A prominent city legal firm has launched an anonymous reporting hotline for employees who are worried about the use of “non-inclusive” terminology on the job. The organization will address workplace microaggressions.
Workers at Hogan Lovells also describe the unsettling encounters that happen on the job as “Interactional Prejudices.”
The legal firm has announced a new hotline that they hope will provide a safe space for people to report their experiences with microaggressions or other forms of bigotry based on factors including gender, color, sexual orientation, disability, and more.
Critics voiced their worries about the method followed by the hotline on the young lawyer’s website, Legal Cheek, which was receiving critical reviews.
People called the hotline Orwellian, and one user said they couldn’t wait to see Hogan Lowell’s re-education center.
You may report microaggressions such as calling a mixed-gender group “guys” or a minority-ethnic coworker “articulate.”
Another example of age, sexuality, disability, and social class bias is calling younger coworkers names like “babies” or “kids” and making judgments about someone’s socioeconomic situation.
Penny Angell, UK managing partner at Hogan Lovells, says she can understand that there may be a reluctance to address what may appear to be insignificant incidents. However, even these occurrences can contribute to individuals feeling excluded or marginalized in the workplace.
Their technology will help them listen to everyone’s opinions, track changes over time, and create a more welcoming atmosphere by considering everyone’s thoughts.
In March, news broke that 24 allegations of bullying, harassment, and unlawful pressure within legal companies were being investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The concern is that anyone can abuse such a system because a person can be reported at any time, and the accused has to defend themselves. A company that sets up such an apparatus is prone to wanting to believe that such occurrences are happening in their company, justifying the implementation of their hotline.
Belief the Solicitors Regulation Authority was investigating in the accuser is inherent.