Most people think of stalking as something that happens outside of work—late-night messages, unwanted calls, or someone showing up where they shouldn’t. But here’s the truth: Stalking doesn’t stay outside your workplace. It follows victims into it.
When it does, it becomes a serious workplace safety issue. And employers can no longer afford to ignore it.
WHEN STALKING ENTERS THE WORKPLACE
Stalking often escalates beyond digital harassment.
It can look like:
- Showing up at someone’s workplace uninvited
- Monitoring schedules, routines, or locations
- Contacting coworkers, clients, or management
- Posting workplace details online
- Attempting to confront or intimidate the victim in person
This is not just “personal drama.”
This is a safety risk—to everyone in that environment.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR EMPLOYERS
Under Canadian workplace safety laws—including frameworks shaped by organizations like WorkSafeBC—employers have a legal duty to provide a safe work environment.
That includes:
- Preventing foreseeable risks
- Responding to threats
- Protecting workers from violence and harassment
Stalking—especially when it involves the workplace—is foreseeable, documentable, and preventable.
Ignoring it is not neutral.
It’s negligent.
THE HIDDEN RISKS
When stalking is dismissed or minimized at work, the consequences can escalate quickly:
1. Physical Safety Risks
An individual willing to ignore boundaries may also ignore laws, policies, and security measures.
2. Emotional & Psychological Harm
Victims often experience:
- Anxiety
- Hypervigilance
- Fear of coming to work
- Loss of focus and productivity
3. Workplace Disruption
Coworkers may feel unsafe.
Management may be unprepared.
Security gaps become exposed.
4. Liability for Employers
Failure to act can result in:
- Legal complaints
- Workers’ compensation claims
- Human rights implications
WHAT A SAFE WORKPLACE RESPONSE LOOKS LIKE
Employers don’t need to have all the answers—but they do need to take it seriously.
A trauma-informed response includes:
- Believing the employee and taking concerns seriously
- Documenting incidents and maintaining records
- Adjusting safety measures (entry protocols, escorts, scheduling)
- Coordinating with police when necessary
- Creating a workplace safety plan
Safety isn’t reactive.
It’s proactive.
WHAT SURVIVORS NEED TO HEAR
If you are experiencing stalking that is affecting your work:
- You are not overreacting
- You are not “bringing drama into the workplace”
- You have a right to feel safe at your job
Your safety matters—at work and beyond it.
A SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVE
For too long, stalking has been treated as a private issue.
But when it impacts where someone works, earns a living, and spends their day…
It becomes a workplace issue.
And it deserves a workplace response.
FINAL WORD
Stalking thrives in silence, minimization, and misunderstanding.
Workplaces have the power to change that.
Not by doing everything perfectly—
but by refusing to ignore what is right in front of them.
