A quarter of Quebec workers would not have confidence in their employer to handle their complaint adequately if they were victims of harassment at work, according to a Léger survey published Thursday, commissioned by the Order of approved human resources advisors (CRHA). This situation worries the organization, since 11% of the 1,000 people surveyed say they have been victims of such behavior in the last year.
A few days before the start of consultations on the provincial bill aimed at preventing and combating psychological harassment and sexual violence in the workplace, the professional order wanted to “give the full measure of this issue” with recent figures.
“In 2022, there were 4,900 complaints for harassment filed with the CNESST, which is already a lot. But for us, it is very clear that this is the tip of the iceberg,” indicated Manon Poirier, general director of the Order.
The last surveys directly questioning workers went back a few years. For example, the 2020-2021 Quebec Population Health Survey, conducted among 47,153 respondents, reported that 13% of people had experienced a situation of psychological or sexual harassment at work during the year.
According to data from the Léger survey, 44% of workers say they have already been victims or witnesses of it in their lives. The margin of error declared by Léger is plus or minus 3%, 19 times out of 20.
“The percentages are quite worrying, because when you are a victim of harassment, it cannot be resolved in two weeks. It’s something that stays with us for a very long time. There is psychological distress. There is an impact on work, on family,” laments M.me Poirier.
Psychological or sexual harassment at work is defined by the Commission on Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) as “vexatious conduct that manifests itself through words, gestures or behaviors that are repeated, are hostile or unwanted, undermine the dignity or integrity of the person” and “make the work environment harmful to them”.
Improve support
At the beginning of January, the Order also surveyed its members, 63% of them reporting at least one report or complaint of harassment within their organization over the last year. But these complaints are not necessarily well managed and taken seriously, according to Mme Poirier.
“There are really great things being done in lots of organizations. And there are plenty of organizations where nothing happens at all, except for the fact that there is a policy that says this is not tolerated. They say: if you have a problem, talk to your manager. But we have never equipped managers on how to deal with that,” reports Mme Poirier.
Even if all employers must have developed their own policy on this subject since 2019, confidence is far from reigning. About three in ten workers are not aware that such a policy exists, would not know who to contact to file a complaint, do not believe that they would be taken seriously and doubt that the necessary measures would be taken.
“The path must be clear to help victims denounce and ensure that the people who intervene in mediation or who carry out investigations are competent,” adds Ms.me Poirier.
The latter hopes that Bill 42, which will be the subject of public consultations in the National Assembly from January 30 to 1er February, be improved. “There is no element that helps the workplace take charge,” she believes.
The bill proposes several measures aimed at improving the remedies available to victims, in particular by giving them more time to make claims for professional injury related to sexual violence and by protecting employees against retaliation by the employer.