All teammates at Buffer have the right to work in an environment of mutual respect, free of all forms of harassment and discrimination. Inappropriate behavior that offends; makes teammates feel intimidated or humiliated at work; or creates a hostile work environment will be considered and treated as harassment.

Furthermore, any or all discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ethnicity or race, religion, disability, physical appearance, body size, age, national origin, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, mental illness, socioeconomic status or background, or neuro(a)typicality will be considered harassment.

This workplace harassment policy applies to all teammates, contractors, advisors, board members and anyone else whom teammates might reasonably come into contact with during their professional duties, with the exception of users and community members. (Interactions with users and community members are guided by our +Teammate Protection Pledge).

We expect teammates to follow these guidelines at work, at all Buffer events and social activities, as well as when representing Buffer in a professional capacity.

What is the definition of harassment in the workplace?

Teammates should not be obliged to tolerate any form of harassment that undermines the integrity of their relationship to the company or creates a hostile work environment.

While it is impractical to list all occasions which would constitute harassment, here are some examples:

• Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person
• Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory or derogatory language, comments, or jokes
• Comments that reinforce stereotypes or social structures of oppression [including but not limited to: gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion]
• Displaying or posting of sexual or discriminatory imagery
• Deliberate intimidation or stalking
• Deliberate disruption of talks or other events
• Derogatory comments on a person’s ethnic heritage/religious beliefs
• Display of objects which are degrading to members of a particular group
• Intentional or persistent refusal to respect a teammate's gender identity – for example, intentionally referring to the teammate by a name or pronoun that does not correspond to their gender identity. (If you are unsure what pronoun a coworker uses, you can politely ask how they would like to be addressed.)
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

What is sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment in the workplace will not be tolerated. In the interest of clarity, it’s necessary to focus specifically on this form of harassment and to define unwelcome actions such as the following as inappropriate and contributing to a hostile work environment, whether they occur in person or online: