Online violence emerging as an important workplace issue in Sri Lanka: International Finance Corporation

• HR managers hold misconceptions about prevalence of this form of violence
• Report highlights need for companies to strengthen their code of conduct
• Urges entities to create awareness on nature of online violence, online safety and reporting such conduct 

Similar to sexual harassment, online violence is emerging as an important workplace issue among local companies and making the stance worse is that human resource (HR) managers understand poorly on the act and its implications on employees. 

The recently published report ‘Business Case for Creating Respectful Workplaces in Sri Lanka’ by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) found that although online violence is on the rise in workplaces, HR managers hold misconceptions about the prevalence of this form of violence. 

During the interview sessions for the survey, a manager in the manufacturing sector said that the employees in the sector do not have time to engage in online violence. Similarly, a manager in the banking and finance sector said that because the company uses premium platforms for online meetings, online violence has not been reported. Another HR manager said that they think that online violence tends to take place among young people. 

“This appears to be a misconception, however, as online violence was reported by survey participants across all age groups, apart from those over age 55,” the IFC said in the report. 

Furthermore, only 4 percent of all survey participants said that their work was impacted by having a family member or friend who experienced violence by their current or ex-partner or someone else in their family or household. 
Owing to the safety risks of asking people, who work from home, directly about their experiences of domestic violence, the survey posed the relevant question in broad terms. 

Nevertheless, the survey result indicates underreporting, as the managers interviewed for this study repeatedly raised the concern that the employees’ experience of domestic violence may have increased, due to the stresses of changed financial and living arrangements brought about by COVID-19. 

To tackle the fast-growing issue, the report stressed the need for companies to strengthen their code of conduct to ensure the appropriate use of online resources. Entities were also urged to provide training for managers and employees about the nature of online violence, online safety (such as privacy settings), relevant policies and procedures for reporting incidents and the support services that are available.