Social-Sexual Behavior at Work - Literature review Example

Workplace ethics and good conduct among employees is a vital element of success and growth in an organization. Workers ought to portray the best conduct within the workplace. Social sexual behavior among workers or at the workplace is a common issue in many organizations. There are many drawbacks associated with displaying unethical behavior as it affects the workplace environment and stability within an organization. Social sexual behavior entails body or gesture related behavior that is likely to draw the attention of other workers in the workplace. The most negative impact of social sexual behavior is that it disrupts the employees thus affecting their ability to concentrate on their work. This paper explores the topic of social sexual behavior, its impacts at the workplace, and what can be done to correct the issue for a better working environment.

Social sexual behavior has also appeared useful and common with women in the workplace. Women dress sexually intentionally to create a positive impression and look attractive to men at the workplace (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). Also, female workers dress in sexy attire particularly in formal jobs where there are no specifics of dress codes. In such intentions, women with low-status jobs may dress in sexy attires so as to get some favors or special treatment from their senior co-workers or employers. Social sexual behavior is dynamic and covers various behavioral and psychological aspects of the human character (Raver & Nishii, 2010). The workplace behavior and ethics are vital in the development of strong and positive employee/employer relationships. In most cases, women may go beyond the work ethics and practice to get some favors as they engage in the social sexual behavior. These are negative motivations that lead to social sexual behavior and affect the workplace stability. Employees at higher job status may also abuse the junior employees as they force them to behave or react in particular ways for special favors (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). Male employers have also been victims of social sexual behavior as they engage with female employees or job seekers in the unethical workplace behaviors.

Sexual misconduct among workers can take several forms and also have varying impacts. Female workers are mainly blamed for being the agents of this negative behavior in the workplace (Raver & Nishii, 2010). Social sexual behavior or misconduct can entail intentional conduct that is aimed or focused towards a person with evil intentions. Workers can mistakenly fall into this issue of sexual misconduct through dressing and the way they talk. Social sexual behavior can also be in the form of verbal and gesture language depending on the topic in reference (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). A worker can also use seductive language or action that and this may affect other employees at the workplace. Sexual behavior is either focused on or embedded in a relationship that often starts in friendship basis. Workers may also engage in social groups that often create this favorable environment where personal and romance affairs can be discussed even in the workplace. It is vital for the employees to observe the right code of conduct and one that does not contradict the norms of a workplace (Robbins, Judge, Millett & Boyle, 2013). The employer ought to be observant and maintain the right conditions by ensuring that the employees stick to the workplace code of conduct. Engaging in social sexual behaviors counts as a breach of workplace code of ethics.

Women often go to an extent of displaying the female charm in the way they dress and these counts in the social sexual behavior. In general, women choose these female-exclusive impressions and looks and behaviors for their advantage at the workplace (Raver & Nishii, 2010). Job seekers or new employees at the workplace also fall victims of social-sexual behaviors as they seek attention from their seniors or employers. The issue of social sexual behavior may even start in the recruitment stage of the employees. During interviews, female job seekers often dress in sexy attire with an aim of impressing the interviewer and probably get favored in the interview. In case the job seeker qualifies for the position or the vacancy, these social sexual behaviors are likely to extend in the workplace (Robbins, Judge, Millett & Boyle, 2013). Consequently, the workplace environment becomes affected, and this may also have an impact on the output of other employees. Studies have shown that social sexual behavior mainly affects women and often leads to the victim feeling unsatisfied with the job or tasks given at the workplace. Depression and anxiety are also effects of the psychological setup brought by social sexual behavior.

Irrespective of the gender, social cultural behavior at the workplace will always have negative impacts on an organization. The solution to these issues lies in the willingness of the employees to observe workplace ethics and good behavior (Raver & Nishii, 2010). The employers and human resource managers also need to be at the forefront in establishing workplace ethics among the workers. Stability and growth in an organization rely on the strong and positive relations between the employees and the employer (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). The work ethics and code of conduct ought to be followed to ensure that the various negative sexual related behaviors are eliminated. Dress code is key and vital in the workplace as it acts as the image of the workers and the formality of the workplace. Women ought to dress in the best way possible that reflects the established ethics and behaviors in a particular organization (Robbins, Judge, Millett & Boyle, 2013).

