A new guide on dealing with harassment in the tourism and hospitality sector

According to PAM’s latest membership survey, 70% of those working in tourism, restaurant and leisure services have faced harassment or other inappropriate treatment from customers at work. According to the survey, young people run the risk of being harassed even more often.     

– Harassment and inappropriate treatment are unfortunately commonplace, especially in service industries, where customer service work exposes you to these situations. Harassment includes, for example, constant criticism, mocking, sexually suggestive gestures and language, and customers’ offensive behavior, says PAM’s work environment and equality expert Erika Kähärä.

You don’t have to put up with anything

To support workplaces, PAM and MaRa have produced a guide Addressing harassment in the tourism and hospitality sector, which is intended for both employees, employers and trainers.

The guide contains concrete examples of how to identify harassment and inappropriate treatment and how to deal with them.

– In customer service, there is a saying that the customer is always right. That is outdated. You really don’t have to put up with anything. It is important that employees have clear instructions and tools so that they can intervene in situations where they are treated inappropriately, Kähärä emphasizes.

Safer workplaces through cooperation

For the first time, the guide was created as a collaboration between the employer and employee associations and is aimed at both employees and employers.

– This kind of sector-specific cooperation helps to create uniform practices for the prevention of harassment that work in everyday life and at all levels, Kähärä says.  

She considers it significant that the guide also touches on how domestic violence or violence in intimate relationships affect the working community. The International Labor Organization ILO’s Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment at Work was adopted in Finland last spring, and its implementation is underway.

– People who experience domestic violence or violence in intimate relationships may bring their experience to the workplace. The workplace needs to be ready to support the employee in such situations, and this guide is the first step in that direction, says Kähärä.