Understanding sexual harassment in the workplace 

Sexual harassment is unlawful and harmful, whether it is committed by a man or a woman. Sexual assault in the workplace is widespread, and research shows that at least a quarter to more than eight in every ten people have experienced it in their lifetime globally.

While more than 75 countries worldwide have enacted laws prohibiting sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, it is still prevalent and underreported.

In this post, we will outline all the details about sexual harassment in the workplace to help us understand it better. Read through to discover more.

Defining workplace sexual harassment and assault 

Sexual harassment covers various behaviors ranging from demeaning comments based on gender stereotypes to glances and rude jokes to sexual assault and other forms of physical violence.

Though legal definitions vary by country, it is always safe to refer to it as unwelcome and unreasonable sexual conduct at the workplace.

A fairly comprehensive meaning of sexual harassment at the workplace is unwelcome sexual advances, senseless sexual favors requests, or other unreasonable sexual conduct that can make a person feel humiliated, offended, or intimidated. A normal person would expect these reactions in the circumstance.

Usually, behaviors surmounting to sexual violence and criminal acts are considered sexual harassment. Depending on the context and frequency, suggestive jokes and demeaning utterances directed towards a person's sexuality may be taken as sexual harassment from a legal perspective, but not always.

While assaults can be readily ascertained, there is no clear boundary between sexual harassment and annoying courtship. Similarly, it is even more challenging to quantify how severe the harassment is since people respond differently to equal, identical treatments.

A workplace culture or environment that is sexually hostile will also result in illegal sexual harassment. Some of the things that can show a potentially sexually permeated working environment include obscene materials, crude innuendos, general sexual banter, and offensive jokes.

Factors that drive sexual harassment in the workplace.

Sexual harassments and assaults are social problems. Curbing them depends not only on an individual's behavioral change but also on workplace culture and the environments they occur. The following are factors that encourage workplace sexual harassment and assaults.

The influx of men controlling the decision-making levels.

Several studies have discovered that a good number of workplace leadership, from the C-suite, managers, chairs, and board members are still dominated by men.

In instances where a particular cultural or socioeconomic group dominates the leadership structure of any workplace, their biases and orders significantly influence the type of work environment or a culture that is observed. This influence can lead to misuse of power.

In workplaces where men dominate the leadership and decision-making positions, women and persons from diverse backgrounds usually have limited opportunities and ways to report and stop the harassment or leave.

How the management handles complaints in this kind of workplace dwindles career development and the employment of the person experiencing the harassment.

The target groups may also experience a wide range of negative consequences, including mental and physical complications, lower earnings, and a persistent wage gap between men and women.

Mostly, the target groups will have to persevere with these treatments and behaviors when they know they will not get help from the leaders.

Stereotypes about feminism and masculinity, and stiff gender roles.

The common ideas we grew with about how men and women should act and think greatly influence the roles everyone is expected to do. And because traditionally, female roles are less valued compared to men.

Ancient perceptions like this at work create a favorable environment for workplace sexual assault to occur. They specifically affect those who want to break the norm and expand their roles.

Women in powerful leadership positions face harassment more than men due to the stereotype that women are meant to be heard behind and should not stand in front of their male counterparts.

Condoning of sexual assaults, harassment, and violence against women.

Behaviors, actions, and words that demean, trivialize, or justifies sexual harassment and assault to women and various target groups make the community think and believe it is right, acceptable, or excusable.

Alt tag: sexual assault.

Workplaces that condone behaviors, words, or actions that justify sexual assaults and harassment have higher chances of doing them. The places of work likely do not have adequate measures to respond to similar concerns from the victims.

Assuming these behaviors and actions at work puts the organization and its staff at serious risks. Everyone should work towards creating a workplace that does not allow or excuse sexual harassment and assault.

Men disrespecting women bonding with men.

Workplace sexual harassment starts from a conclusive acceptance that men display disrespect and aggression towards women. For some men, showing behaviors or actions that justify women being less powerful than men is a way of getting approval among fellow men and peers.

Also, other men sexually harass women they see as potential threats to their positions to secure these posts by looking superior to the women. This is actually a show of weakness on men's side, and women in this position should not feel threatened.

Different surveys suggest that if both men and women work together in a male-dominated area, they are both likely to show psychological support towards violence against women.

The male counterparts in these fields are not in a position to support gender equality, while the women in the same field do not have a strong understanding of assault against women.

Employment situations linked to high rates of sexual harassment.

Identifying employment-related factors linked to a high rate of sexual harassment in the workplace can help design strategies to eliminate them in particular occupations.

Working for tips.

Individuals working in the food and accommodation service industry, such as hotel housekeepers and wait staff, who are generally categorized as tipped, make up 14% of the total workplace sexual harassment charges lodged in America.

