Though it's likely that many of us tend to think of workplace ills, such as discrimination or sexual harassment, as home-grown, you may be surprised (and disheartened) to know that these are problems that know no borders.
Just take a look at this recent survey by the women's advocacy group, Aware, of workers in Singapore.
According to the study of 500 employees, over half of the respondents claimed to have suffered some form of sexual harassment in the workplace. Of that number, 1 in 5 were men!
What's more alarming is that the number of tips and calls received on the Aware hotlines have skyrocketed in the past few years, indicating that this is a problem on the rise.
Not being well-versed in Singapore law, but remembering them to have a somewhat "tough" penal system, I am somewhat surprised that government authorities haven't taken a harder line against discrimination and inappropriate behavior in the workplace.
But currently, it seems that the government (based on comments from a Labour MP interviewed in the aforementioned article) is more interested in having companies find solutions themselves to address such issues.
While having companies implement such policies is a nice dream, how do you ask a company guilty of sexual harassment from the top down to police their own behavior? If you find the sense in that solution, please do leave a comment.