Workplace bullying and harassment complaints have to be
investigated in a manner that is reasonable in the
circumstances. This is a long-established workplace legal
principle. But what happens to a long-established legal
principle when the workplace itself is not long established?
In this article we will look at some developments in how
bullying and harassment complaints arise and ought to be
investigated in a new era of work:
1. Developments in Harassment Itself
Monitoring for harassment online is not exactly a new
development, but working from home during a pandemic when tensions
may be higher than normal has certainly given employers a reason to
be more diligent about workplace harassment that does not occur in
person. Further, new communication tools like Teams and Zoom
have given workers a way to stay in communication, but also a new
setting in which harassment can occur. In this day and age,
workers are also more sensitive to and aware of incidents,
