Sexual Harassment in the Workplace - Research Paper Example

?Sexual harassment in the work place Sexual harassment in the work place Sexual harassment is coercion or bullying of a sexual nature. In other words, it is the inappropriate or unwelcome promise of reward in return of sexual favors. Sexual harassment is not tolerated in any society in the world. Sexual harassment is on the rise at work places. Sexual harassment has been defined as sexual advances without consent, sexual favor requests, physical or verbal conduct which is sexual in nature and inclined to creating offensive or hostile working environment (Swisher, 1994). The key terminologies essential when tackling such a topic include; Sexism-This can be described as an attitude based perception about a person of different sex. For instance, a man thinking that a woman is weak and emotional or a woman thinking that a man is a chauvinist. Sex discrimination-This is manifested in the scenario where an employee tend to be treated differently at the work place because of their sex. Quid Pro Quo-This when decision on employing somebody are based on whether they agree to accept fulfilling sexual demands or not. Sexual harassment in the workstation can have severe influences for both the workers who have experienced it secondhand and the harassed person. The impact of sexual harassment to an employee can be numerous and disastrous. Areas, which have drawn interest of researches in the recent past, are whether sexual harassment is on the rise at work places or other new ways of harassment have emerged. This is based on the fact that, the surges in technology use and harassment from same sex persons have been reported in the recent past. It is of equal importance to note that sexual harassment is not limited to a singular profession but the vice cuts across all career stations (Boland 34-35). Recent statistics by EEOP (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) divulge more information about the complaints. It has been noted that most of the sexual harassment occurrences largely go unreported. However, according to EEOC, one fact observation that was evident is the increase of cases reported in the last decade. This brings in a paradox since more stringent regulations have been put in place to inhibit occurrences of sexual harassment at work. In the last decade, over 20,000 accounts have been filed. Under the cases filed, majority of cases reported were from the female sex (Gai, 2009). In the year 2008, Louis Harris and Associates conducted a telephone poll on 782 workers of the United States. It came up with the statistics that 31 percent among female workers admitted to having reported sexual harassment at work. Only 7 percent of their male counterparts reported the same. A significant percentage of 62 percent of those targeted did not take any action. Out of the respondents, 100 percent female reported that the person harassing them was a man while 59 percent of men reported that their harasser was a woman. Subsequently, 41 percent of the male reported that their harasser was a fellow man. Additional statistics records that 43 percent of women who reported experienced harassment from the supervisor, 27 percent from senior employees, 19 percent workers of same level while 8 percent had faced harassment from junior employees (Boland 53). Combating sex harassment at work is a big challenge. This is necessitated by the fact that establishing its causes can be complex. These causes can be social, psychological or political. Owing to the fact that some work relationships such as acting in most cases turn out to be intimate and intense, establishing sexual harassment in such scenarios can be very complex. The other aspect is that in most instances, employees are required to depend on one another in order to maximize productivity. How this should go has no clear guidelines. Making the situation trickier is that some positions at work such as that of the supervisor involves working closely with your team for results to be achieved. However, being accustomed to these close working relations may create thin boundaries between professionalism and social life, which is a fertile ground for sexual harassment (Vazqueztell, 2005). Statistics from the Minnesota University department of Sociology show that the targets of sexual harassment are mostly women who occupy supervisory positions. This was concluded after 1000 women and men were followed from their ninth grade up to their 30th birthdays. According to the statistics, Gays, women and men with feminine traits were vulnerable to sexual harassment all through their lives. Those in supervisory positions and their vulnerability to sexual harassment stood at 137% in comparison to ones not in supervisory positions. However, the same correlation did not apply to men holding similar positions (Boland, 2005). The main impetus behind sexual harassment cannot be attributed to strict desire for sexing but in most instances; it is used as an equalizing factor against those women in powerful position in order to clip their influence. Another area, which should be given a lot of focus, is the impact of sexualized environments and their contribution to sexual harassment. It should be determined whether exposure to internet pornography, explicit graffiti, and sex jokes predisposes one to be a sexual harasser or not. Opinion has it that where obscene language is tolerated, it is likely to have sexual harassment incidences than areas where the same is prohibited (Hetlinger, 1993). In addition, the unwelcome sexual issues of other employees make the working environment unpleasant and hostile. This is because people in power might put pressure on the victim to do as they demand or leave the job. In turn, the worker is traumatized by the harassment she or he experiences severe physical and emotional consequences. Workers end up losing the impetus and motivation to perform their workers. Sexual harassment has been connected to reduced job or work satisfaction, and can lead to loss of skilled personnel due to resignations to avoid possible harassments. Considering the fact that majority of supervisory and management positions are contemporarily occupied by men, they remain the ones to justify sexual harassments reports forwarded by women. This largely is not a fair way of handling such a scenario since there are advances, which may not look irritable to a man, but the same hurts a woman. This therefore makes several cases go unreported thereby hindering true statistics of such incidences being attained. Despite facing several incidences of sexual harassment, most of men choose not to report thus less statistics regarding