A descriptive study of behavioral responses of sexual harassment targets: Implications for control theory

The problem of sexual harassment in the workplace can be viewed within the framework of personal control. In particular, sexual harassment can be viewed as an infringement upon employees' rights to control the conditions under which they work. Targets of harassment must tolerate sexual harassment to avoid negative consequences such as termination, demotion, distasteful remarks or jokes, and so forth. Previous research (Wortman & Brehm, 1975; Greenberger & Strasser, 1986) into personal control has drawn upon two theories—reactance theory and learned helplessness theory—to explain behavioral responses to infringement upon personal control. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of personal control theories in explaining responses of targets who file discrimination suits.     

育龄妇女职场性权益保护的研讨

当前,职场性骚扰问题已经受到各界的普遍关注,保护职场育龄妇女性权益势在必行。本文从理论与法律上对性骚扰进行了分析,最后提出了育龄妇女在职场面对性骚扰时应采取的对策与证据。     

Protecting the Rights of Alleged Sexual Harassment Perpetrators: Guidance from the Decisions of Labor Arbitrators

Recent evidence indicates that sexual harassment in the workplace continues to pose a problem for organizations. Using published arbitration awards, the current study examines the critical issues involved in discipline decisions of alleged sexual harassment perpetrators. Content analysis of 92 cases enabled the examination of critical judgment factors considered by arbitrators examining the disciplinary penalties imposed by management. Elements of the arbitrator's judgment including the just cause standards, mitigating circumstances, severity of harassment, and length of harassment were examined. The results of the analyses are discussed with an emphasis on the lessons provided for effective management practices.     

The relationship between gender,personal experience,and perceptions of sexual harassment in the workplace

In this study 352 working men and women responded to a questionnaire about their perceptions of what constituted sexual harassment. It was hypothesized that females, compared to males, would view ambiguous sexually oriented work behavior as more harassing. It was also hypothesized that those who had been a target of sexual harassment, compared to those who had not been a target, would view ambiguous sexually oriented work behavior as more harassing. Both hypotheses were supported. Additionally, after taking into account the effect of having been a target of sexual harassment, the effect of gender on perceptions of sexual harassment was found to be spurious. Implications for management and future research are discussed. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1993 Southern Management Association meeting in New Orleans.     

Sexual Harassments: Criteria for difining hostile enviorment

Sexual harassment in the workplace continues to be one of the most controversial and complex legal and ethical issues facing empolyers. The U.S. Supreme Court's June 1986 decisiion inMeitor Savings Bank v. Vinson, which applied Title VII of the Civil Reights Act to situations involving sexual harassment, is discussed. The Court's definition of hostile environment is reviwed, and federal court cases interpreting the Supreme Court's pronousncements are examined. The cases provide guidance on the kinds of situations that result in employer liability for sexual harassment. A primanry conclusion is that employers may easily avoid liability by exercising learned judgment and sound management practices.     

Victims' and observers' perceptions of sexual harassment: implications for employers' legal risk in North America

The way in which victims and observers perceive potentially harassing behaviours and employers' responses to sexual harassment complaints significantly affect organizations' liability risk under sexual harassment law in North America. This article examines studies in the sexual harassment literature that focus on the perceptions of sexual harassment victims and observers, and identifies legal and extra-legal factors that influence their harassment judgments. The implications of research findings for employer liability and future research are discussed.     

Breaking the Silence: Creating User-Friendly Sexual Harassment Policies

Numerous surveys suggest that while the number of women in the work force who have experienced sexual harassment is high, the number of those who are willing to actually report incidents of harassment is far lower. To better understand the consequences of sexual harassment to women and the legal implications to the corporation, we discuss briefly the psychophysiological consequences experienced by victims, followed by a review of sexual harassment law. Next we discuss the results of our survey based on a national sample of 1500 working women. Our study examines the reasons underlying women's reluctance to report sexual harassment and identifies policies and procedures to encourage the reporting of sexual harassment. Our findings are discussed in terms of the need for organizations to develop more user-friendly sexual harassment reporting procedures.     

