Sexual Harassment in the Workplace - Essay Example

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace The pile of sexual assault allegations in the news outlet, from dignitaries to Bill Cosby. It is a reminder of the vices doing round in the contemporary society with target victims ranging from children, teenagers and adults to even animals. Social settings like workplaces don’t represent the civility anyone would want to see in them, but offer a platform for propagating injustices towards vulnerable victims who normally happen to be women. Having to identify the factors that fuel these deeds is important, as it would provide a better perspective of what exactly has to be addressed. The implications for the victims are personal and go beyond the job place. The organizations also suffer from the vice from a financial perspective. There should be preventive measures and practices to handle sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment in the workplace Sexual harassment depicts an inappropriate and unwelcome pursuit of sexual favors from others and could be bullying with incidences of turning coercive (Sexual-Harassment-suport, 2008). Mild transgressions and assaults are common in the society with many workplace settings providing reliable case studies. Some circumstances have been found to present open doors to sexual harassment, and situations featuring those ranked higher in the hierarchy in some settings being likely to be the perpetrators of such injustices being common. Sexual pestering in the workstation is degrading, and an insult to victims’ dignity, and can subject the victim to psychological and health-related consequences with increased chances of lower job satisfaction. Sexual harassment comes in many forms, and one would address the verbal perspective. Spoken words that are sexually tailored could be aimed at some persons, and this can humiliate them or have them sexually vulnerable especially when the perpetrator has authority over them (Sexual-Harassment-suport, 2008). Comments and gestures that happen to sexually suggestive would leave the victim offended and intimidated. Tendencies that range from phone calls, written letters and emails can be used to harass others sexually. Explicit words and propositions would subject an individual to awkward situations. Forcing some protected persons to attend social events that expose them to harassment includes sexual harassment. With women being frequent victims of this vice, the physical attribute of sexual harassment could leave them with body harm and psychologically feel humiliated and degraded given that such actions occur when they don’t have a choice. Some elements have been cited as factors that increase sexual harassment in the workplace. Power imbalance within an organization has always allowed senior workers to exploit their position and seek sexual favors from the junior workers (Sexual-Harassment-suport, 2008). With much to offer in return terms of favors at the workplace and material things, senior workers abuse their authority and harass their subordinates. The society is characterized with job insecurities, and some workers are stepping out of their ways to keep their jobs. Some live at the mercy of their bosses, and the idea of having to comply with their demands happens to be the only option. In fear of losing their jobs, their bosses exploit their vulnerability and are left degraded, humiliated and without job satisfaction. There is an increased sense of inequality and discrimination against women in the society today. Sexual discrimination has been a common element in the job market, and women have been susceptible as organizations are not committed to protecting them (Cobb-Clark, 2006). The policies and rules governing such organizations are not to their favor. They are biased and bended to protect men who would always find a room to exploit their power and positions in the authority. Women’s dependency on men is not helping the situation. They have not found a platform to be self-reliant or seek greener pastures. They would have to put up with the abuse or else they would lose their source of livelihood. The organizations and the perpetrators have always managed to mount enough pressure upon them to have them quiet about harassment. Sexual harassment has been found to have some cost and consequences. It has been termed as a health hazard for the victims and a barrier to achieving career success as well as job satisfaction (Cobb-Clark, 2006). Women in the military have been found to have desires to quit their jobs from harassment, and this would mean a negative implication upon their careers (Cobb-Clark, 2006). In a career dominated by men, sex ratio would be an accelerating factor towards their harassment. Antecol and Cobb-Clark assert that 70.9% of women on duty in the military shared reports on their harassment with a year prior to the conduction of the survey (Cobb-Clark, 2006). They also observed that a failure to check on personality traits would lead to figures on the issue being blown out of proportion. The victims are more negatively affected than those who perpetrate the vice when the matter comes to light (Cobb-Clark, 2006). Bergman and Henning investigate the role of sex and ethnicity in sexual harassment (Henning, 2008). A survey on military personnel hailing from different ethnic backgrounds revealed that ethnicity and sex would shape the climate of sexual harassment in an organization (Henning, 2008). The perception of the issue in an organization would depend on what the individuals felt as inspired by their backgrounds and victims would be affected in a varied manner in terms of job satisfaction and their career goals. They would base decisions