Most companies provide orientation and training to employees about sexual harassment. But did you know that sexual harassment training in the workplace only teaches your employees about what to do if they feel like someone is harassing them? It does not teach them how to prevent sexual harassment. That is why orientation and training should focus on preventing sexual harassment and not just dealing with the harassment that has already happened. 

Reasons Diversity Training Is Essential for Preventing Sexual Harassment

Every employee knows that if they are sexually harassed in the workplace, it will affect their performance. However, most employees won’t report the harassment for fear of losing their job or facing a hostile environment. This means that the company indirectly encourages sexual harassment by allowing employees to continue committing sexual harassment. And this is why your company needs to conduct orientation and training sessions for all employees before they are hired, as well as throughout the course of employment.

Sexual Harassment Training

Employees don’t need to worry about being fired or leaving the company if they take the training. Most of the time, employees develop the wrong perceptions about sexual harassment training because the training is conducted during orientation and not during employment. If the training were held during employment, employees would know what to expect, and there would be less confusion about the guidelines and standards that the training discusses.

Many employers don’t think about the training they provide for their employees when they think about new hires. The problem is that when they hire employees, they don’t look at the training they provide for diversity and sexual harassment issues. 

Some companies think that onboarding and training are only necessary when there has been some problem. This is true, but if you don’t provide training and orientation that deal with harassment, you admit that there is a problem and condone it by allowing your employees to think it is okay.

Diversity Training In The Workplace

One reason diversity training is essential for preventing problems within your company: there are often other issues that come up that don’t involve sexual harassment.

People may bring trouble to the office because of their personality, their religious beliefs, their race, or because of things that may seem seemingly fit under the heading of sexual harassment. Diversity training will help employees get to know one another better. Employees who feel comfortable in their environment will work harder, take care of each other more, and build a strong working relationship with their co-workers.

By providing employees with this training, you will also be helping them feel confident about themselves. The more comfortable the employee is with their surroundings, the more likely they will speak out, report, and even stand up to sexual harassment in the workplace. Diversity training can also be used to correct any problems within your company before they grow into sexual harassment problems that could significantly impact your business.