Sexual Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace - Coursework Example

Sexual Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace Your Name: Lecture’s Name: Class Name: Date Assignment Due: Sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace are very common in many organizations. These problems are detrimental to the target’s well being since they are negatively associated not only with the psychological functioning and health of the person, but also with his or her job satisfaction. Also, they can be a burden to the organization because they can lead to lower productivity and morale through the loss of money, time and good employees. Such issues of workplace harassment need to be addressed by the HR/ER professionals and policymakers in the Corporate HR/ER Division. This paper discusses the various ways that I can use as an HR/ER professional to safeguard the employees of my organization against sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace. According to Haas (2009), sexual harassment refers to the unwanted sex-related behaviour in a workplace to which the recipient appraises as being offensive. The three forms of sexual harassment are: sexual coercion where an individual is intimidated or given rewards so as to induce sexual cooperation; unwanted sexual attention which includes uninvited sex-based gestures, comments or attempts of physical contact; and gender harassment which include non-sexual gender based experiences like sexist comments. Mueller, Coster & Estes (2001) add that pressure for dates, deliberate touching, pressure for sexual favours, assault and rape also constitute to sexual harassment. On the other hand, bullying is defined as a practice of interpersonal aggression where a hostile work environment that is characterized by perceived power imbalance and systematic negative social acts is created (Salin, 2003). Rayner (1997) also identifies bullying actions to include the spread of damaging rumours about the victim, embarrassing the victim in front of other workers and withholding information and tasks for a particular worker. As an HR/ER professional, I need to have an insight on the characteristics of the organization which predict workplace harassment so that I can formulate corporate policies to help in the prevention of sexual harassment and bullying as well as their associated negative consequences. Organizational tolerance of sexual harassment is a major predictor of sexual harassment in an organization. In my position, I should look at the likelihood of the organization in taking the complaints seriously. If offenders are sanctioned accordingly, it then follows that the organization guards its employees effectively against sexual harassment. In the case study, the Director of Corporate Human Resources, Robert Scott, was supposed to formally solve the sexual allegations by Kate so as to avoid further occurrence of such incidences in the organization. Haas (2009) argues that the policies set in an organization determine whether it is employee-oriented or job-oriented. He notes that there is less sexual harassment in employee-oriented workplaces than job-oriented workplaces. Organization that are sensitive to the difficulties of balancing employees’ personal or family life and the professional life will experience less or no sexual harassment than those organizations that prioritize on corporate role demands while ignoring the family or personal roles. I can therefore tell that the organization protects its employees against sexual harassment by considering the sexist behaviour in the organization. For instance, if the organization perceives equal treatment of men and women and there is an attitude of respect for co-workers and employers, then sexual harassment is unlikely to be prevalent. My department should set policies which make the organization to be professional, rather than sexualized. Besides the cultural characteristics and the organizational policies, structural factors are also crucial in predicting sexual harassment in the organization. Mueller, Coster & Estes (2001) say that sexual harassment is likely to occur in an organization where the sex ratio on a job is skewed. For instance, there are more instances of sexual harassment for women in a workplace predominated by male workers than in a gender-balanced workplace and vice versa. If my organization contains the same sex ratio of workers, i.e. gender-balanced workplace, it will be evident that there is little or no sexual harassment. Thus, the management of the organization should ensure there is a balanced ration between the male and the female workers. The employment strategies used should ensure there is gender balanced recruitment. On the other hand, bullying in organizations occur as a result of power imbalances due to formal, societal or situational characteristics. Formal power differences arise as a result of hierarchical structure in the organization while social power differences arise due to the differences associated with minority status (Salin, 2003). Bullying occurs more often in organizations with dominance and high power differences. The Corporate HR/ER Division should set policies and strategies to ensure that there is no power imbalance in the organization. Authoritarian leadership style should be avoided by restructuring the organization. This helps to reduce bullying in the workplace. The literature review by Zook (2000) revealed a more likelihood of bullying in organizations where managers do not intervene