How to Protect Yourself in a Virtual Workplace

Cubicles have changed to dinner tables, bedrooms, and couches over the past two years. The new normal is sinking in for many workers, and remote employment has taken over this country.?

This new normal doesn’t have to be something to fear. If anything, it can bring many new opportunities both in the workplace and in one’s personal life. Allowing workers to be home will allow them to be more comfortable while they work, and could help lower stress levels and raise productivity.?

Trying to keep yourself and other employees safe while working virtually can potentially be a tall order in a digital world. To stay safe in the virtual workplace, you have to make sure that the following precautions are being taken.?

Replace Closed Doors with Closed Links

With many meetings being held in virtual meeting rooms on Google Meet, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams, there is an extra level of security that is needed to ensure your conversations are truly private. Over the last two years, it has become increasingly clear that virtual calls can be ambushed or seen by all the wrong people.?

When creating or attending a virtual meeting, ensure the privacy settings are switched on. These settings can sometimes default to “public,” allowing just about anyone to enter meetings and cause disruptions, steal information, or harass the people in the call. An extra precaution can be taken by only sending the meeting link to only certain people, and not publishing it to public platforms. If you have a strange feeling the link has been spread somehow, it could be wise to scrap that one and create a new one entirely.?

Employee Policies Still Apply To Virtual Harassment

When creating the employee handbook, no one could have predicted that they would need to add virtual harassment rules. However, it is now an essential part of keeping yourself and those around you safe in this new day. Just because workers are at home does not mean that the rules against harassment and inappropriate activity do not apply.?

While everyone maybe home, there can still be an implied dress code for everyone to abide by, and the comments that are made can still not make people feel uncomfortable. Even if it changes from smart clothes to work casual, it can make others uncomfortable if someone is making comments like “No one knows I am not wearing pants right now!” or “Nice pajamas.” While these may seem harmless, they do cross a line that people may not be comfortable with.?

To ensure their safety, team members should be allowed to blur their backgrounds or use approved virtual backgrounds on Zoom. The virtual workplace should also be free of personal comments pertaining to someones working environment or attire, and there should be a policy against sending inappropriate pictures, gifs, or saying off-handed remarks about someone’s looks. Employees may feel that since they are not in the office, they may be able to get away with sending crude comments or indecent pictures, but this could not be further from the truth.

Every employee should remember, when you are engaged in work related activities, whether at home, the office or some third-party location, the company policies on conduct, discrimination and harassment still apply and any violation of the policies could result in discipline up to and including termination.?

“See Something, Say Something” Still Applies

In the physical workplace, “See something, say something” is enforced and encouraged. This shouldn’t change while shifting to virtual work. Whether management didn’t see an exchange or something was said in a private chat, it can still qualify as harassment and create an unsafe work environment.?

Your rights in the workplace do not stop when work leaves the physical office building. At Baldwin & Vernon, we have a dedicated and experienced team that is committed to protecting your rights. Our attorneys have extensive backgrounds in employment discrimination and civil rights law. Email us at [email protected] for more information.