Employee Misconduct While Working Remotely And Employee Workplace Safety Concerns Emerge As New HR Investigations Hotspots

As organizations and people managers continue to rapidly pivot to their employees either completely working from home, or engaging in a hybrid model of working from home with occasionally coming to the office, common employee misconduct issues continue to occur. Bad behavior related to discrimination, harassment, retaliation, continues to occur, although the manner in which it occurs has been slightly tweaked. What might have once been face-to-face bullying and intimidation now occurs via raised voices on a Zoom call, or constant needling e-mails until the wee hours of the morning. 

Employment laws regarding potential employer liability for harassment, discrimination, and other misconduct still apply. Forward-thinking employers are creating new processes and procedures for tracking, reporting, and investigating misconduct claims while employees work remotely. Below are a few insights and tips for employers and managers to navigate these new areas like a pro. 

#1: Despite the lines between work and home becoming blurred, employees are still entitled to the protections afforded them by employment laws. Employment laws still apply.

Since the coronavirus epidemic took hold, news outlets have consistently reported on employees’ increased dissatisfaction and burnout resulting from new work from home models. Employers must be careful and thoughtful with still respecting employees’ personal time, especially with respect to wage-and-hour laws and overtime laws. Employees cannot be considered to be constantly “on-call” and in nonstop communication with managers. As stories begin to emerge regarding how misconduct looks within a remote work setting, there are now instances of employees being hounded by managers during the day and night. Employment law thought leaders are now positing that managers who constantly e-mail employees, or engage in excessive performance management,  or send overly critical e-mails, can be held to have engaged in cyberbullying. The standards which qualify a manager as being just a “bad boss” vs. a legal liability-triggering bully still apply. Employers must take constant pulse checks as to how employees are feeling within their new working from home arrangements, and ensure that there are not issues related to bullying, discrimination, or harassment that can lead to future costly lawsuits against the employer.

#2: Workplace safety investigations are the new HR investigations. 

The umbrella of responsibility for human resource professionals continues to grow, as numerous human resources professionals are now being tasked with working with building management and architects to quite literally create physically safe workplaces. As employers begin to trickle back into the workplace, social distancing best practices, intensive cleaning routines, and staggered work schedules are being utilized to keep employees safe and healthy. The United States Senate is currently discussing the potential liability of employers in instances when employees do become sick while in the workplace. But how do employees report concerns about safety protocols and issues when few people are in the office? And what is the workplace investigation process for when such complaints are received? Management must create easy-to-use and access reporting mechanisms for employees to report such concerns and issues quickly, and be ready to respond immediately. No one remembers the phone number for that employee hotline that they were provided years ago. Employers must create tech-enabled, user-friendly methods for employees to report workplace safety concerns. The overarching concerns of employee health and well-being, as well as considerations of legal liability required that there are no gaps in this reporting and investigations process. 

#3: Be ready to kick into action. 

When complaints regarding issues of remote misconduct or workplace safety are received, there must be a lightning-fast response, as well as a prompt and thorough investigation into the complaint. Employers must create workplace investigation processes that speak to the concern lodged by the employee, and inform the employee of any actions being taken in response to the complaint. It is already widely accepted that employers whom allow employee complaints about misconduct to fester and linger are engaging in poor and legally dangerous practices. With that in mind, just consider the enormous risk and liability that employers could potentially expose themselves to by not promptly responding to workplace safety complaints. Besides legal liability, a nonresponse to employee concerns could lead to a sick and infected workforce, with potentially fatal consequences for employees’ health and well-being. Additionally, low employee morale, high turnover, and reduced productivity can all result from having a workplace in which employee safety concerns are not being quickly addressed. Smart organizations are prioritizing the creation of new accountability structures and processes as related to this emerging employee relations issue.

The Triangle Takeaway: Misconduct while employees work remotely, as well as employee concerns about workplace safety, are emerging employee relations issues. The fast-moving adjustments being made to workplaces require that employers create systems for employees to quickly and reliably report issues in these areas. The stale employee hotline of yesteryear will not suffice. Triangle Investigations offers its clients usage of its proprietary Telli ™  app, which functions as a reporting mechanism for employees to quickly and easily report concerns from their own phone or digital device. Once that complaint is received, Triangle immediately responds, enabling employers and managers to keep their finger on the pulse of issues and helping them to engage in quick corrective actions.