As the owner of a Pennsylvania business, you run the risk of facing lawsuits if you or someone else who works for you sexually harasses another employee. Sexual harassment lawsuits have the potential to take considerable time and money away from running your business. So, it may serve you well to lessen your liability in this area as much as you are able.
Per the SAFE Institute, American employees are becoming increasingly aware of their rights in the workplace. This is one of several reasons lawsuits involving allegations of sexual harassment are increasing. However, offering effective, quality sexual harassment training to all your employees may lead to the following benefits.
A lower chance of litigation
Sexual harassment training gives your workers a strong sense of what is and is not acceptable in the workplace. This, alone, should help you guard against sexual harassment allegations. In 2018, American employers paid out more than $70 million to settle sexual harassment claims, which is almost double the amount spent the year prior.
A more engaged and productive workforce
Employees want to feel like you value and appreciate them. Offering sexual harassment prevention training indicates as much. Sexual harassment often impacts productivity and morale. So, by eliminating it from your place of business, productivity and morale are likely to increase. Employees who enjoy work environments that are free from harassment are also less prone to absenteeism, which has the potential to hurt your business’s bottom line.
Sexual harassment prevention training takes on many forms. Offering traditional training and keynote presentations, or even just engaging in meaningful conversations with workers, should help reduce the odds of sexual harassment taking place within your business.