In today’s “new world of work,” many organizations run on a hybrid model, with some employees working remotely and others in the physical office. While this set-up is convenient, it can cause unique interpersonal issues between employees. Reduced face-to-face communication makes it harder for teams to bond, while making it easier for harassers to get away with bad behavior. To reduce harassment incidents in your hybrid workplace, you need to foster a culture of openness, willingness to learn, and compassion. Join workplace investigation and executive management expert Kenneth McCarthy as he outlines how to address and prevent hybrid workplace harassment incidents.

1. P r e p ared b y I n tegr ity b y M c Car thy
Hybrid Workplace
Harassment:
Are You Protecting Your Employees and
Your Company from Hidden Threats?
Ken McCarthy, President
Integrity by McCarthy Inc.

2. For Business and Government Leaders
For Human Resources Leaders
For Workplace Investigators
• What is standing in our way?
• How do we get ahead of the obstacles?
Overview
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3. What is standing in our way?
Building and Maintaining a
Healthy Hybrid Workplace
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4. More reported bullying among remote
workers than U.S. national average
According to Workplace Bullying Institute survey in
2021, 43% of respondents experienced remote work
bullying.
This is higher than the national average, which is 30%
among all adults and 39% among employed adults.
Further, 34% or respondents were not aware that
workplace bullying happens.
43%
https://workplacebullying.org/
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5. Where did workplace bullying happen?
35% in group
virtual meetings
15% in private
virtual meetings
6% in group emails
3% in private emails
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6. Some issues that we have seen
Virtual workplace
• Exclusion and isolation
• Cozy commentary
• Camera filter
• Technology fatigue
• Water cooler chatter
• 24/7 demands
• Pinging at 8:01 a.m.
• Time zone inequity
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7. Some issues that we have seen
Physical workplace
• Workload inequity
• Office time inequity
• Justification for physical presence
• Tight quarters and personal space
• Upkeep of shared workspaces
• Personal and ergonomic
• Covid shame
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8. The “New World of Work” is a Big Change
• The Great Resignation
• The Real Reasons why we have to return to in-person
• Return to the workplace represents a loss
• Disillusionment and crossing the line
• Does one size fits all?
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9. Digital wild west
You may feel helpless.
You can monitor the employee chats and keep records on software
your company controls, but what if someone is on the receiving end
of nasty Facebook messages or inappropriate Snapchats?
And what if you sanctioned the use of such tools?
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10. How do we get ahead of the
obstacles?
Building and Maintaining a
Healthy Hybrid Workplace
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11. Community
Support
Healthcare
System
Prevention
Resolution
Investigation
Restoration
Complainant
Broken
Lives
Productivity
Loss
Ruined
Careers
Financial
Losses
Damaged
Reputations
Mental
Health
Issues
Witnesses
Labour
Unions
Mediators
Arbitrators
Adjudicators
Judges
Labour
Advisors
Respondent
Managers
Lawyers
Investigators
Labour Dept.
EEOC & ESDC
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Where We Should Focus Our Attention

12. If people could work anywhere, why
would they want to work for you?
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13. You’ve Got Your Act Together
• Modern organizational policies
• Trained employees
• Accountability and consequences
• Meaningful conversations
• Great culture
• Feedback and information
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14. Onboarding and effective training
Train new and existing employees on:
• Your organization’s values and ethics code
• Harassment and violence policies
• Wrongdoing and fraud policies
• Whistleblower protection policies
• Incident reporting and resolution
• Why the above matters
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15. Creating a Great Company Culture
• Prevention mindset
• Deliberate in-person requirements
• Boundaries for yourself and your team
• Clear and meaningful communications
• Incident response and resolution
• Preventing re-occurrence
• Fixing the problem – accountability and consequences
• Restoring the workplace
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16. When an Incident Happens (or you
suspect something is happening) Take Action
• Even with your best efforts, issues can still come up at work.
• Did you hear a snide comment at a meeting?Talk to your employee about
their behavior.
• Do you suspect fraud? Look into it and monitor the suspicious activity.
• Problems do not disappear when they are ignored, in fact, they often
snowball into something worse.
• Don’t let a molehill turn into a mountain.
• If something is going on, take action.
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17. Resolving the issue
• If something does happen on your team or in the workplace, walk
the talk.
• If you can, talk about the incident, check in with your employees
individually and provide a training, healing session, or counselling
sessions if needed.
• Find necessary accommodations or assistance for the impacted
employees and put new measures in place to prevent another
incident from happening in the first place.
• Learn from the experience – every incident has its own story.
• What do the Best organizations do?
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18. What You Need to Do Right Now
If you are a Business or Government Leader
1. Get your act together
2. Take and show ownership
3. Ask for help
If you are a Human resources Leader
1. Analyze risks and trends
2. Consult your peers
3. Empower your business leaders
If you are aWorkplace Investigator
1. Provide feedback on what you have seen
2. Exercise your “root cause” muscles
3. Consult your peers
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19. Closing Thoughts
• We will never achieve a 100% success rate in preventing workplace
harassment in any environment.
• Improvements in prevention will have significant impacts on individuals,
organizations and reputations.
• Feedback is the breakfast of champions
Please send an email titled “Information” to kenneth@integritybymccarthy.ca
if you would like to have access to similar material on preventing and resolving
workplace issues.
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20. T h a n k Y o u f o r
P a r t i c i p a t i n g
Find more free webinars:
www.i-sight.com/resources/webinars
@isightsoftware
C o n t a c t
K e n M c C a r t h y
C o n t a c t
i - S i g h t
webinars@i-sight.com
kenneth@integritybymccarthy.ca
www.integritybymccarthy.ca
www.linkedin.com/company/integrity-by-mccarthy-inc/
@McCarthyK_PCI
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