Ethical and Moral Obligations of Consensual Sex in the Workplace - Essay Example

Consensual Sex in the workplace is something that happens all the time irrespective or rank, status or power. While sexual harassment is accepted as a serious problem in workplaces, consensual sex is still a much-debated issue. There are no clear legal guidelines and employers have to frame their own policies to deal with the issue. Besides affecting the careers of the people involved in the relationship, consensual sex can affect co-workers, families and even the very organization in which employs them. Is it possible to isolate personal and professional lives What can be the ethical and moral consequences of consensual sex And Can Consensual sex be a form of sexual harassment These are the questions this study has tried to answer. Introduction The love of your life is always with you. Your co-worker in office is the partner with whom you spend all your free time! Workplace relationships may seem ideal to romantics, but be it love or lust such relationships can be very dangerous. One such relationship that made international headlines was that of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. The media discussed in detail the sexual aspects of the relationship and its moral and political implications. However, as "Sex in the executive Suite - A Case Study", printed in the New Hampshire Business Review, Vol. 20, No. 23, Oct 23-Nov 5, 1998 points out, one of the key issues involved here was that of "fraternization in the workplace." This is because the primary relationship between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky was that of boss and sub-ordinate. Recently, the CEO of Boeing, Harry Stonecipher resigned after the Boeing board learnt of his consensual relationship with a female executive in his organization. While the relationships of high profile people makes big news, workplace relationships are extremely common. " 'Consensual' or Submissive Relationships: The Second Best Secret" by Billie Dziech, Robert Dziech and Donald Hordes, refers to a study conducted by the American Management Association in 1996. According to this study, twenty seven percent people reported having romantic relationship with colleagues. These relationships can be found in the various types of employer-employee patterns, in different professions, and in virtually every type of workplace. It could be in hospitals (between doctors and their staff or doctors and patients), educational institutions (between staff and students), political parties (between party leaders and workers) or in the regular office set up between bosses and their sub-ordinates. Consensual sex happens when both the persons involved are willing to enter into a physical relationship. All advances made by one are welcomed by the other and their relationship progresses on grounds of mutual consent. This seemingly harmless description of consensual sex can have serious implications "when the people involved share a common workplace. Edgar S. Ellman says in the article There's no such thing as safe sex in the office", that dating, sex and romance between employees may be acceptable, but rarely between people of unequal power or authority. It is difficult to say when their professionalism is affected or influenced by their personal life, and the person in the senior position can use his/her power to grant unmerited favors to his/her lover. Besides, if problems arise in their relationship, the sub-ordinate can claim sexual harassment and claim that the senior used his/her power and authority to force him/her into a physical relationship. One such case mentioned in Billie Dziech, Robert Dziech and Donald Hordes' article is that of Keppler v. Hinsdale Township High School. In this case, Keppler was the Coordinator of Educational Services. He had an affair with a high school Principal. Their relationship soured, but he continued to make advances. She rebuffed him and was ultimately fired. She sued him stating that her termination was an act of retaliation. Also, what appears as consensual sex on the surface may actually be sexual harassment in reality. Often, people are forced into relationships because of their monetary, social or psychological compulsions. 'Consensual' or Submissive Relationships: The Second Best Secret" mentions about the case of Nichols v. Frank in which Teri Nichols, a deaf and mute night-shift mail sorter, was coerced into performing oral sex on her supervisor, Ron Francisco. The article quotes Terri, who had described her emotions with the words, 'I tried to kill myself because I just didn't know how to tell my husband . . . what was going on . . . I was afraid that he would take my children and divorce me. And so I was just stuck. I was stuck between the two and there was no one I could talk to.' What is sexual harassment In the United States of America, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and comparable state statutes protect workers from workplace discrimination. Discrimination here includes sexual harassment. The article "Leadership, Power and Sexual Harassment: An Ethical Perspective" by Lamar Odom, Connie Green, Nikkie Saldivar Hodgson, Karlene Fenton, and Daniel Calvert, states that sexual harassment is often classified into two broad categories - quid pro quo, which when translated means "something in exchange for something else." The second category is that of a hostile work environment. A quid pro quo case would involve a senior using his/her power in an unethical manner to gain sexual favors. This could be a situation like that of the Nichols v. Frank case mentioned earlier. Sexual harassment can also happen in a hostile environment when the employee is the target of sexist remarks, ridicule, lewd advances or any other