2024 Trends in Workplace Training

Legal changes, most recently in New York State and Chicago, mandate changes to workplace training programs. And we are seeing organizations that recognize the positive effect of harassment prevention conversations, and are looking to make those discussions even more meaningful and impactful by considering more complex issues and scenarios.     

Address All Protected Characteristics

In reaction to #MeToo, many states requiring harassment training focused on only sexual harassment.  We firmly believe that any harassment prevention training should look beyond sex, to educate employees on how their words and actions regarding any protected characteristic (i.e., disability, age, religion, and race) can be perceived as harassing.  Once an organization is spending the time and money to provide harassment prevention training, limiting the discussion simply to examples of sexual harassment is a lost opportunity. 

An even more impactful approach is to look beyond just the law – to policies, Code of Conduct, and organization culture.  Approach harassment prevention training as an opportunity to reinforce the organization’s fundamental expectations for how employees should treat each other and how they should expect to be treated.

Talk About How the Law Defines “Sex” and “Gender”

Federal, state and local laws, particularly in the jurisdictions that require harassment prevention training, continue to trend towards an expansive legal definition of “sex” and “gender.”  They increasingly include protection of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and transgender status.  Harassment prevention training programs should follow that trend to clarify the scope of protections based on “sex” and the relevant terminology.

Empower Bystanders to Be Upstanders

Harassing behavior does not persist in a vacuum; it is often the enabling behaviors of others that allow it to continue.  We believe it is critical, therefore, to empower employees who see, hear or learn of harassing behaviors to step up and take responsive action, i.e., confronting the person engaged in the behavior, redirecting the conversation, or simply offering support to the targeted employee.  We have trained for years on this issue of encouraging employees to be more than “bystanders” and be “upstanders.” Just this year, various states and cities have started requiring this to be a mandatory component of annual training.  

Discussing employee options is an essential element of any harassment prevention training program.  Real change is best effectuated when those recommendations are accompanied by actual examples, for employees to fully consider whether and how they might respond in comparable situations.