Suggestions
Ariel Weindling
Founder and CEO @NotMe Solutions Inc.
Ariel Weindling is a prominent figure in the legal and entrepreneurial fields, dedicated to fostering equality, safety, and transparency in workplaces.
Ariel serves as the Principal at Empower Law PC and is renowned as the founder of #NotMe, a groundbreaking mobile enterprise solution designed to address and resolve workplace misconduct effectively.
Having accrued over fifteen years of experience dealing with a multitude of harassment and discrimination cases, Ariel has emerged as a champion for reforming corporate culture and spearheading a paradigm shift towards a more inclusive and respectful work environment.
A passionately committed advocate, Ariel has conducted numerous training sessions for employees on critical topics like sexual harassment, discrimination, and bullying.
Embracing the ethos of movements such as #MeToo and BLM, Ariel, alongside a distinguished panel of advisors, actively endeavors to translate societal awakenings into tangible changes within organizations.
Driven by a profound vision, Ariel aspires to create a world where his children and future generations can inherit workplaces that are not just safe but also conducive to realizing their full potential and aspirations.
Highlights
Do you want to understand why so many organizations fail at improving their #culture?
If so, I'd recommend you read this excellent article from Greg Satell.
To change a #culture, you must first understand what truly drives it.
Lou Gerstner once said, "Culture isn't just one aspect of the game, it is the game."
But what is #culture really?
Culture is the essence of an organization. Yet, while many agree on its importance, defining culture can be elusive. Anthropologists have identified the three core elements of culture:
✅ norms, ✅ rituals, and ✅ behaviors.
The #culture of an organization is the norms, rituals, and behaviors that define how the organization operates. Positive cultures align these elements with an organization’s mission, driving success. Negative cultures? They derail it.
Transformation efforts often fail when they focus only on altering behaviors without addressing the underlying norms and rituals that shape them.
Therefore, the real challenge in transformation isn’t just changing behavior—it's reshaping the underlying norms and rituals that govern it.
Looks like it is time for leaders who want to see change in behaviors to focus on their organization's norms & rituals.
Did you hear about the recent (July 25, 2024) decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in which the court ruled that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, companies can be held liable for claims of a hostile work environment if an employee shares harassing content online that negatively impacts the workplace?
If not, here is a quick summary and a few takeaways.
In Okonowsky v. Merrick Garland, the Ninth Circuit overturned a trial court's decision on summary judgment in favor of the government in a #sexualharassment case brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The case was brought by a staff psychologist working at a federal prison where she claims that her employer, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, failed to address a sexually hostile work environment created by her co-worker who was posting derogatory content on social media (and continued to do so after being reported).
The court found that online social media contact can constitute workplace harassment. The court noted that it "rejected" the "notion that only conduct that occurs inside the physical workplace can be actionable, especially in light of the ubiquity of social media and the ready use of it to #harass and #bully both inside and outside of the physical workplace."
The court's decision is consistent with recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on sexual harassment and the use of #socialmedia accounts by #employees.
➡ Here are some takeaways for both Employers & Employees:
✅ #Employers should conduct thorough #investigations into any employee claims of a hostile work environment (whether based on sex, race, origin or any other protected classification), including complaints about co-workers' social media posts. ALWAYS.
✅ #Companies should train employees in managerial positions on how to handle such claims.
✅ Companies should clearly explain to their employees how their online, off the clock or non-work related activities can have a negative impact on their workplace and create risks for them AND for their employers.
✅ Employers and employees should use the #NotMe platform to help with the prevention, reporting and investigations of allegations of workplace related misconduct.
✅ Employers and employees should be mindful of the fact that #harassment can happen as a result of behaviors/social media posts that happen entirely outside of the workplace, even when made on a personal account and not shared or discussed in the workplace.
✅ Employees should always #report #misconduct and #speakup if and when they can do so #safely.