such behavior. The line between consensual sex and sexual harassment is very thin. What starts out as consensual sex may become harassment when cracks appear in the relationship. Similarly, what appears to be consensual sex may in reality be sexual harassment. Workplace Ethics and Consensual Sex While all condemn sexual harassment, the issue of consensual sex is subject to much debate. Even in educational institutions, it is often debated whether "consensual relationship between students and teachers must be be banned, ignored, or encouraged; whether it is anyone's business, including the school administration's, to address such relationships," states the article " Consensual' relations in the academy: Gender, power, and sexuality." Despite the right to privacy, the issue of consensual sex has ethical implications in the workplace. The corporate world too has been hit by several scandals, and in the past decade, the issue of workplace ethics has gained tremendous importance. Stuart Gilman in "The Importance of Workplace Ethics" states that despite the impression given that corporate America as a whole is gravely challenged on the ethics front, the Ethics Resource Center's 2003 National Business Ethics Survey (NBES) has some encouraging news. According to this survey, there was increased awareness of ethical concerns among employees and greater willingness to discuss them. There are two ethics-related issues in the workplace, "observed misconduct" and "pressure to compromise ethical standards." In the case of "observed misconduct", the figures dropped from 31% in 2000 to 22% in 2003 and "pressure to compromise ethical standards" fell from 13% to 10% during this same period. Simultaneously, reporting of misconduct by employees had increased from 57% in 2000 to 63% in 2003. With this increasing consciousness of ethical standards, organizations have also sought to enforce codes of conduct on employee relationships. With regard to consensual sex, Joanna Grossman's article titled, "When Can Consensual Sex Create a Hostile Workplace Environment The California Supreme Court Weighs In on the Claim of Sexual Favoritism" discusses the implications of the anti-discrimination statue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She says that a case where a supervisor hands out promotions to subordinates he was sleeping with, at the expense of more deserving candidates, may not be a violation of Title VII unless the plaintiff can prove that the act was discriminatory. Jonathan A. Segal's article titled "Love: what's work got to do with it - sexual relationships between co-employees" states that there is no clear authority from either the legislatures or courts on the issue of consensual sex in the workplace. The likely issues arising from consensual sex, highlighted in the article, are sexual favoritism, quid pro quo harassment and hostile work environment. Under such circumstances, it is advisable for the employer or the organization to lay down the ground rules for workplace relatioships. Every employer must be able to create an environment where the employee feel that hard work and efficiency will lead him/her to the top. The employer cannot afford to have an environment where the staff believe that "sex with the boss is the easiest way to reach the top." It is only in an environment where commitment and efficiency thrive that there can be productivity and profit. Sex can be a means of power and control. The workplace cannot be a place where one can use sex to control the people working under him/her. Similarly, people in senior positions must not allow their subordinates to seduce them into a relationship. If they succumb, they might be obliged to help their partner in progressing in his/her career. Consequences of Consensual Sex A relationship in the workplace can affect not merely the two people in the relationship, but also their co-workers. Joanna Grossman's article discusses the Miller v. Department of Corrections case. In this case, the California court has recognized claims of "sexual favoritism." Two former employees of the Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW), Edna Miller and Frances Mackey, alleged that they were subjected to discrimination and harassment as a result of the chief deputy prison warden's multiple workplace affairs and related conduct. The crux of the complaint in the Miller v. Department of Corrections, according to Grossman was the "allegation that the deputy warden, Lewis Kuykendall, openly carried on three affairs with female employees at the prison." All these women were his subordinates and he had granted them privileges and promotions. The suit also alleged that female employees who complained about these relationships were punished, and retaliated against, for their objections With regard to sexual favoritism, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1990, Grossman says, "recognizes the possibility that widespread favoritism can create a hostile environment for both male and female employees." There are several instances where one of the persons involved in a consensual relationship has been forced to quit because of company policy. In such circumstances, the other person is subject to taunts and insults by co-workers who hold him/her responsible for the other person's removal. Again, efficient and talented young men and women might feel upset that they were not progressing in their careers they way they should, because their bosses were favoring the persons with whom they enjoyed sexual relationships. This will not merely affect their own performance, but is also likely to lead them to depression and cause trouble in their private lives. The persons affected in a consensual relationship at the workplace are not just the employees and their co-workers. Another