The COVID-19 pandemic has forced workplaces to adapt to remote work. This digital era of professionalism has led to a rise of remote and hybrid workplaces that allow employees to work from home rather than in a physical office setting. While this allows for professionalism in the comfort of one’s own home, it also introduces challenges in blurred professional and personal boundaries, potentially creating new spaces for inappropriate conduct.
Without the proper company policies that include this new form of digital harassment, companies are leaving their employees vulnerable. This article explores the unique challenges of digital sexual harassment and how employees and employers can navigate them.
Understanding Digital Sexual Harassment
Definition in a Remote Context
In this new era of remote work, it has become increasingly more difficult to identify assault and harassment over emails, video calls, and instant messaging. However, while harassment may not be in person, that does not diminish the validity of the experience. Harassment in an online format can often look like inappropriate jokes in chats, intrusive video backgrounds, unsolicited messages after hours, and any inappropriate topics or visuals that are unnecessary and inappropriate to the workplace.
How it Differs from In-Person Harassment
The inability to read body language or tone in an online setting makes it challenging for intent to be translated. A simple emoji or use of language that may be intended as a joke may be read as threatening to the receiver. This makes it challenging for harassment online to be reported, when the nature of messages can be dismissed as a misunderstanding due to the ambiguous nature of instant messaging or online communication.
Challenges in Reporting
Online communication maintains a private nature between the sender and the receiver, making witnesses to the harassment very difficult to come by. While there is a clear digital footprint in online communication, the nature of messaging software can create challenges. Features such as automatic message deletion after a set period, the ability for users to edit or alter messages, and the absence of witnesses can make reporting and proving validity difficult. Furthermore, online harassment in private digital channels can leave victims and survivors incredibly isolated without a direct witness.
Common Forms of Remote Harassment
Remote harassment can come in many different forms. Due to the broad nature of what remote work can look like across various workplaces and teams, harassment can occur in various ways. Being able to identify online harassment when it occurs is crucial to monitoring the timeline and nature of a sexual harassment case.
Inappropriate Messaging
A common form of online harassment includes inappropriate messaging that is unrelated to work and crosses professional and personal boundaries. In sexual harassment cases, these messages may be targeting an employee’s sexuality, gender identity, and comments regarding their b
Video Call Misconduct
While a video call is online, it does occur in real time, and the exposure to harassment is still valid. Video calls can create unique vulnerabilities, as the camera provides a direct window into someone’s home environment and physical appearance. Comments on appearance, invasive questions, or unwanted visual exposure are all different examples of online harassment that can occur on video calls. The virtual setting may blur the perception of professionalism, but the harm and discomfort caused by harassment in video calls are no less serious than those experienced in traditional office spaces.
Misuse of Workplace Tools
Workplace tools, such as direct messaging, video calls, and emails, are designed to enhance communication efficiency and convenience. However, these same tools can be exploited to facilitate harassment and cultivate a dangerous digital environment. The misuse of workplace tools can lead to harm by transgressing professional boundaries through persistent and inappropriate messaging, which, when continued despite discouragement, can foster an intrusive work relationship.
Messaging after hours or even monitoring when employees are on their digital devices fosters an environment of control and intimidation. While these actions may not always be overtly sexual in nature, they can still create the conditions for harassment by undermining privacy and professional boundaries. When left unchecked, the misuse of workplace tools makes employees more vulnerable to inappropriate conduct.
Power Dynamics Online
Digital communication is very efficient, but it can lose the natural checks that are a part of regular communication. In these direct in-person conversations, witnesses may be present, HR representatives are easily accessible, and body language provides clear social cues.
However, when communicating with superiors online, harmful behavior can occur when the conversation inherently becomes more private, and a lack of social cues prevents clear communication. Supervisors with direct access to employees can make space for repetitive and unfiltered comments. With a power imbalance in place, employees may feel obligated to respond and entertain comments.
How Employees Can Protect Themselves
When vulnerable to online harassment, it is important to recognize the steps that can be taken to protect yourself. By educating themselves about workplace harassment and knowing their rights, employees can set clear boundaries and prevent workplace harassment from continuing.
Recognize Red Flags
In a digital workplace, it is often difficult for employees to recognize the boundaries of personal and professional behavior. Identifying patterns of inappropriate behavior allows employees to recognize harassment early and file accurate complaints with their HR teams.
Document Everything
In order to ensure an HR complaint is investigated properly, victims can create a personal log documenting everything about the harassment and the perpetrator. This can include saving emails, screenshots, and digital chat logs that highlight inappropriate communication and when it occurred. By organizing this documentation,
Set Clear Boundaries
Communicating expectations for professional conduct online prevents abusers from blaming inappropriate conduct on misunderstandings. Furthermore, setting boundaries is like setting guidelines for how employees should treat and be treated by others in the workplace. These guidelines can then be referred back to in any possible future harassment cases.
Know Your Rights
Workplace policies still apply in digital spaces. If you believe you or one of your colleagues may be the subject of harassment, it is important to refer back to company policies that highlight employee rights. Many states also have policies in place to prevent workplace harassment, even those in digital spaces. In the state of California, FEHA– California Fair Employment and Housing Act- prohibits workplace discrimination under California Law. By understanding your rights as an employee and as a citizen, victims can more confidently address and target workplace harassment.
Harassment doesn’t disappear in remote settings; it adapts. Unfortunately, the digital grey zone of remote work can blur professional and personal boundaries. The exposure of one’s home on video calls, the ability to see when an employee is online, and the private nature of direct messages can all create opportunities for workplace harassment. While remote and hybrid work provide flexibility and convenience, they also expose employees to risks that can leave them feeling isolated and vulnerable if not properly addressed.
Both employees and employers must recognize and address the digital grey zone to ensure a safe, respectful workplace culture. There is only so much individuals can do to prevent workplace harassment without the support of their employer. Companies that fail to provide effective policies and training on workplace harassment risk isolating victims. Furthermore, because employees are protected by law, companies that ignore workplace harassment can face serious legal consequences.
Taking careful steps, such as understanding what digital workplace harassment can look like, knowing your rights within a company and under state law, and setting clear boundaries, are all crucial to maintaining a healthy and safe online workplace for yourself and those around you.
by Brooke Lum
