Going Back to the Workplace Post COVID-19

While the last 18 months have been a turmoil of emotion across the world, the higher vaccinated ­­­populations are now discussing the return to work. We have dealt with the working from home issues if you had that privilege. These can include creating a timetable within the household for different routines, people getting on top of one another, and probably some arguments when frustration gets to a high.

One aspect we have not had to worry about, is the uncomfortability of some encounters at work. We have been able to stay in our safe environment, the comfort of our own home, forgetting and letting our guard down from inappropriate behaviours. Pre-COVID, the Workplace Harassment Statistics 2020 showed women have 54% chance to be sexually harassed, with 58% of women never reporting incidents.

What if these were the most extreme cases? We had been conditioned to accept a high level of sexualisation, harassment or comments because it was constant? Now is the time for us to be able to understand what we are uncomfortable with. Returning back to work, we should not feel afraid to see certain colleagues, to have a chat with a superior or be in an environment where there is underlying fear.

Why do we have to accept this fear and type of behaviour going back into work? We are in 2021, the time where technology has allowed us to go to Mars, we understand the universe and are able to pinpoint a sounds origin from the edge of the universe. Yet we still cannot eradicate these basic  behavioural problems. By enabling these behaviours from not reporting, or pushing the onus onto the victim, pushes our development backwards.

This last year we have discussed the opportunities of reflection, re-prioritising life and a lot of people have found a need to heal. BACP Public Perceptions Survey found 75% of people felt the pandemic impacted their mental health, it may have allowed deeper wounds to be shown. This is the time for change, we have a new chapter to live, and we should be allowed to feel comfortable and free of fear in all aspects of life.

One needed change, is of culture, when discussing these, the accountability and blame still sits on the female, the onus is the woman’s, yet society understands and knows the implications, fear and attitude some men have. While I have used very generalised statements claiming this only affects women, this is not the case. One aspect of this is to discuss the characteristics which are not acceptable, that are not specific to one gender. The cause of this subtle manipulation and power play, can be in a form of coercive control. Mentioning of positive behavioural associations such as “I knew you were really cool, not like the others” makes the individual feel accountable when the inappropriate behaviour is displayed. Accepting comments such as these, means allowing the inappropriate comments to be openly said? Of course not, but the discussion of intent needs to be discussed at a more serious point than disregarding between the lines.

We are at a position of changing our culture towards the working world to support the destruction of behaviours like this. Going back into the workplace, start viewing your working world in a way to think what can change and how can we do this. Contact us to discuss how we can create a safe work culture for everyone. We are changing the world step by step, and openness on needed change is vital.