Last spring, as offices closed across the country and kitchen tables became desks, contemplating the possible upsides of the new professional conundrum felt like a means of survival.
There was much tumult, and there were many questions. Among them: Once we all became boxes on Zoom or text bubbles in a chat, and once we were physically separated from colleagues and clients, would incidents of workplace harassment drop?
That flame quickly went dark.
What is virtual harassment?
Kalpana Kotagal, partner at Cohen Milstein in the civil rights and employment group, says workplace harassment of any kind occurs when an employee uses protected characteristics — things like race, gender, sexual orientation, seniority or socioeconomic status — to hold power over a colleague or staff member. The result is a so-called hostile work environment — a workspace that feels unsafe, can feel threatening to someone’s identity or inhibit employees from doing their work.
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