include feedback or critical comments indicating performance deficiencies. This is intended to help employees improve work performance/behaviour, and is usually constructive in nature. Any action that is a normal part of work function cannot be considered to be a part of workplace harassment, even if they might result in unpleasant consequences for the worker, like change in work assignments, scheduling, job assessment and evaluation, and disciplinary action. There is a thin line though, and if the conditions persist it could make for a formidable case of harassment.

Although the Constitution of India protects the fundamental right of a woman to gender equality under Article 14 and also protects her right to life and to live with dignity under Article 21, India has no specific laws against sexual harassment of women, which is quite surprising in view of the growing number of women in the workplace. Sexual harassment, also called ‘eve teasing’ in India, is described as unwelcome sexual gesture or behaviour - whether directly/indirectly as sexually coloured remarks and any other unwelcome physical, verbal/non-verbal conduct that is sexual in nature. There are a few laws that protect against sexual harassment at workplace, such as Section 354 IPC, which deals with “assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty”, and Section 509, IPC deals with any "word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman”.

It was in 1997 in the landmark case of Vishaka Vs State of Rajasthan and others that for the first time sexual harassment was legally defined and identified as a separate illegal behaviour. The critical factor in sexual harassment as defined by the judgment of this case was the unwelcome nature of the behaviour, hence making the impact of such actions on the recipient more relevant rather than intent of the perpetrator. The judgment specifies clearly to whom these guidelines are applicable to, the preventive steps to be taken by the organisation, procedures pertaining to filing of complaints and provisions to create awareness as regards the rights of employees.

DEALING WITH HARASSMENT
Irrespective of its size and the country under whose jurisdiction it falls, every organisation is legally responsible (vicarious liability) for all forms of discrimination and harassment which occurs at its premises or in connection with an individual’s employment and must ensure that all reasonable steps have been taken to reduce this liability. It is recommended that employers take the following ‘reasonable steps’ to deal with discrimination and harassment and reduce their ‘vicarious liability’:

• Implement a fair and impartial internal system for dealing with complaints of discrimination/ harassment, which could also adapt existing grievance procedures.
  
• Implement an organisational policy on discrimination and harassment to provide employees with advice on what to do if they are discriminated against or harassed.
  
• Appoint anti-discrimination and harassment contact officers of both sexes at various levels who are responsible for providing employees with information and confidential advice.

To prevent discrimination and harassment at the workplace, it is advisable for the company to implement a comprehensive strategy to address discrimination and harassment at all levels of the hierarchy, in consultation with staff, employer organisations, unions, industry, professional associations, and other relevant parties. The company should also ensure that managers and supervisors discuss and reinforce this policy at staff meetings and also provide relevant information on discrimination and harassment to new staff as a standard part of induction. In manufacturing organisations, the company must train all line managers on their role in ensuring that the workplace is free from discrimination and harassment and ensure they show appropriate standards of professional conduct at all times.

— The author works as a Deputy Manager in the Personnel Division of a reputable PSU

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