on what their cultures dictate. A consequent element of sexual harassment in an organization is reduced returns on production. Sexually harassed workers have low morale and would likely be absent in many cases. Performance is low and poor resulting in low productivity. The victims suffer low self-esteem and physical and mental implications. Competent workers are likely to withdraw and affect the long run operations of a firm. The legal cases that come with sexual harassment involve compensation in terms of money. This results in growing losses for the company. Some studies have assessed the monetary costs associated with sexual harassment especially rape. DeLis, Drury, and others established that victim costs associated with rape were at the tune of $138,310 with the total cost of rape being $448,532 for every offense in 2008 (M. DeLis, 2010). The alarming figures suggest a society that is prone to sexual harassment from shameless offenders. The society and organizations are putting in place prevention and positive practices to manage, curb and stop sexual harassment in the workplace. There have been efforts to comprehend the elements and mechanisms that underpin sexual harassment in workplace settings with the implementation of better policies and practices. Employers have been urged measures in place to facilitate equal treatment for all genders to reduce bias that cover up such offenses. Women and men should find equal access to job opportunities, vocational training and be presented to equal chances of promotion and appealing working conditions (EEA, 2002). Sexual harassment is demeans human dignity, has physical and psychological implications, and reduces job satisfaction. The factors that underpin sexual harassment in the workplace are identifiable and result in risks and cost consequences. Preventive measures and practices would eradicate the vice and present equal opportunities in the workplace for all genders. References Cobb-Clark, A. H. (2006). The sexual harassment of female active-duty personnel:Effects on job satisfaction and intentions to remain in the military. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol 61 (1) pg 54-81. EEA. (2002). Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002. Official journal L 269, 15-20, Retrieved from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32002L0073:EN:HTML. Henning, E. B. (2008). Sex and ethnicity as moderators in the sexual harassment phenomenon. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, vol 13 (2), pg 152-167. M. DeLis, K. S. (2010). Murder by Numbers: Monetary costs imposed by a sample of homicide offenders. The journal of forensic Psychiatry & psychology, vol 21 pg 501-513. Sexual-Harassment-suport. (2008). What is sexual harassment and why is it difficult to. Retrieved April 14th, 2015, from Sexual Harassment Support: www.sexualharassmentsupport.org/index.html Annotated Bibliography Bergman, E. & Henning, J. (2008). Sex and ethnicity as moderators in the sexual harassment phenomenon. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, vol 13 (2), pg 152-167. Bergman and Henning use their research skills to investigate the connection between sex and ethnicity and sexual harassment. Having featured a sample of male and females from varied ethnic backgrounds, they establish that the two elements modify and shape up the climate of an organization with respect to sexual harassment. Some backgrounds affect some people’s perception of sexual harassment. Some would feel the need to report while others would look at it as an over-reaction. Cobb-Clark D. & Antecol. H. (2006). The sexual harassment of female active-duty personnel: Effects on job satisfaction and intentions to remain in the military. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol 61 (1) pg 54-81. Cobb-Clack and Antecol examine the implications of sexual harassment on job satisfaction based on a survey conducted to investigate gender- related behavior by the United States Department of Defense. They consider the proportion of women that respond to the survey and report as being harassed sexually in the line of duty. 70.9% of that lot experienced harassment, and the two authors confirm what the society has always feared; sexual harassment at the workplace affects job satisfaction, and many would opt out for other avenues. DeLisi, M., Sween, M., Kosloski, A., Hachmeister, Drury, A, &, E., Moore, M. (2010). Murder by Numbers: Monetary costs imposed by a sample of homicide offenders. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, vol 21 pg 501-513. The authors share the findings of a study that examines the cost implications of the crime. Sexual harassment comes in many forms, and rape is an element that brings about financial commitments to those involved. The victims seek medication, rehabilitation and some are forced to press charges. These researchers share these figures with the public for the year 2008. The public gets an insight into such cost implications as they also see what the offenders have to cash in per offense. EEA. (2002). Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002. Official Journal L 269, 15-20, Retrieved from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32002L0073:EN:HTML. Sexual harassment is a global vice and the European Union is keen to address it and shares its suggested measures with the public in its official journal. The European Parliament and the Council offered directives on to the employers on how to establish principles of equal treatment and balance opportunities with respect to employment. The Council underscores the need for equal opportunities for women and men in terms of trainings, working conditions, and promotions. References Read More