POSH or Prevention of Sexual Harassment Training: New Address for Employee Safety

As much as it is disturbing, it is a known fact that workplace harassment that are sexual in nature are a growing nuisance in organizations of almost all types. As the number of women in the corporate world increases, the incidents are also alarmingly on the rise.

Such incidents have a malicious effect on the morale of the employees, their motivation, the organization’s reputation and the overall well-being of everyone associated with the organization. This scenario is what leads to the incorporation of orientation trainings for employees to understand, prevent and safeguard themselves from any such atrocity. POSH or Prevention of Sexual Harassment Training is the right move to make.

POSH training is aimed to provide a concrete understanding about the ways and means that must be adopted by the organizations to prevent any such mishaps, protection of the employees under the law governing all such mishaps and what constitutes as sexual harassment etc.

One of the major constraints that prevent organizations from effectively addressing or preventing such mishaps is the ignorance that surrounds it. POSH training programs are usually designed in such a way that it is beneficial to the employees, the organization and all the parties associated with the organization. Adopting it is a mandate in present corporate scenario.

Why POSH training is important

Prevention is better than cure. This good old saying is perfectly applicable when it comes to the training of employees about the Sexual Harassment Act. Preventive measures often work as deterrents. Every employer with more than 10 employees in India must provide sexual harassment training to employees. Effective sexual harassment training protects both employees and the workplace. Sexual harassment prevention training is now a legal mandate and if an organisation fails to conduct training it involves a penal action.

Sometimes organisations believe that there is no point in conducting this training because these training just put ideas into the heads of their employees and they start raising concerns even for the slightest of things.

However, POSH training doesn’t just provide employees with information to help them pursue a sexual harassment charge but also avoid being charged. It is only when they are trained they will be able to understand what is considered sexual harassment at the workplace. It is a valuable tool that can be used to help provide awareness of activities that are not considered professionally acceptable at work. How often do you see employees doing things which are considered unprofessional while being on the job? Whether it is improper business communications or simply inappropriate gossiping, many employees don’t come pre-wired to know what is acceptable in the workplace and what is not. Unless you train them they may not even know and that can get you into legal trouble.

Your employees might think what is the harm in slight flirting with cubicle mates or asking them out for dates?  Something may start out small, but before you know it the molehill had grown into a mountain and what started out as harmless fun suddenly turns into a prank that embarrasses or hurts another’s feelings. When the fun turns ugly the resulting atmosphere can create an unfriendly work environment that leads to low employee morale, low productivity and, if word gets out, a disastrous public image – one that drives customers and business away.

An employer can be held legally responsible for the actions of its employees or if the company engages in sexual harassment when hiring employees. In the long run it is less expensive to implement harassment training, create harassment policies and foster a no-tolerance workplace than to defend yourself from one harassment lawsuit.

Here are five reasons why you should engage in POSH training –

Legal Mandate 

As per section 19(c) of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013 every employer is required to conduct regular awareness workshops for all the employees to understand the provisions on the law on the subject issue. If the employer fails to comply with this provision a penalty up to 50,000 can be levied on the employer.

Awareness

The regular workshops and awareness sessions are important for employees of the organisation so that they are aware of the provisions and can restrain themselves to get involved in any such case. These awarness sessions should be conducted for all employees irrespective of their gender or level in the office. Inform the supervisors that even mild to moderate sexual jokes or statements can create an atmosphere of hostility that will make some employees uncomfortable, and could lead to the creation of a hostile work environment. The training for the employees should address perceptions of sexual harassment, the impact of sexual harassment on individuals and workplaces, why and how to prevent it, understanding the policy and complaints mechanism.

Safe Working environment 

When you train employees on what is not acceptable at the workplace it minimizes the chance of sexual harassment complaints. It also breeds a sense of safety among employees when they notice that their company is proactively involved in training employees. It sends a strong message to the employees that there is zero-tolerance for such behavior in the company. This way they will be careful and aware of their behavior.

To safeguard company’s reputation 

If such an incident takes place, the reputation of the company will definitely go down. This will result in a very negative effective effect on the employees as well. Hence due to this training, the management will try their best to handle the situation pretty fast before it gets leaked out. Moreover, it will secure women working with other male co-workers under the same roof from getting threatened.

To increase employee retention 

When employees feel safe and protected in the workplace it leads to higher productivity and employee retention. Nobody wants to work in an environment where they have to daily bother themselves about a colleague’s inappropriate behavior or lewd comments.

Are you overdue on conducting sexual harassment training? Does your current training curriculum need to be refreshed to reflect changes in company policy or legal requirements? Ungender has the expertise and resources to help. We create training programs keeping in mind the nature, value, and ethos of your organization and sensitise employees about POSH through fun and case-based studies.