But one concern about the movement, which has exposed and taken down high profile executives publicly outed by women, has been the potential for "unintended consequence," the Society For Human Resource Management reports.

Almost 33% of 1,034 executives say they have made moderate, great or very great changes in their behavior over concerns that it could be interpreted as sexual harassment, SHRM reveals in research it released this month. About 25% of 1,022 managers acknowledge that they behave differently.

SHRM's findings, which came from data gathered in January, reveal that 23% of companies blame sexual harassment for lower morale and for a falloff in engagement. Nearly 20% claim sexual harassment impacted their productivity, while 15% say it fostered a hostile workplace.

"Having a third of executives reporting changed behavior is significant," says Johnny Taylor Jr., president and CEO of SHRM. "Yet, we can't let the pendulum swing too far. Organizations must be careful not to create a culture of 'guilty until proven innocent,' and we cannot tolerate other unintended consequences."

One trend shows that executives are taking action to head off trouble, but that could also make it more difficult for women to advance their careers.
Executives [are] "going as far as to not invite female colleagues on trips, to evening networking events or into their inner circles to avoid any situation that could be perceived incorrectly, thus reducing the opportunity for women," Taylor says.

Nationwide, the state of New York and New York City had enacted the strictest workplace sexual harassment laws this month, NPR reports. Employers are required to hold annual training specifically focused on stopping sexual harassment and to make these policies very visible in the workplace.

The training for current New York employees must start by Oct. 9 next year, while all new hires need to have training "as soon as possible," or for New York City, within 90 days after new workers start on the job.

Human resources departments outside New York also need to be cognizant of their employees who may work in the city or state even if just for a very short time.

"Say you're an employer outside New York State, you have an employee who comes into New York even for just one day," says Frank Cania, a Rochester-based HR consultant. "That employee needs to be trained as well."

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also has stepped up its efforts when it comes to workplace harassment. It has filed 66 lawsuits, of which 41 relate to alleged sexual harassment in fiscal year 2018. The 41 suits alleging sexual harassment is 50% higher than the number of similar suits from the prior fiscal year.

EEOC charges filed for alleged sexual harassment were 12% higher compared with fiscal year 2017, and the agency has collected almost $70 million via administrative enforcement and litigation this fiscal year. That is up from $47.5 million in fiscal year 2017.

Even with the heightened attention over sexual harassment in the workplace, the SHRM survey indicates more needs to be done. Nearly three-quarters of employees responding to the SHRM survey gave their employers good marks for addressing sexual harassment. But more than one-third of employees say they are not satisfied.

"We need a rules-plus approach--organizations need policies and training, but it is the education piece that creates culture change," SHRM's Taylor says. "When you have employees who know how to define, identify and report sexual harassment, everyone can work together to root out sexual harassment in the workplace."