According to reports by the restaurant opportunity center united, women restaurant workers relying on tips alongside their salaries are two times more likely to experience sexual harassment in the workplace than their seniors, clients, or co-workers.

The report also discovered that the women working in this field continue to work for tips despite the harassment they experience because tips constitute a significant part of their income.

Undocumented immigrants or those with temporary work visas only.

Persons with temporary work visas or undocumented workers can be at particular risk of sexual harassment in the workplace. Food processing, agriculture, garment industries, and domestic work are some of the fields with most undocumented workers.

While, in principle, those who report cases of sexual harassment at work have similar protection against deportation like domestic violence survivors, still many fear that reporting such abuses will put their immigration status at risk.

Due to language barriers, others do not know their rights and find it hard to seek legal services. Consequences faced by the target groups who report the abuse in the workplace may include threats to inform the immigration department to revoke their temporary work permits and visa.

The retaliations may also involve laying off the victims who report sexual abuse in the workplace. This can go as far as giving poor recommendations to bar the victims from seeking employment in other companies.

Working in an isolated context.

Most employees, such as domestic workers, female janitors, agricultural or hotel workers, often working in isolated areas record-high number of sexual harassment. Isolation makes the target groups vulnerable to perpetrators who may feel motivated due to a lack of witnesses.

For instance, ABM, one of the largest janitor employers, recorded more than 42 lawsuits against them for the past two decades involving allegations of workplace sexual harassment, assault, violence, and rape.

The University of Chicago and National Domestic Workers Alliance reports discovered that over 36% of workers living in the States have reported cases of being harassed, insulted, threatened, or verbally abused in the past one year.

Working in a male-dominated sector.

Female workers in the field where they are the small majority, especially in rigorous and more physical environments or jobs that are traditionally focused on male-related tasks, may also have high risks of harassment and assault.

From various studies of the 1990s, around six in every ten female construction workers report being sexually abused through suggestive and unwelcome talks and touch.

Also, in a 2013 study, three in ten women working in the construction industry report undergoing sexual harassment and assault frequently, with the same number reporting that the abuse is based on age, sexual orientation, or race.

Furthermore, recent documentation by the National Academy of Sciences shows an increased level of harassment of women and staff in fields like sciences, medicine, and engineering. Most women in academic medicine report increased cases than their counterparts in engineering science.

Working in an environment with excellent power differential and "rainmakers."

Most workplaces have significant power differences between workers. These power disparities, especially given female lower chances of getting into senior positions, poses risks of sexual harassments and assaults in the workplace.

Junior workers may be particularly concerned with handling internal issues, retaliation, and increased vulnerability in their workplaces.

However, "rainmakers," such as renowned professors, highly-recognized partners, or award-winning researchers, will feel no need to comply with policies that govern junior employees. These assumptions breed a favorable ground for the vices like sexual harassment and assaults to happen.

These factors can usually occur synonymously and are fueled by discrimination, racism, and harassment based on age, gender, race, spiritual inclination, national origin, or even age.

Besides, working in low-paying jobs can result in harassment attached to money favors, especially in less or poorly formalized workplaces with no official abuse complaints or reporting and legal mechanisms. Working for low wages may also make it difficult for the victims to lodge complaints for fear of losing their jobs.

Effects of sexual harassment in the workplace on individuals.

All forms of workplace abuse affect individuals in various ways, including physical and mental health, opportunities to improve their careers, and even their finances.

Here are details of how workplace sexual harassment can affect a person’s life.

Adverse effects on mental and physical health.

Various studies show that sexual assaults, harassment, or other forms of abuse in the workplace have adverse effects on the victim's mental health. Exploratory research on the convergence of racial and sexual abuse displayed severe symptoms that met the characteristics of PTSD.

Whether it is less severe and infrequent, harassment can negatively impact work behaviors and the general psychological well-being of a person. These effects can take longer on the victims after the harassment.

In addition to mental health effects, researchers have linked long-term physical health complications to long-term repeated gender-based abuse. Harassments at the workplace can lead to increased injuries and accidents as victims get distracted while working in high-risk conditions.

These effects are usually costly to control or treat as mental and physical medical services are very high.

Reduced opportunities for on-the-job training and career advancement.

Becoming a skilled worker and improving your career depends on on-the-job learning and mentorship by a more experienced person in the same field. Workplace harassment can restrict target groups from accessing such learning opportunities.

For women in male-dominated professions like engineering, sciences, and medicine, it is discovered that harassment affects their professional advancement. This forces them to give up prime career opportunities, step down from leadership positions, or walk out of major research projects as lead researchers.

Forced unemployment, job change, and abandonment of well-paying jobs.

Unemployment is a major concern for women who have resolved to leave a particular job because of sexual harassment before getting another job offer. Studies show that eight in ten women who have undergone sexual assault and harassment of any nature get a new job within two years after experiencing harassment compared with only half of others who are working.

