Workplace Harassment Training Should Address Teens

It’s hard to pick up a newspaper or turn on a TV without seeing coverage of the controversy surrounding ex-congressman Mark Foley. Whatever the fallout, the political storm highlights a topic that is getting increasing attention from the EEOC and employers alike: teenage workers. 

You may be surprised to know that there are more than 6 million teenage employees in this country.  You may be also be surprised to learn that the EEOC filed 15 lawsuits involving teen workers last year, compared with 8 cases in 2001. And that doesn’t include complaints filed individually by teens with the EEOC.

Not surprisingly, addressing teen harassment is becoming a priority for government prosecutors.  The EEOC, for example, has created a website, www.youth.eeoc.gov, just for teens.  It has also launched an outreach program that puts the Commission in contact with more than 112,000 teens, employers and educators.

In this environment, training teenage employees on workplace harassment issues and remedies is critically important.  More than virtually any other group, teenagers lack the experience to know when conduct is out of line, are nearly always in subordinate positions in the workplace, and are far more likely to put up with harassing conduct out of fear or embarrassment. 

How do you reach teenage workers?  In some ways, it’s the same problem faced by employers every day.  While teenagers are certainly more likely to zone out “lecture style” training programs, they are not the only group likely to be put off dry, text-based training, or unsophisticated programs that feature cartoons, rudimentary graphics and low production quality. 

So what do you do for employees that have vastly different levels of sophistication, experience or education?

Studies consistently demonstrate that realistic, story-based training appeals to the widest range of learners.  The combination of an engaging storyline, interactive exercises and real life scenarios will reach everyone, from board members to teenage workers.

The big take-away here is that we need to ensure that teenage workers are not taken advantage of in the workplace by providing effective education.  First and foremost, it’s the right thing to do.  It will also help protect against potentially crippling jury verdicts and inestimable damage to your organization’s good name and reputation in the event of a problem involving a teenage worker.

Tags: EEOC, Federal Harassment Training, harassment, teenage, training, workers,