Abstract
Some of the most significant issues facing workers’ well-being and organization productivity are workplace violence and harassment. The International Labour Organizations (ILO) Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206 set out comprehensive guidelines in regard to the fact that violence and harassment are not just confined to traditional workplaces, but can occur at any workplace-related context, which could also include digital communications or on business travel or commuting to and from work. It involves the different aspects of harassment at work-from the definition, legal frameworks to victim impact and organizational impact, and the psychological, physical, sexual, and economic harm such harassment produces, and the great extent alternative dispute resolution mechanisms should play in solving such conflict through arbitration and mediation. The paper also discusses efforts by the ILO to try and establish guidelines and international standards aimed at the prevention and reduction of violence and harassment in the workplace that require the cooperation of governments, employers, and workers’ organizations. It also goes into the sexual harassment laws, especially in India, and the role of conciliation processes under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act of 2013. It has benefits in that such an alternative dispute resolution system provides speedy and cost-effective resolutions while maintaining confidentiality for harmonious workplace settings. To better understand how arbitration and mediation can be effective in such actions at workplaces or concerning sexual harassment at workplaces to do justice and to protect workers’ rights, their roles are being studied critically.
Keywords: ADR, Workplace Violence and Harassment, Employee Rights and Protection, Occupational Safety and Health, ILO Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206, POSH ACT 2013.
Introduction
Workplace harassment, violence, and bullying have become problems that employees and employers face in various countries. Such abusive practices denigrate workers but at the same time weaken organizational capacity and culture. In that respect, much improvement has taken place in dealing with the problem through legislative efforts as well as organizational responses. International instruments that have set and reacted to workplace violence and harassment include Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206 by the International Labour Organizations (ILO). These standards identify that workplace violence and harassment include not only acts that happen in physical spaces but rather can happen in various manifestations and venues, including the use of digital communication means and even in work-related activities.
Workplace harassment is usually unwanted or inappropriate behavior that may pose a threat to one’s well-being, safety, and dignity. It often starts as verbal aggression, as far as up to psychological, sexual, or even some level of economic harm. The Convention on Violence and Harassment (No. 190), passed by the ILO already in 2019, considers essential healthy work environment without violence or harassment. It provides a general definition that encompasses gender-based violence within the scope of protection at work, at some remote work, during traveling, and in digital communications at work. The comprehensive framework puts it across that workplace harassment will not be restricted to where the worker spends most working hours, given the dynamically changing nature of work globally.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also says that, for the past five fiscal years, harassment charges comprised the majority of employment discrimination charges filed. Most of these are race, sex, disability, and other kinds of harassment. Victims of harassment have to suffer from serious psychological disorders, physical illness, and loss of job opportunities. The victims suffer from anxiety, depression, loss of self-esteem, and low job satisfaction. In the extreme end, it could even trigger serious health problems such as chronic stress-related diseases and very severe career disruptions to the point of job loss or retirement. The impact of workplace harassment towards organizations is also just as detrimental. Workplace harassment can dramatically drop employee morale, hurt teamwork, and destroy reputations of the company. Harassment can also lead to higher turnover rates, reduce productivity, and court liability when cases are mishandled. Moreover, without being checked, harassment accumulates and leads to extreme lawful consequences for employers in terms of fines and lawsuits and reputational damage.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques, including mediation and arbitration, have also been developed as effective instruments in resolving workplace disputes with respect to harassment claims. Some of the advantages that are evident in ADR include being more flexible, less expensive, and a much informal process that can even work on preserving working relationships. For instance, mediation would be an opportunity for employees to voice their grievances in a non-confrontational and confidential manner, hence allowing more effective and mutually acceptable solutions. Arbitration would provide a final binding resolution of disputes hence ensuring finality and least possibilities of protracted litigation.
Even so, despite all these promises of ADR, issues like sexual harassment and workplace bullying are difficult because they infringe on the person’s self and can cause ruinous damage in terms of psychological damage to the victim. It is therefore essential that any process of dispute resolution instituted must be not only within the bounds of law, but also fair, unbiased and sensitive to the needs of all the concerned parties.
Among the most disturbing issues that can be witnessed is sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment can appear in several ways, for example, unwanted physical contact, sexual advances, verbal comments, or even online harassment. Other than violating individual rights and creating an unsafe work environment, sexual harassment may lead to legal claims and damage the reputation of an organization. Many organizations have, therefore, placed policies with full grievance procedures having ADR mechanisms in the process of handling it with sensitivity and respect towards all people involved in such a situation.
This would, therefore, result in a work environment where all the employees feel safe, valued, and respected. An education, clear policies, mechanisms for conflict resolution, active usage, and effective mechanisms shall need to be used in conflict resolution to handle and then resolve incidents of harassment and violence. Organizations can go ahead of productivity, morale, and retention to improve their employee well-being by actually developing environments where employees may grow free from harassment. With growing awareness around the world of workplace harassment, comes also the growing commitment to eliminating such destructive behavior and ensuring that all workers have a right to a safe and supportive work environment.