in case there are no policies against bullying. Policies against bullying are, thus, necessary in ensuring there is no such practice that lowers the productivity of the organization. In addition, the policies should allow an objective investigation followed by assigning of the appropriate consequences for workplace bullying (Murphy, 2005). Further, bullying can be seen as part of the organizational culture that is characterized by casual and informal behaviour. As an HR/ER professional in the Corporate HR/ER Division, I should not take the bullying behaviour for granted, but rather discourage organizational cultures that are characterized by banter and jokes which can easily lead to bullying. The workers should be informed that bullying is not beneficial behaviour, and thus, it should not be reinforced by social learning. Rayner & Hoel (1997) argue that harassment can also result in significant employment actions such as hiring, firing, pay increase or decrease, promotion, demotion and work assignments. As an HR/ER professional I should look for instances where seniors ask for sexual favours from the employees so that their careers do not suffer. In my organization, I should not allow circumstances which involve demand for sexual favours or sexual advances that can be traded for some employment actions. However, there must be sufficient evidence to file a claim on the tangible employment action. In addition, situations with severe harassment that often results into a victim quitting the job should also not be encouraged. The organization should conduct exit interviews to know exactly the reason as to why the employee quits. This greatly assists in knowing if they left as a result of sexual harassment or bullying or any other reason. The current workers should be given the freedom to report any circumstance that they reasonably view to be linked with harassment. A hostile environment is also a predictor of harassment in the workplace and it consists of a wide range verbal conduct such as insults, tasteless jokes, epithets, profanity, and requests for sexual favours; and physical conduct such as touching, staring, exposure, stalking,, sexual assault and rape; display of messages and images, including posters, websites, pornography and emails (Walsh, 2009). It is not only the supervisors or managers who create the hostile work environment but also co-workers and third parties such as clients and customers. The HR/ER department should be aware that sexual harassment can entail other explicit forms such as discriminatory remarks that enforce inferior working conditions. Our organization should formulate a framework against bullying and harassment policy that contains the organization’s philosophy, examples of bullying and harassments, their legal and financial implications and the role of the staff in the organization. The organization should oppose sexual harassment and bullying activities practiced on the workers. According to Rayner & Hoel (1997), organizations should be committed to achieve a genuine equality of opportunity for all and promote a health working environment where the workers are given the dignity and respect that they deserve. The work environment of the organization should be characterized by mutual trust and respect among the workforce. In conclusion, job satisfaction is low in workplaces characterized by sexual harassment and bullying hence lowering the overall productivity. In the HR/ER position, I should generally ensure that the manager deals effectively with the employees who have been emotionally upset. I am entitled to offer guidance and support in ensuring that the workforce is managed properly. The staff should be encouraged to contact our personnel department directly. I should look into consideration if the managers support a non-bullying culture. The managers should ensure the workforce is familiar with anti-bullying and harassment policy and it should serve an integral part for new employees who join the organization during the induction process. Making complaints about harassment and bullying should be fully supported before, during and after investigating a claim. Besides, the complaints should be solved promptly, fairly and with confidentiality while respecting the rights of all parties. References Haas, S (2009). Sexual harassment in a male dominated workplace. Michigan: Eburon Uitgeverij B.V. Mueller, C., Coster, S. & Estes, S. (2001). Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Unanticipated Consequences of Modern Social Control in Organizations. Work and Occupations, 28 (4), 411-446. Murph, A. (2005). A Grounded Theory Study of Archetypal Influences on Workplace Bullying: A Long-Term Effect of Early Childhood Abuse. California: Pro-quest information and learning company. Rayner, C. & Hoel, H. (1997). A Summary Review of Literature Relating to Workplace Bullying. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology 7(3), 181-191. Rayner, C. (1997). The Incidence of Workplace Bullying. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 7(3), 199–208. Salin, D. (2003). Ways of Explaining Workplace Bullying: A Review of Enabling, Motivating and Precipitating Structures and Processes in the Work Environment. Human Relations, 56 (10), 1213-1232. Walsh J (2009). Employment Law for Human Resource Practice (3rd ed). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Zook, R. (2000). Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. American Journal of Nursing, 100 (12), 24AAAA-24CCCC. Read More