Sexual harassment is one of the business ethical issues in the workplace. It is discrimination that is based on sex. Sexual harassment can be defined as inappropriate sexual advances, either physical or verbal sexual conduct and sexual favor requests when: inappropriate conduct interferes with the work performance of the affected individual or if the choice of the affected individual on the unwelcomed conduct interferes with an employment decision. A company or business premise should be on the lookout for any signs of sexual harassment as it poisons the working environment for the other employees. This avoids any escalation to violent behavior within the company.
There are many kinds of sexual harassment. They include; sexual jokes or pranks either via e-mail or in person, giving gifts or favors in exchange for sexual intimacy, commenting on a person’s actions or physical characteristics in a sexual manner and demanding hugs from fellow employees. Also sharing or posting sexual cartoons or pictures, pornography, explicit graffiti is considered sexual harassment. Such incidents should be prevented within a working environment. If employers do not take any action against incidents of sexual harassment, then the company can face major costs in low morale, decreased productivity, health care, absenteeism and even legal expenses.
Anyone can find oneself in a situation involving sexual harassment, be it a male or a female. Both the victim and the harasser can be of the same gender. In most sexual harassment cases, women are more affected than the opposite sex as they hold lower-authority, lower-status and lower paying jobs as compared to men. Occasionally even women of higher authority positions may in turn go through sexual harassment. A supervisor or a co-worker can be the harasser. Sometimes non-employees can be the harassers if they have business contacts with that department.
Sexual harassment is experienced across all platforms of occupations and various sectors of industry, but it may be common in some fields of employment. The places that mostly encounter such incidents include work environments that are male dominated, and jobs that include serving as a means to an end such as waitressing and a massage therapy.
The US Department of State has a policy against sexual harassment; this is to ensure that employees have a comfortable working place. This makes sexual harassment against the law and it cannot be tolerated at any workplace. The Department’s responsibility, under this policy, is to make sure that any sexual harassment allegation or an occurrence of sexual harassment is properly addressed and investigated using necessary steps. Effective measures will be taken by the Department to put an end to the inappropriate behavior if the allegation is committed to be true. The Department then takes action even if the victim does not raise any complaint.
The contact point for concerns or questions in relation to sexual harassment is the Office of Civil Rights (S/OCR). It oversees and investigates any alleged case of sexual harassment. The officials from the state department, with information of any sexual harassment incident, then reports to the S/OCR. It is a violation of sexual harassment policy when such incidents are not reported to the S/OCR. The Office of Civil Rights then gives guidance on how to handle the suspected harassment and how to investigate it. Protection of identities of the alleged harasser and the victim will be protected by the department unless it is reasonably necessary like when investigating the incident further. Employees who report potential cases of sexual harassment are protected from retaliation.
Under the policy of sexual harassment, employees have rights as well as responsibilities. If any employee feels that he or she has been sexually harassed, they are encouraged to inform the harasser in writing or orally about the unwelcomed conduct. There are multiple ways employees can report any sexual harassment allegations. They are encouraged to report to the Department official responsible for such allegations. There are also resolutions that victims of sexual harassment can pursue like mediation.
Employers ought to make the environment a sexual harassment free zone, by constantly checking that there are no such behaviors around their environs. Measures can be taken to make sure that sexual harassment does not take root within the company or business premise and is not allowed to grow.
Reference
US Department of State. ‘Sexual Harassment Policy’ Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/s/ocr/c14800.htm
Dittman, M. (2003). ‘Sexual harassment too often leads to humiliation for victims’. Monitor on Psychology 34 (9). American Psychological Association.
OHRC. ‘Sexual Harassment in Employment (fact sheet)’. Retrieved from http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/sexual-harassment-employment-fact-sheet
