How to go beyond POSH compliance and improve employee well-being?

The POSH Act, 2013 was enacted to ensure safe and secure workplaces where women employees could work with equality and dignity. This article is useful for employers to understand how they can improve employee well-being and approach the law from a viewpoint that goes beyond legal compliance. 

The POSH law defines sexual harassment broadly and provides for the prevention and redressal of such incidents. It mandates that employers establish Internal Committees (ICs) and conduct inquiries in accordance with the prescribed legal procedure, conduct regular training and awareness sessions for IC members and employees, and submit compliance reports at regular intervals. If employers fail to abide by these provisions, they are liable to pay a fine under the law. 

However, there is a difference in culture between an employer who approaches workplace equity from the viewpoint of legal compliance and an employer who proactively works to improve employee well-being. To truly ensure a safe and secure work environment, organizations need to go beyond compliance and harness the objectives of the law to build a people-centric culture in their organization.

Bindiya Rao, Advocate and POSH External Member, says: 

“The effective application of POSH law can ensure the visibility of women in the world economy and financial independence. This law provides a fair mechanism and framework to redress grievances. The law emphasizes the need to be empathetic to others and respect their boundaries. Employee wellness and POSH Law both are principally designed around acknowledging and learning to coexist with the lived experiences of each individual.”

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How to improve employee well-being?

There are several ways in which employers can showcase their commitment to anti-harassment initiatives, and promote a culture where employees feel safe and secure. Gender-neutral policies, leadership involvement, accountability systems, and employee engagement are some of the ways to enhance employee well-being. Let’s understand them in more detail: 

Improve employee well-being with gender-neutral policies

While the POSH Act applies to women only, employees across the gender spectrum are vulnerable to sexual harassment in the workplace. Therefore, the first step towards ensuring employee well-being is to ensure that all employees, regardless of their gender, are covered under anti-harassment policies. Employers must proactively promote policies that apply to all employees in the organization, regardless of the gender identity of the complainant or the respondent. 

Also read: How to draft a Gender-neutral PoSH Policy?

Leadership involvement to improve employee well-being

Effective workplace harassment prevention efforts and a workplace culture where harassment is not tolerated must start with the highest level of management of the organization. Leadership has to walk the talk or it doesn’t work. Leaders can act as role models, and their participation and involvement in anti-harassment initiatives can send a clear message that these initiatives truly matter to those who hold power in the workplace. They can do this by holding open discussions, regularly assessing the workplace environment, actively promoting policies and procedures, and ensuring that they are accessible. 

Accountability systems

Organizations must have designated accountability systems in place across positions, so that those who engage in harassment are held responsible, and those responsible for creating a safe workplace are also held accountable. Such measures can give employees confidence that the organization genuinely cares about their anti-harassment efforts and that the employees’ harassment claims will be taken seriously. To improve employee well-being, organizations can introduce institutionalized reward and recognition systems for designated HR leaders and POSH coordinators. 

Employee engagement

A workplace cannot improve employee well-being without their participation. Training and awareness sessions are an important facet of such engagement, and they can help employees recognize instances of harassment, and be aware of the organizational redressal mechanism. However, when employers look beyond compliance, they will recognize that these sessions can be effective only when they are held at regular intervals, and are complemented by regular discussions and feedback sessions to understand what employees expect and whether these sessions have the intended impact.

Evidence-based and innovative training 

Employee engagement can be leveraged to design evidence-based and innovative, awareness and training sessions. These can be informed by data collected by employers from within the organization to understand what works and what doesn’t, and also be complemented by best practices. Further, bystander intervention is emerging to be an important facet of training, and it can be used as part of sessions to create awareness about employees’ active role in creating a safe workplace environment.

Also read: How to enhance employee experience in your organization?

It is imperative to understand that the POSH Act was enacted primarily to enable safe and secure workplaces. When the law is approached as a tool to promote inclusive and safe workplaces, and not to avoid liability, workplaces can leverage it to build an open and positive culture where harassment is actively prevented and effectively redressed which in turn will improve employee well-being. 

How can Ungender help you? 

At Ungender, we believe that POSH is not just a compliance requirement but much more than that. Our experts can help your organization leverage POSH compliance in a manner that will lead to enhancing your overall organizational culture. 

We also provide you with e-learning modules and content for constant learning and knowledge-building to stay up to date with the latest developments in the law. Get in touch with us or connect with us at contact@ungender.in. 

Written by: Shambhavi Rai