These consequences lead to significant financial stress levels due to constant job change, posing a likelihood of long-term effects of financial and career attainment.

Sexual harassment also leads to financial constraints even when the victims got a job soon after walking out of the abusive workplace. Additionally, due to such vices, some women may decide to leave a specific professional field altogether to avoid perpetrators.

Personal financial costs related to sexual harassment vary based on the individuals’ occupations and career directions. Those in high-waged professions tend to lose more money than the ones in low-paying careers.

However, the effects of sexual harassment are significant regardless of the amount of wages an individual stands to lose. High-and low-wage people will need this money to cater to their basic needs, achieve economic stability, and seek health awareness.

Sexual harassments costs to organizations.

Harassments in the workplace can lead to a significant financial drain on companies. This may include legal charges in case of formal charges of sexual harassment allegations, employee turnover costs, and costs incurred due to low productivity resulting from low motivation, increased absence, team disruption, and poor commitments.

Though there are no recent estimates of the costs of sexual harassment on companies, earlier information shows that the charges are substantial, with some of these costs being from taxpayers' pockets.

Here is a detailed explanation of these costs on organizations.

Legal costs.

High-profile workplace sexual harassment and assaults display the potential charges of tolerating abuse for employers. This is because the amounts of cash payments in settlements are kept confidential, making it hard to make actual estimates of the total legal charges related to the harassment.

According to EEOC- a body that publishes the financial settlements reached on behalf of workers, up to $46.3million monetary benefits for employees from litigation proceeds were collected in the FY 2017 alone.

These charges likely represent a small percentage of the actual costs as EEOC litigates only a small portion of these allegations because victims rarely report these cases for fear of losing their jobs and becoming unemployed.

Increased absence.

According to the National Health Interview Survey 2010, those who reported being harassed at the workplace are 1.7 times more likely to take a two-week leave from their job following the harassment than those who have not experienced the ordeals.

 

Alt tag: protection.

Further, one in every six employees who have experienced harassment went for sick or annual leave after undergoing the same. These leave help victims to recover emotionally and assess any forms of injuries or infections they might have encountered from the experience.

Employee turnover.

Sexual harassment in the workplace can constitute increased employee turnover. Different studies of the link between sexual harassment and career developments found out that targets of sexual abuse are 6.5 times likely to change professions than their non-target counterparts.

Costs of employee turnover make up the largest economic cost of sexual harassment, higher than litigation charges. Replacing a worker can be very expensive; it is estimated to cost 16 to20 percent of the employees' annual salary, increasing up to 213 percent of the wages of more experienced staff.

Costs of reduced productivity.

Obviously, sexual harassment at the workplace leads to reduced motivation, commitments, and lower job satisfaction, which eventually job withdrawal. Further, sexual harassments effects are not limited to target groups only; they can affect those who witness these deeds.

Workplace harassment consisting of clear verbal and nonverbal deeds affects the teams' morale, commitment, and performance, resulting in low productivity.

Based on their meta-analysis research on the consequences and antecedents of sexual abuse at the workplace, Wellness et al. estimate a cost of $22500 as the average amount lost per person in productivity in the team affected by harassment in a company.

Recommendations for addressing and reducing workplace harassment.

Offering training and resources and designing new tools to address and prevent cases of sexual harassment in the workplace can help create safer workplaces for everyone. The following are recommendations that need to be in place to achieve these.

• Employers should set and adopt anti-harassment policies, inform the employees of the policy, provide clear reporting procedures, and test these reporting methods to identify their functionality.
• Companies should ensure that disciplinary actions against the perpetrators are prompt, consistent, and equal to the intensity of the circumstance.
• Organizations should train their staff on how to respond to instances of harassment if it is observed.
• Employers should implement workplace civility lessons and bystander interventions strategies.
• Labor unions need to ensure their reporting and intervention policies concur with the employers' policies.
• Researchers and concern bodies should constantly assess the effects of workplace sexual harassment and how to reduce them.

Conclusion.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is globally regarded as sex discrimination and a violation of human rights. Sexual harassment and assaults in the workplace reduce team commitment, motivation, and general morale, leading to reduced productivity.

Despite all these, the vice is still on the rise and underreported. This can be attributed to fear of losing their jobs, poor reporting structure, lack of a good and conclusive legal process, or difficulty getting a new job.

Sexual harassment has a lot of adverse effects on both the targets and organizations; it leads to a lack of career advancement, forced job change, and impacts on physical and mental health on the employee's side.

On the other side, organizations lose a lot of money on legal matters, employee turnover charges, reduced productivity, and the company's general outlook.

To curb this vice, stakeholders need to work together and ensure a streamlined reporting system, effective communication, proactive workplace policies, and finally, training the entire team on the dangers of sexual harassment.