Institutional strategies for dealing with sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is being recognized as a pervasive and highly visible problem at an institutional level. As a consequence institutions are establishing policies and procedures to address this issue. In view of recent legal decisions, sexual harassment can have negative consequences for the institution as well as the harassee; thus, in some institutions, sexual harassment is viewed as a common problem shared by employers and employees. This article addresses institutional strategies that have proven effective in proactively dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace.     

Russian workers’ experiences with and perceptions of sexual harassment severity

As the reach of global business operations increases, cultural context will likely influence the nature and amount of sexual harassment workers experience. Surprisingly, little is known about sexual harassment in Russia, an attractive target for expanding companies. To address this gap in the literature, we examine Russian workers’ perceptions of sexual harassment severity through the lens of cultural context. In particular, we examine the sexual harassment severity perceptions from the perspective of both targets and perpetrators. Results indicate that as targets of sexual harassment, Russian women and men held similar sexual harassment severity perceptions. However, as perpetrators, Russian women reported perceiving the harassment they committed as being less severe than the reports of Russian men. Further, among both targets and perpetrators, Russian women held less permissive sexual attitudes than Russian men, with this difference mediating the relationship between participant sex and perceived sexual harassment severity: women perceived greater severity than men because women hold less permissive sexual attitudes. Implications for research, practice, and the role of national culture in shaping the social construction of sexual harassment are discussed.     

The legal history of work-related sexual harassment and implications for employers

Over the years, the courts have come to consider sexual harassment as a kind of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Employers are held liable for sexual harassment, and have an affirmative action obligation to eliminate sexual harassment from the workplace. The courts and the EEOC Guidelines have defined sexual harassment as tangible employment consequences or behavior that creates a hostile or offensive working environment. Employers can limit their liability by creating a system to detect sexual harassment and to remedy it promptly. Suggestions to wards developing a strong policy to eliminate sexual harassment from the workplace are given.     

Legal Protection From Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation: Findings From Litigation

Since 1964 with the enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the courts have held that although Title VII prohibits discrimination because of sex, sex has been construed to mean gender, but gender and sexual orientation are different. Traditionally sexual discrimination has been interpreted to protect women in male/female encounters. Thus protection for homosexuals based on sexual orientation has not been covered. However, there are some interesting aspects to the concept of discrimination due to sexual orientation, including defining same-sex harassment as being harassment, equal opportunity harassment, and sexual stereotypes. In addition, how homosexuals may be protected under state laws, unions, company policy, and the constitution is discussed as well as protection for public sector employees. An analysis of 98 litigated cases alleging discrimination based on same sex or sexual orientation harassment led to the development of a logit model predicting future case outcomes based on case characteristics. These are type of harassment, physical contact, type of employees, and whether there was equal opportunity harassment. Implications from the study are that the issues of protection from discrimination are complex and one cannot necessarily assume that this type of discrimination is not protected. Recommendations for more effective managerial actions are provided.     

The effects of diversity on sexual harassment: Some recommendations for research

This article speculates about some of the possible effects of increasing organizational diversity upon sexual harassment, and suggests some potential research opportunities and directions. Discussion and research recommendations center around the following aspects of sexual harassment: (1) antecedents of harassment; (2) behaviors exhibited; (3) perceptions of behaviors; (4) immediate reactions of harassees; and (5) longer-term individual and organizational outcomes of sexual harassment.     

