Virtual forum: “Don’t
Stay Silent for Workplace Harassment”
On 28 November 2020, a virtual forum titled “Don’t Stay Silent for Workplace
Harassment” was conducted Live via a Facebook page namely, “Step into the
Light with Work Ethics & EQ”. It was organised by the
UTAR
October 2020 Trimester student representatives namely, Deneshwaran Raj, Wong
Zhi Seng, Law Zi Yan, Chan Hui Lin, Lee Chia Suen, Tang Yee Ting and Cheong
Wei Ling from MPU 34112 Work Ethics and EQ course, supported by the
Department of Soft Skills Competency (DSSC) Kampar Campus.
In conjunction with the theme “Step into the Light with Work Ethics and EQ”,
the forum aimed to create awareness on the seriousness of workplace
harassment by sharing the right information on workplace harassment to the
audiences. It also aimed to help them to identify and give a clear
understanding of harassment in their respective workplace.
Deneshwaran Raj (second
from top) giving
a brief introduction on “Workplace Harassment”
“Employees spend one-third of their whole life in the workplace. Thus, it is
important and necessary for employees to feel safe and also comfortable in
the workplace. When an issue such as workplace harassment occurs, it is
violating the employees’ right. Workplace harassment can come from our
co-workers, superiors or even from the people outside the organisation.
Therefore, we believe that it is paramount to address this issue of the
workplace,” said Deneshwaran Raj, the moderator, when delivering a brief
introduction on “Workplace Harassment”.
Deneshwaran Raj (second
from top)
introducing Baljit Gill (bottom)
Invited to be the speakers for the forum were Hitman Solutions Sdn Bhd
Project Manager Baljit Gill and Success Resources Global Sales & Marketing
Manager Beboshini Unnikrishnan. Baljit Gill has five years of experiences
working as a Senior Manager in a Managerial position. He is equipped with
handling soft skills, giving product training and a nonverbal communication
training skillset. He has experienced in dealing with people from all levels
within an organisation.
Deneshwaran Raj (second
from top)
introducing Beboshini Unnikrishnan (bottom)
Beboshini Unnikrishnan has worked for Bernama, TV3 and New Straits Times.
She has five years of experienced working as Public Relations for the Kedah
Government and seven years of experienced in Journalism.
Sharing his own experience from a couple of companies that he has worked
for, Baljit Gill said, “Workplace Harassment is not only meant for sexual
harassment, it came from all forms. It could be something as unwelcome and
offensive conduct, such as an offensive remark (a demeaning remark) or joke
based on skin colour or gender for instance. It does not necessarily happen
to women but men do get harassed as well, especially from their bosses. It
would impact the victims’ mindset; emotionally they would definitely be
affected in a way that going to work in the morning is a challenge for them.
Of course, workplace harassment does impact the company as well because it
jeopardises the company’s reputation and will definitely impact their
business as well.”
He then emphasised the importance of education to prevent workplace
harassment, “Education is the key element to prevent harassment and it
should be started during our school time. Sometimes the harasser or the
abuser may not know that they are actually harassing with the action they
did or with the words they spoke. They could be bringing it unintentionally
because most people would think that harassment is only applicable to sexual
harassment. People should know what exactly is harassment and how to treat
one and another with respect. If they do not know how to show respect to
their employees or the people they worked with, it would be a challenge to
prevent harassment, bullying in the workplace or even abuse of power.”
“Some people became confused about what should they do when they got bullied
or harassed in the workplace. Well, Human Resource (HR) is the best person
to go to; they should get their companies’ HR department to be involved. I
am sure they are going to listen to you. But if they don’t listen to you for
any reason, the next step would be going to their boss. If the victim still
does not get any support from the proper channel, then the only possible
option is to get The Labour Law involved. But sometimes, it may not easy for
the victim to speak about it because they could be so emotionally disturbed.
Hence, if someone witnesses this situation, they should take the
responsibility to bring this issue to their bosses or HR,” said Baljit Gill.
Beboshini Unnikrishnan on the other hand said, “There are many types of
harassment which we might not be aware of. It can be personal harassment,
for instance asking personal questions like religion, race, and marital
status or making very rude jokes about that person. It can also be physical
harassment, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, power harassment; for instance
being told to do something in order to get the job, and to name a few.”
Sharing her own experience as a victim, she said, “I personally experienced
people making jokes about my appearance which has been very traumatic for me
growing up. They thought it was funny, but for me, it is not. Making jokes
for the first and second time may be considered funny, but when they keep
doing that, it will eventually be putting someone into a traumatic
experience.”
“When someone tells about their experience in harassment, we need to
believe, listen and understand them, because it might be difficult for them
to talk about it. It takes a lot of courage for them to actually share their
experience. Do not tell them ‘this is a petty story and you just have to
move on’. Instead, we should take responsibility by making a complaint to HR
or at least inform our superior on this issue. Respect the victim’s privacy;
do not press them for details. Sometimes, words like ‘You are not alone’ or
‘I am glad that you told me’ will actually make the victim feel comfortable;
we should make them understand that it is not their fault being the victim.
Show your support in a very positive manner perhaps will influence their
healing process,” said Beboshini Unnikrishnan.
Speaking in terms of how to prevent workplace harassment, Beboshini
Unnikrishnan agreed with Baljit Gill, she added, “To prevent workplace
harassment, we also need to ensure everyone understands the process of
reporting a complaint. We do have an employee handbook, and it should be
clearly mentioned what kind of behaviour we can make a complaint and what is
the process of filing a complaint. This is to make sure everyone understands
that each complaint will be taken seriously and investigation will also take
place. We need to have a very
clear-cut, zero-tolerance and anti-harassment policy in our working space.
Hence, the HR Department should have an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)
for this issue.”
“Humor is good to
maintain a very friendly environment. But, excessively making jokes about
someone’s religion or gender, for instance, is wrong. There are certain
jokes which are acceptable but when it keeps going on and on, is kind of
irritating. We should go and tell the abuser, make your message clear that
you do not like the joke. If you are a friend of the abuser, you must say it
out. It is your responsibility,” said Beboshini Unnikrishnan.
Meanwhile, they also shared their opinions on how to combat cyberbullying.
Baljit Gill
(bottom, right)
and Beboshini Unnikrishnan (bottom, left)
answering the enquiries from participants
The forum was then followed by an interactive Q & A session. Before the end
of the forum, an interesting quiz session took place. Moderator was Wong.
The quiz session was carried out to test the participants’ knowledge of
workplace harassment. It saw the participation of
more than 50 people.
Quiz session on
Workplace Harassment
Wong (bottom)
congratulates the winners of the quiz session
The virtual forum was attended
by more than 200
participants.
Beboshini Unnikrishnan (top,
right) and Baljit
Gill (bottom, right)
with the group members
Beboshini Unnikrishnan (top,
left) and Baljit
Gill (top, middle)
with the group members
(Taken from Step into the Light with Work Ethics
& EQ Facebook Page)
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