Recently, a friend of ours was driving down an icy road when his car slid off the pavement and flipped upside down. 45 minutes later, he arrived home, somewhat shaken by the experience but otherwise unbruised and without a scratch. 40 years ago, he might have been dead.
What’s the difference between then and now? In a word, seatbelts. We’ve learned to buckle up because seatbelts save lives.
In the business world, harassment, bullying, and abuse routinely cost employers between $300 and $1,000 per employee per year and cause enormous grief two targets of misconduct.
We can prevent most of that senseless financial cost and personal harm by putting policies, training, monitoring, and enforcement procedures in place. Taking these steps is like installing seatbelts and buckling up.
Of course, putting even the best policy on the shelf without communicating it effectively to employees is like sitting on your seatbelt. When the car slides off the road and flips upside down, it’s too late to try to buckle up.
To learn more about how you can reduce the costs of harassment, bullying, and abuse in your organization, visit the Ethics By Design section on workplace harassment training or contact us at 802 870 3450.