Racial discrimination knows no workplace boundaries. Whether in the office or remote, violators continue to find a way. In a 2021 Gallup survey of 8,000 U.S. workers, about one in four Black and Hispanic employees report being discriminated against at work in the past year. hen looking specifically at remote workers, a Project Include survey of 3,000 remote tech workers found that women, people of color, transgender, and nonbinary workers were more likely to have experienced increased workplace hostility since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 94% were multiracial, identifying as Latinx/Hispanic, Asian/Asian American, or Black/African/African American. 

Problem: Protecting employees against racial discrimination in digital channels 

A high-profile case of digital racial discrimination is that of Jon Gruden, the former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Gruden resigned in October 2021 after a pattern of racist, homophobic, and misogynistic emails dating back to 2011 were exposed. In one email, Gruden commented that NFL Players’ Association president DeMaurice Smith (nicknamed Dum­b­oriss Smith by Gruden), who is Black, “has lips the size of Michellin tires.” 

Digital channels such as email, instant messaging, and video have emboldened some violators, giving them a place to openly and blatantly harass coworkers in one-on-one and often unmonitored channels.

Harmful behavior often goes unreported, making HR and compliance efforts even more difficult because of the privacy within these channels. Racism left unchecked in these channels will grow and create an unsafe workplace culture for people of color, leading to employee disengagement, lower productivity, attrition, and potentially costly lawsuits. 

This underscores the importance of evolving compliance and training programs to meet the needs of a digital world. “HR in most workplaces still has not caught up to what virtual forms of misconduct and harassment look and feel like, and there’s a lack of policies and procedures around what is acceptable [on remote platforms],” according to Jennifer Brown, a diversity, equity, and inclusion expert. Adding that, “Employers need to be especially race-conscious right now.” 

Solution: Prevent racial discrimination by evolving compliance training and technology

Protecting employees against racial discrimination in a remote work environment is forcing many HR and compliance programs to modernize and evolve compliance programs in order to become more vigilant about what is transpiring on digital channels. 

When remote hostility is becoming more prevalent, a solution like Fairwords Guide, for example, puts proactive technology in place to actively train employees as they type, ensuring inclusive, compliant, and fair communications. Additionally, HR and compliance teams have access to anonymous dashboards letting them know if any terms that could promote racial discrimination, harassment, or hostility are being used. 

Fairwords Guide provides in-the-moment training as employees type, helping them recognize possible violations and revise their language before hitting send.

Result: Create a safe, compliant, and fair communications culture 

What could Fairwords have done for Coach Jon Gruden? Gruden would have learned why the language he was using was harmful and suggestions for changing it. First and foremost protecting the people on the receiving end of his harassment had he chosen to accept Fairwords’ suggestions and comply with NFL policies. Instead, Gruden’s misconduct continued unchecked for years and eventually infected an entire team’s culture, bringing forth reputational carnage and harming many individuals in its toxic wake. 

Technology is evolving with the remote work landscape affording HR and compliance leaders the power to prevent harmful and discriminatory language through in-the-moment training. Additionally, leaders can demonstrate program evolution through technology like Fairwords, which tracks and proves that workplace communications culture is improved.

Here’s how Fairwords’ clients ensure healthy and compliant communications cultures: 

• In-the-moment training as employees type continuously reinforces company policies and values, protecting others from harmful communications.
• Cloud-based software works with any application on desktops where employees are writing.
• Anonymized dashboards help HR and compliance leaders evaluate flagged words, words in use, and track improvement over time.
• HR and compliance leaders can prove the effectiveness of their programs while reducing the risk of litigation, employee complaints, brand impact, and financial loss.

Prevent harmful communications from ever happening while helping ensure an inclusive, compliant, and fair communications culture. Get in touch for a free demo.