them as victims. This can be inclined to the traditional societal perceptions that men are the dominant sex hence cannot be harassed sexually by the female sex (Wang, 2006). Despite rarely talked about, sexual harassment among workers of the same sex is highly on the rise. This may be giving overtime responsibilities to someone not within the employment contract just because they are of a certain sex. For example, the female may be given the responsibility of welcoming new clients and putting office files in order. Similarly, a male worker may be told to fix bulb and change car tires because of their masculine nature. Same sexual harassment can also emerge in the instances where one worker is a gay or lesbian then commences sexual advances to a work mate of the same sex. Such occurrences make even complex as far as reporting these cases is concerned since most people shy off. This can be as result of the traditional perspectives that they may be laughed at since it goes against common trends of sexual desires (Hetlinger, 1993). Even if reported, coming up with clear and convincing evidences to justify sexual harassment is another uphill task faced by most victims. This is because the regulations put in place are scanty and vague on specific definitions of sexual harassment actions. For example, determing to what extent a comment is sexually abusive can be a great challenge for authorities if no witness is available. This can also be scanty in the sense that what someone may interpret as sexual harassment may be regarded as a worthy comment by another party.However; one clear fact, which cuts across all occupations, is that all extreme forms of sexual harassment affects worker’s productivity level which translates to slurred growth of that particular organization (Boland, 2005). Anti-Sexual harassment law should be put in place to counter the increasing cases of sexual harassment in the work place. The government should enact the equal employment opportunity policy that offers clear guidelines and consequences related to sexual harassment. The policy should highlight the following aspects: Assurance from the employer that they have the role to guard the confidentiality of its employees Organizations should put in place complaint mechanism that offers thorough, prompt and impartial investigation Precise explanation and description of prohibited behavior or conduct in the work place Precise description of the compliant process Employer should provide assurance that it will take strict, immediate, and tough corrective action when a finding reveals that harassment occurred. Employers should aim to prevent or ward off sexual harassment in the work place. It is prudent for employers to educate employees about the consequences of sexual harassment. The employer should organize a training course regarding anti-sexual harassment law. An employer requires to be informed and educated of the policy and your obligations as the employer. After every worker has been trained and informed about the anti-sexual harassment policy. This implies establishing appropriate consequences, thoroughly investigating the allegations of harassment and making necessary measures in reaction to any investigation. An employer should set a good example to his or her workers (Wang, 2006). Employees should be informed that incase of sexual harassment; they should record the incident as it took place. The Victim should write down the location, day, time, nature of harassment and date. This is because making verbal allegations that a fellow worker harassed you is not enough and sufficient to warrant an action against the harasser. It is also vital to report the case to the human resource for them to verify the allegations. It is likely that after making the claims, the employer may sideline you in the investigation; therefore, it is good to follow up the case to ensure a rational and fair conclusion is attained (Web, 1998). In conclusion, measures should be put in place to prevent the intimidation of those who choose to report sexual harassment incidences. Additionally, various companies should put in place clear guidelines on the extremes when it comes to its employees involvement. Sensitization at work places can play a vital role in preventing sexual harassment, which in most cases ends up lowering self-esteem among workers. In addition, managers and government should ensure that Anti-Sexual harassment law sexual harassment policy is implemented and practiced at work place. The presence of this policy will counter the rapidly increasing issues of sexual harassment. For instance, the government should enact the equal employment opportunity policy that offers clear guidelines and consequences related to sexual harassment so that all employees are aware of the consequences of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment negatively affect organizations because they might lose a lot of money in poor job satisfaction due to the influence of sexual harassment such as increased group conflict in the working environment and employee absenteeism to avoid possible embarrassment and harassment. The increased conflict among workers in the workplace leads to problems with team working and decreased success in attaining set goals. The value of the administrative hearing process as a preliminary measure before gaining access to the courts Despite the fact administrative hearing process permits an individual to have a legal advice before entering the court, the process comprises disputes under the power of the governmental agencies or bodies. In this process, an individual does not have the chance and time to tell the side of their story as they would have done while in the court. In addition, it is not easy to know the final decision maker because the head of the hearing process or hearing officer may be the decision maker, which might be hindrance to deliverance of justice. References Boland, M. (2005). Sexual harassment in the Workplace. New York, NY: Sphinx Publishing. Gai, W. (2009). Sexual harassment at work and the duty of care and the liability of employer. Public Administration & Law, 1(2), 2009-01. Hetlinger, A.(1993). Women’s equality, demography, and public policies: A comparative perspective. New York, NY: Palgrave. Vazqueztell, N. (2005). Have you heard the one about? New York, NY: Author House. Swisher, K. (1994). What Is Sexual Harassment? London: Greenhaven press. Wang, F. (2006). An analysis of related law problems in sexual harassment. Journal of Anhui Agricultural University, 1(2), 200-207. Web, S. (1998). Step Forward: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: What You Need to Know! New York: Master Media. Read More