Sexual Harassment in American Workplace, Research Paper Example

Abstract

The paper discusses the concept of sexual harassment and its relevance in American workplace. The definition of sexual harassment and its constituents is provided. The author discusses the reasons, for which corporate sexual harassment policies and codes fail. Education and training is shown as the critical measure of anti-harassment initiatives in American workplace.

Outline

Thesis: Given that legal and corporate policies do not produce the desired effects on the quality of corporate environment and relationships in American workplace, training and education about sexual harassment remain the most effective and reliable measures of sexual harassment prevention in organizations.

• Sexual harassment: who and why.
  1. Professionals in organization studies still lack a clear definition of what sexual harassment is.
  2. Sexual harassment in workplace occurs for several reasons.
• Sexual harassment: do corporate and legal policies work?
  1. Sexual harassment produces negative effects on organizational performance, commitment, withdrawal, and workgroup productivity.
  2. Common corporate policies do not change employee beliefs about sexual harassment.
• Preventing sexual harassment: the role of education and training
  1. “Quit and sue” (Woodford & Risetto, 2004) is the measure of last resort.
  2. Education and training have proved to be the two most effective means to address sexual harassment concerns in organizations.
  3. Training changes employee beliefs and behaviors in organizations.

Introduction

Sexual harassment remains one of the major topics of social and labor concern in America. Each year thousands of women experience workplace abuse, violence, and sexual harassment. Many of them prefer to silence such incidents, and only a few choose to make the matter public and to sue those who offend them. Unfortunately, where companies strive to reduce the risks of sexual harassment at workplace, employers appear mostly unaware of the ways and methods they can use to prevent such incidents. Many of them develop sound legal and corporate policies aimed to create an atmosphere of legal and ethical compliance, but women working in male corporate environments are still subject to the highest risks of sexual harassment at workplace. Given that legal and corporate policies do not produce the desired effects on the quality of corporate environment and relationships in American workplace, training and education about sexual harassment remain the most effective and reliable measures of sexual harassment prevention in organizations.

Sexual Harassment: Who and Why

Although sexual harassment is a popular topic of discussion in literature, researchers in organization studies lack a single clear definition of what sexual harassment is. On the one hand, harassers seek to design more and more sophisticated harassment procedures in their desire to avoid responsibility for such actions. On the other hand, sexual harassment becomes less tangible and more evasive. Still, sexual harassment usually implies the two different types of behaviors: first, the so-called “quid pro quo” is a situation in which “one person either explicitly or implicitly makes sexual requests in exchange for some desired result, such as raise, promotion, or sale” (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). Second, the so-called “hostile environment” is another form of sexual harassment in American workplace – this term implies a situation in which women feel unwelcome or uncomfortable in the workplace (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). It should be noted, that “hostile environment” is the concept too subtle and too ambiguous to be ever defined in legal terms. Smolensky and Kleiner (2003) refer to hostile environments as a kind of “grey area”, because there is still no agreement on what criteria should be used to define it. However, and despite the development of legal and ethical corporate codes, women are still bound to experience the negative effects of hostile environment in workplace. This is particularly relevant for women who work in male environments, like policing.

With the growing female participation in workforce, more and more women were entering such blue-collar professions like policing, and with the majority of police professionals being male, women had to overcome numerous barriers on their way to career success. That 77 percent of women in police report sexual harassment by male coworkers (Somvadee & Morash, 2008) confirms the seriousness of sexual harassment situation in America. It appears what whenever working women are in minority, male workers find it appropriate and permissible to use sexist jokes, comments, and overt sexual propositions to their female colleagues (Somvadee & Monash, 2008). All this happens for several reasons. First, some men view harassing behaviors as normal, and sometimes an open discussion of such behaviors may reduce and even stop such harasser (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). Second, many harassers simply view working female colleagues as competitors; and “in this instance, there is no way to deal rationally with the employee, because his fears are not rational” (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). In light of these organizational difficulties, and given that sexual harassment at workplace may have far-reaching negative consequences, companies strive to develop effective corporate policies aimed to define, explain, and reduce sexual harassment in workplace. Unfortunately, these policies do not always produce the desired effects, and employers are challenged to develop more effective anti-harassment strategies.

Sexual Harassment: Do Legal and Corporate Policies Work?

Negative impacts of sexual harassment on different organizational variables are well recognized. Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational withdrawal, and workgroup productivity – all these equally suffer the consequences of sexual harassment in American workplace (Willness, Steel & Lee, 2007). Bearing in mind the importance of job satisfaction and organizational commitment for productivity and performance in organizations, businesses strive to develop and use effective legal and corporate policies. Employers expect that these will reduce the probability of sexual harassment at workplace. Unfortunately for many, such policies do not work in a manner effective enough to reduce the incidence of sexual harassment in companies.

