Preventing Harassment in the Age of Social Media and Corporate Chat

On November 1st, 2018 more than 1000 Google employees from Japan to San Francisco protested what they say is a workplace culture that has overlooked sexual harassment and discrimination situations within the company. These demonstrations are in response to years of sexual harassment allegations, multimillion-dollar severance packages for accused executives, and a perceived total lack of transparency over the cases. The #MeToo movement spread virally in October 2017 as a hashtag used on social media in an attempt to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, particularly in the workplace. These are but two examples of a spotlight on the recent mountain of harassment claims made by victims. Sexual harassment in the workplace, unfortunately, is all too common and is devastating to the individuals experiencing it. It also has substantial adverse effects on the companies’ where this abhorrent behaviour takes place.

Social Media - The Emotional Outlet With social media taking over every day in-person interactions between people, it not only affects the way we communicate on a personal level, but also leaves a drastic impact on corporate culture too. Instagramming your first day on the job from your new and fancy office is a great way to create a positive image of your current employer, but what about on the last day when you were let go? Probably not the same - no happy faces or sweet words about the organization, but instead endless negative attacks on the manager, the organization and maybe even your ex coworkers. Maybe the hypothetical case described is an extreme, for many people being let go, coping with the shock is so painful that they feel the need to turn to social media as an emotional outlet. In some places, taking matters too far to defame an employer is actually against the law. A resolution from the Court of Quebec suggests that bad mouthing an employer could lead to fines. As in the case of Ian Ritchie, a former employee of Monseigneur Blanche Residence, who wrote a provocative comment on his Facebook page and was later sued by the owner of the care home he previously worked for. As a resolution to this case, Justice awarded $17,500 to be paid in favor of Monseigneur Blanche Residence.