Survey: 76% of Employed Americans Say #MeToo Positively Impacted How Sexual Harassment Is Addressed In The Workplace, While More Than 2 In 5 Say It Has Damaged Trust Between HR and Employees

CareerArc takes a deeper look into how social movements can impact the workplace

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Mar 10, 2020, 11:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, March 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to results from the 2020 #MeToo movement survey of 1,023 employed U.S. adults (full time/part-time) conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerArc, a leader in HR technology providing social recruiting and modern outplacement, 76% of employed (full-time or part-time) Americans say the social movement made a positive impact on how sexual harassment is addressed in the workplace. Yet still, 44% say it actually damaged trust between HR representatives and employees. This sentiment is more pronounced among employed men (52%) than employed women (36%), especially those employed men ages 18-34 (62%) versus 45% of men ages 35-64.

The #MeToo movement began circulating on social media in the fall of 2017 as women stepped forward to share their personal experiences with sexual harassment and assault. The movement encouraged other victims to come forward to shine a light on this societal issue.

The survey found that nearly three-quarters (74%) of employed Americans say the #MeToo movement is helping to decrease the occurrence of sexual harassment in the workplace. The movement also sparked a new voice amongst workers, with 68% of employed Americans saying the #MeToo movement has made them feel more empowered to report sexual harassment at work.

However, the survey results also showed the workplace is still far from being free of sexual misconduct-related concerns. Seventy-seven percent of employed Americans say the movement is not enough to completely prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, while less than a third (31%) believe their HR department has created an open or judgment-free way to report sexual harassment at their workplace. Only 41% of employed Americans say their HR department takes sexual harassment in the workplace very seriously.

To help HR professionals navigate these complex issues and pressures, CareerArc is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, entitled, "How HR must evolve in the wake of #MeToo." Listeners will hear from culture expert Jane Garza, managing director of NOBL LA, on how to create a workplace culture that reduces the prevalence of sexual harassment along with best practices to protect employees and address offenders. For more information, please visit CareerArc.com.

Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerArc from Feb. 4-6, 2020, among 2,031 adults ages 18 and older, of which 1,023 were employed FT/PT. Results were weighted for age within gender, region, race/ethnicity, income, and education where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact CareerArc at [email protected].

About CareerArc
CareerArc is a leading HR technology company helping business leaders recruit and transition the modern workforce. CareerArc social recruiting and virtual outplacement solutions help thousands of organizations, including many of the Fortune 500, maximize their return on employer branding. By leveraging the cloud, running on modern infrastructure, and combining web, mobile and social media applications, CareerArc helps companies gain a competitive edge in recruitment, employment branding, and outplacement. CareerArc was founded in 2009 and has offices in Burbank, Calif. and Boston, Mass.

Contact: Whitney Wells
BAM Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE CareerArc