The truth is in that such policies should change employee beliefs about sexual harassment and its organizational consequences. However, being exposed to such policies may equally result in the development of beliefs that do accept and do not accept sexual harassment as an organizational norm. If such policies are developed and implemented simply to address bureaucratic needs of organizations and to meet the basic corporate standards, they may lead to the consequences that run counter to the major policy’s aims (Tinkler, Li & Mollborn, 2007). Such policies can generate the development and expansion of male-advantaged gender beliefs and provoke backlash (Tinkler, Li & Mollborn, 2007). Researchers suggest that the longer employees are exposed to the norms of their corporate codes, the more positive their effect will be (Tinkler, Li & Mollborn, 2007). That means that such policies must work on a continuous basis, in order to change employee beliefs about sexual harassment and its appropriateness in corporate environments. Also, employers can successfully use the benefits of education and training, which appear to be much more effective than common codes and standards of corporate behavior.

Preventing Sexual Harassment: The Role of Education and Training

When sexual harassment occurs, Woodford and Rissetto (2004) provide a clear and comprehensive advice: “don’t complain, just quit and sue”. The authors use the most recent court cases to show that women do have a chance for recognition and equality, and that courts are becoming particularly concerned about punishing those, who engage in and initiate sexual harassment in organizations. In reality, “quit and sue” is the measure of the last resort and is applicable only in situations where sexual harassment did take place. It is more important to understand how organizations can prevent and minimize the risks of sexual harassment.

Organizational climate is one of the major antecedents of sexual harassment in American workplace (Willness, Steel & Lee, 2003). “It is quite clear that the organizational climate and workplace environment are central to understanding the conditions under which harassment is more likely to occur and how the victims are affected” (Willness, Steel & Lee, 2007). For these reasons, companies must be particularly attentive to what is happening inside, and in what climate employees are bound to work. For Smolensky and Kleiner (2003), evaluation of the present work environment stands out as the primary mechanism of sexual harassment prevention in organizations. First, companies must be aware of what hostility is and whether it is present in their organizational climates. For example, how often do men use sexist jokes and posters at workplace? (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). Second, employers can measure the level of comfort, or how comfortable women and men feel when working together (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). Also, companies should pay special attention to the role of women, e.g., are women raised and promoted, or are women accepted in all major positions? (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). The results of such analysis, however, would be irrelevant and useless without developing an effective system of training and education in workplace.

Education and training have proved to be the two most effective measures companies may use to address their sexual harassment concerns. To make any sexual harassment policies and laws effective, a major shift in human beliefs must take place. Sexual harassment may occur simply because employees lack a clear definition of what sexual harassment is. For many others, sexual harassment may not look like a form of offensive behavior. To make sure that this form of abuse does not take place, employees must be educated about this issue (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). Such education or training will serve the two important purposes. First, men will learn what constitutes sexual harassment and how offensive their remarks or actions can be to women. Second, women will learn how to reject offensive behaviors and propositions in a more assertive way (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). At the same time, such training will establish clear sexual boundaries; in simple words, women will have clear knowledge of how they can or cannot express themselves in organizations, and how sexually or not sexually they can behave at work not to cause the development of sexual attitudes on the side of male co-workers (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). “Men respond with respect to women who exert control over their bodies, but are more likely to harass a woman who appears unaware of her sexuality” (Smolensky & Kleiner, 2003). Thus, it is due to education and training that employees can learn their roles and exercise their rights and freedoms in a form most appropriate in workplace.

Conclusion

Sexual harassment remains the topic of the major social concern. Thousands of women have to experience negative consequences of sexual harassment in American workplace. Despite the development of numerous corporate policies, they do not produce the desired effects on sexual behaviors in organizations. The truth is in that for such policies to cause positive changes in organizations, a major shift in workplace behaviors and beliefs must take place. This, however, is impossible without evaluating the present workplace environment and training employees about sexual harassment and appropriate workplace behaviors. In the context of organizations, education and training remain the most effective measures of anti-harassment approaches in workplace.

References

Smolensky, E. & Kleiner, B. (2003). How to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Equal Opportunities International, 22 (2): 59-66.

Somvadee, C. & Morash, M. (2007). Dynamics of sexual harassment for policewomen working alongside men. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 31 (3): 485-498.

Tinkler, J.E. (2007). Can legal interventions change beliefs? The effect of exposure to sexual harassment policy on men’s gender beliefs. Social Psychology Quarterly, 70 (4): 480-494.

Willness, C.R., Steel, P. & Lee, K. (2007). A meta-analysis of the antecedents and consequences of workplace sexual harassment. Personnel Psychology, 60 (1): 127-162.

Woodford, K.C. & Rissetto, H.A. (2004). The best advice for sexual harassment victims: Don’t complain, just quit and sue. Labor Law Journal, 55 (4): 213-221.