Why is workplace harassment getting worse in Canada?

Data-driven change and third-party responsibility

To build momentum for meaningful change, Workman-Stark recommends organizations regularly collect and analyze harassment data. Without data to back up their claims, she explains, HR leaders will have a hard time communicating the urgency of workplace harassment strategies to decision makers.

Presenting data to influential leaders is critical to making harassment prevention a priority; in addition, she suggests that involving external parties in assessments can increase accountability.

“External voices can be great advocates,” says Workman-Stark, emphasizing that external assessments provide a neutral perspective and hold organizations accountable for meeting their obligations.

Berlingieri adds that workplace harassment should not be purely an HR issue. For change to truly succeed, initiatives must span the entire organization and be supported by company policies that are followed to the letter.

“Harassment and violence are not something that should be on the side table of organizations, and it shouldn’t just be HR. They can be the center of it, but it has to be that the entire organization, every unit, every level of an organization has to be represented in this work and in this strategy,” she says.