Work ethics are the core of stability and growth in the workplace. The maintenance of a peaceful and stable internal working environment at the workplace is heavily dependent on the level of ethics (O’Neill & Hastings, 2011). Social sexual behavior is an issue for both genders and has equal impacts on male and female workers. There are various motives that drive workers to engage in the negative sexual behaviors at the workplace. Overall, social sexual behaviors tarnish the image of the victim and the workplace environment. Social sexual behavior is detrimental and unwanted by many employees and the employers (Hershcovis & Barling, 2010). Those who engage in social sexual behavior in the workplace tend to have bad thoughts, anxiety, and depression that end up causing poor psychological health. Women are the major targets of sexual behaviors at the workplace as they display a high level of sexuality more than men workers. Also, female employees who display sexuality at work become targets of mistreatment as they are judged to have low competence (Raver & Nishii, 2010). Men are also facilitating the growth of the social sexual behavior at the workplace as they intimidate women or their female co-workers.

Social sexual behavior at the workplace is sometimes mistaken from work decency and dressing codes adopted by an organization. In the today’s world, formal jobs require the employees to dress in official clothes that may be beyond the cultural norms (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). In particular, women in formal jobs or offices dress up in relatively short dresses or skirts that may be an issue on the topic of sexual behavior at the workplace. Men may mistake the formal dressing of their female colleagues and this may cause issue at the workplace. The employers need to consider the nature and type of dressing code they choose particular for the female employees (Raver & Nishii, 2010). It is also the role of the employer to ensure that the workers are properly dressed and conform to the adopted dress codes for the organization. Work ethics also need to be checked on the way workers dress as it plays a role in the maintenance of proper work environment.

Impacts of Social Sexual Behaviors on Work

Social sexual behavior and other unethical behaviors at the workplace are harmful and detrimental to a workplace. Sexual behavior may come in many forms and have varying negative impacts on workers thus affecting their productivity in their workplaces (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). One major effect of social sexual behavior is that interrupts the employees and takes away their concentration. Being a negative behavior, it also affects the general work environment as workers face challenges sticking to their tasks. Social sexual behavior is also harmful as it affects one’s psychological well-being. It causes anxiety, depression, and feeling of guiltiness thus causing psychological harm (Raver & Nishii, 2010). In most cases, women fall victim of social sexual behavior that may even be in the form of sexual harassment in the workplace. Such instances lead to harmful thoughts, anxiety, and depression thus affecting the victim’s psychological well-being (Hershcovis & Barling, 2010). The more frequently a worker experiences social sexual behaviors at the workplace, the more he or she performs badly in the tasks. The major cause of the negative traits and bad behavior at the workplace is neglect of the ethics that guide the conduct of the workers.

Social sexual behavior also consumes time or causes time wastage at the workplace. Workers who often face issues related to social sexual behavior hardly complete their tasks in the workplace (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). Work is negatively affected as the employees’ time gets wasted in these negative and unwanted behaviors. Social sexual behaviors may even affect all workers including the manager sin an organization thus affecting the flow of activities in the workplace. In cases where social sexual behavior starts from the top or is being done by the senior people in a workplace it becomes hard to control it thus affecting an entire workforce (O’Neill & Hastings, 2011). In most cases, senior male workers tend to take the advantage of the inferior female workers at lower job positions and force them into these social sexual behaviors. This affects the ability of the female workers to make decisions or even compete for their tasks. The chain goes down and around he workers thus affecting the entire organization. The end results of these negative traits are the failure to deliver on time and effectively (Raver & Nishii, 2010). The workers may even waste much time trying to figure out the things going around some of the employees who are suspected of engaging in sexual behaviors.

Social sexual behavior also harms the reputation of a person and this can affect a worker’s self-esteem and morale in work. Those who fall victim of sexual behaviors or even harassment show a poor attitude towards work as they try to face the depressing situations (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). Junior workers who face the social sexual behaviors in the workplace find it hard to raise their voice as they fear their seniors. Sometimes raising a voice of complaining about the issue of sexual behaviors does not happen as the worker may fear losing his or her job. Sexual behaviors thus harm the relationships among the workers and this affects productivity in the workplace. The stressful situations and anxiety caused by the negative experiences may even cause a worker to suffer emotionally thus affecting his or her productivity (Hershcovis & Barling, 2010). The maximal performance of the workers cannot be realized if the internal environment is affected by negative traits such as social sexual behaviors. The behaviors also affect the ability of the employees to coordinate and share ideas or eve tackle issues at the workplace (O’Neill & Hastings, 2011). It results in feelings of shyness and low self-esteem to those who have been reported with such issues.