category of people affected are described as "third party victims" in the "Consensual' or Submissive Relationships: The Second Best Secret". This can happen in cases where one or both the employees involved in the relationship are married. The article states that "third-party victims fall into several categories, the most commonly recognized of which are spouses and children." The spouse and children of a person involved in such a relationship might be subject to neglect. The family goes through a phase of psychological trauma. If one of the persons involved, usually the woman, has been coerced into the relationship, she might feel humiliated, angry and frustrated. As it happened in the Teri Nichols case, her marriage might get affected. " Consensual' or Submissive Relationships: The Second Best Secret" mentions that Teri Nichols's husband filed for divorce. Teri, describing her behaviour at home, had written "I got real emotional at home . . . . I remember as time progressed, I was getting crazier. I hated that sex. I didn't even want sex with my husband." In such cases not merely the woman but her entire family suffers. Another issue is that many people, especially those who are rather young, enter into consensual relationships because they are in awe of their bosses. The article "Consensual' or Submissive Relationships: The Second Best Secret" mentions that one of Monica Lewinsky's friends testified that Lewinsky thought that "maybe she [would] be his wife". When such a relationship happens in educational institutions between teachers and students, the impact is likely to be very severe. The article "Consensual' relations in the academy: Gender, power, and sexuality" states that "Sexual relations between a teacher and a student are more than private conduct; they affect the community the professor and student share with other students and teachers. A teacher's role is to provide intellectual guidance and academic and professional support and advice. Such a role is quite different from that of a lover; becoming the lover of a student constitutes an abuse of power and a betrayal of trust." Besides, students are often at an age where they can be coerced into a relationship without their realising the seriousness of it. A student favored by his/her teacher often enjoys the attention. Assuming there were some problem in the relationship, and the student is rejected by the teacher, he/she is likely to take it very badly. This could result in situations where the student drops out of school and hence ruins his/her career. Conclusion It is not a crime to fall in love or be involved in an intimate relationship. However, in the workplace, work ethics are of prime importance. It is essential to adhere to work ethics and ensure that personal relationships do not come in the way. Consensual sex can become a problematic issue not merely to the people involved in the relationship itself, but also to employers, co-workers, but even family and friends. Besides affecting one's career and the environment in the workplace, it can have a deep psychological impact on all those affected. Such relationships have played havoc with the lives of many young students and professionals. Even the former President of America had to go through a period of humiliation and embarrassment when he got involved in such a relationship. As Jerry Lalla and Diane Lalla state in "Understanding and Respecting Professional Boundaries -- Part II", '"the only persons who profit from sexual encounters are the attorneys who are later called to get involved in litigating the matter." References Consensual" relations in the academy: Gender, power, and sexuality ,Retrieved on 9th October 2005 from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3860/is_199809/ai_n8816844 Dunaief D, ( 2005), Boeing Sex Scandal - CEO quits in 'embarrassment', Daily News, Retrieved on 9th October 2005 from http://www.nydailynews.com/business/story/287816p-246395c.html Dziech,B.W., Dziech, R.W., Hordes, D.B, 'Consensual' or submissive relationships: The Second Best kept Secret. Retrieved on 9th October 2005 from http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/djglp/articles/gen6p83.htm Gilman,S (2004). The Importance of Workplace ethics, Retrieved on 9th October 2005 from http://www.edicta.org/NeoethicsBucklin/Authors/Gilman/0404GilmanEd.pdf. Grossman,J., (2005), When Can Consensual Sex Create a Hostile Workplace EnvironmentThe California Supreme Court Weighs In on the Claim of Sexual Favoritism, retrieved on 9th October 2005 fromhttp://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20050728.html Lalla,J. , Lalla.D., (1999) Understanding and Respecting Professional Boundaries -- Part II, Dynamic Chiropractic, Retrieved on 9th October 2005 from http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/17/07/13.html Odom,L., Green.C., Hodgson, N.S., Fenton.K., Calvert.D, (2003), Leadership, Power and Sexual Harassment: An Ethical Perspective, from Our Lady of the Lake University. Retrieved on 9th October 2005 from http://www.leadershipreview.org/2003fall/article2_fall_2003.asp Scherer,R., (2005) How CEOs are being held to higher ethics, The Christian Science Monitor, 9th October 2005 from http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0309/p02s01-ussc.htm Segal, A.J.,(1993), Love: what's work got to do with it - sexual relationships between co-employees, HR Magazine, at the Society for Human Resource Management, Gale Group, retrieved on 9th October 2005 from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_n6_v38/ai_14173469 Sex in the Executive Suite: A Case Study, (1998), New Hampshire Business Review, Vol. 20, No. 23, Oct 23-Nov 5, 1998, Electronic Version retrieved on 9th October 2005 at http://www.employmentpg.com/sexhar6.htm Read More