Social sexual behaviors may also affect employer/employee relations thus harming the internal environment in a workplace. Consequently, work is affected as the employees try to rebuild the tarnished bonds between them and the seniors or the employer (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). Male employers have often been reported to abuse of taking advantage of their junior female employees and this affects the vital internal bonds in the workplace. Social sexual behaviors that touch on the employer and the employee are very harmful as it kills the cordial links in a workplace. It also reduces the respect among workers as they feel at par with their employers. In such cases, the employer may find it hard to point out mistakes or correct the employees (Raver & Nishii, 2010). Consequently, productivity is affected and the overall flow of activities in the workplace also starts failing. Overall, work is affected and the growth or achievement of the set objectives is hardly be realized.

Dealing With and Reducing Cases of Social Sexual Behavior at Work

The maintenance of the right workplace environment and good behavior is a vital thing for workers. The employees and the employer ought to be involved and play their part in ensuring that he workplace environment is healthy and vibrant (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). Internal conditions of a workplace are huge determiners of the productivity of the workers and needs to be observed and maintained at all cost. It is also vital for employees to maintain the right work conditions for work by sticking to the established work ethics in their respective organization. More ought to be done in ensuring that the employees honor the workplace ethics. Social sexual behavior can be eliminated if all stakeholders including the workers and the employers play their rightful roles (Raver & Nishii, 2010). The employers need to have concrete workplace rules that must be implemented and followed by each worker. Those caught engaging in social sexual behavior needs to be punished and penalized to ensure they avoid the misconducts. The fight against unhealthy workplace conducts can only be won if the employers and managers won their obligations of streamlining the workplace environment (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). The human resource managers can also play a role in creating a stable and healthy work environment by creating awareness to the employees on the negative side of the social sexual behaviors at work.

Work ethics policies need to be developed and reinforced to ensure that each worker conforms to the laid down code of ethics. It is the roles of the human resource managers to ensure the employees maintain high standards of conduct (O’Neill & Hastings, 2011). Those caught in social sexual behaviors need to be punished as a way of discouraging such behaviors. Other negative behaviors related to negative behaviors that can lead to social sexual behaviors need to be discouraged. The workplace decency and formal dressing should be observed by the workers. Each worker also needs to take a personal responsibility of maintaining the right workplace conduct and conforming with the rules of an organization (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). More training and enlightenment programs need to be launched and dedicated to employees to educate them on the importance of work ethics. It is also vital for employees to observe the right behaviors and also abide by the workplace code of ethics (Raver & Nishii, 2010). Social sexual behaviors can be minimized if both the employees and managers collaborate in observing the laid down rules in an organization.

Social sexual behaviors are harmful and constitute the various forms of harmful behavior and detrimental acts. The various issues of misconduct at the workplace hamper the flow of activities and the good relations among the employees. The emergence of workplace misconduct need to be noted and reduced before it harms the internal relations among workers (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). It is also vital for employers to lay down concrete work policies that guide the employees on the way to conduct their tasks in the workplace. Workplace policies need to be structured and match the needed workplace conduct.

Workers need to be cautious of their role and obligation in the workplace by observing high standards of conduct. The human resource managers at the workplace need to be active and create an enabling environment for workers by discouraging social sexual behaviors (O’Neill & Hastings, 2011). It is also vital for employers to be involved in the management process by laying the workplace framework. Creating an enabling environment for workers that motivate good behavior will also boost internal relations and good behavior. The employees need to portray ethical conduct in the way they relate and socialize. Communication channels within the workplace need to be aligned with the formal demands need for a conducive environment. Access to social media and other social platforms should be minimized to prevent informal conversations that may lead to social sexual behavior (Simon & Gagnon, 2011). Internet access also needs to be regulated to ensure that the workers do not abuse it for personal and negative agendas. The management needs to get closer into the running of internal workplace affairs to ensure workers maintain the right work ethics. It is also vital for employees to relate well and maintain the need formal conduct in the workplace (O’Neill & Hastings, 2011). Extra socialization affairs should be conducted outside the workplace or during free time. Such measures will maintain the right internal environment and create an enabling internal atmosphere in the workplace. The productivity of the workers will also improve as well as the general work environment.

Conclusion

Work ethics and good conduct are vital pillars of growth and success in the workplace. Workers ought to shown high standards of conduct by avoiding any behaviors that may contradict the work ethics. Social sexual behavior in the workplace has detrimental impacts that affect the flow of activities and productivity of the workers. Both men and women are victims of sexual behaviors in the workplace that affects their productivity. The employer/employee relations ought to be at its highest as a way of maintaining respect and healthy internal environment in the workplaces. Social sexual behaviors affect those around mentally and cause depression and anxiety to the victim thus affecting productivity in the workplace.