Constructive responses to sexual harassment in the workplace

Sexual harassment is a significant problem in the workplace, including the union work environment. A repertoire of positive responses can be called upon to deal with sexual harassment: (1) Complainants can be empowered to become agents of action and to respond effectively, orally or in writing, to sexual harassment. (2) Shuttle diplomacy utilizing a neutral third party can be effective in both stopping harassment and fostering communication between grievant and harasser. (3) Mediation by a neutral third party can provide immediate communication and restoration of a constructive workplace atmosphere. (4) Generic solutions (workshops, seminars, etc.) focus on the problem or on a generalized approach to improve the workplace setting rather than the individual. (5) Establishment of sexual harassment policies or a policy of well-being of staff can establish a supportive institutional framework. (6) As an extension of its sexual harassment or well-being policies, management can convene workshops, seminars, etc. to educate all its constituents. (7) In many organizations, appointment of an Ombudsperson has provided an effective mechanism for dealing with harassment. This ensemble of options can be utilized prior to loding a formal grievance. In many instances, these maneuvers can effectively deal with sexual harassment.     

Assessing Liability for Sexual Harassment: Reactions of Potential Jurors to Email Versus Face-to-Face Incidents

This paper investigates reactions of potential jurors to sexual harassment incidents. Email and face-to-face incidents are compared to determine the importance of context on decision-making. The paper considers juror decision-making for both guilt and level of award to randomly assigned scenarios involving multiple levels of harassment. Results found that email harassment was perceived more harshly, consistent with a context-based hypothesis. The paper concludes with organizational implications for better handling sexual harassment awareness training as well as Internet usage guidelines.     

Disciplining sexual harassers: What’s fair?

To avoid liability for hostile environment sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and to minimize the negative effects of such conduct on victims’ morale and perhaps their performance, employers must implement remedial measures that are capable of ending the harassment or even preventing it. Determining what constitutes adequate remedial action is difficult, and employers may administer excessively severe disciplinary penalties to ensure legal compliance. But such a response would contravene the tenets of just cause and industrial due process. This investigation examines relevant arbitration decisions to determine how labor arbitrators have balanced these competing interests. That is, it delineates the criteria that should be used to ensure that the disciplinary penalties levied against employees who sexually harass others are both adequate and fair.     

Addressing the Growing Inadequacies of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ellerth</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">Faragher</Emphasis> Affirmative Defense: Fashioning a Sensible and Feasible Solution

Public policy seeks an equitable balance between the rights and duties of both employers and employees in creating a workplace free of sexual harassment. This goal is particularly difficult to achieve when supervisors create a hostile work environment. The U.S. Supreme Courts decisions in Ellerth and Faragher created an affirmative defense against vicarious liability for employers, but subsequent applications of these rulings have been inconsistent and problematic. Courts and legislators need to (1) choose the appropriate standard of employer liability for sexual harassment committed by supervisors, and (2) decide what, if any, defenses are available to employers when employees bring claims of sexual harassment. We conclude that holding employers strictly liable while allowing for the limitation of damages based on avoidable consequences, as recently adopted by the California Supreme Court in McGinnis, is preferable to other liability standards and defenses.     

Sexual harassment training: Recommendations to address gaps between the practitioner and research literatures

Sexual harassment training is a common human resource activity, and the practitioner literature is replete with advice about how to implement it. Little research, however, has specifically explored what makes sexual harassment training effective. This paper uses what we know from general training research and theory and sexual harassment research to assess the extent to which the practitioner literature is making relevant and reasonable recommendations for sexual harassment training. We identify practitioner‐research gaps in the literature, including areas that academic research and theory suggest are important for training effectiveness but where the practitioner literature falls short. The practitioner literature may be silent, offer incomplete advice, make recommendations that do not directly link to research findings, or present recommendations that are inconsistent with research findings. We recommend that these gaps be bridged and we provide specific suggestions for how human resource managers can improve the quality of the sexual harassment training they provide. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Parsing Work Environments Along the Dimensions of Sexual and Non-Sexual Harassment: Drawing Lines in Office Sand

Laws addressing harassment at work have evolved considerably since court systems first recognized that (sexual) harassment is illegal. Now, managers must worry about protected classes other than sex (e.g., race, age, etc.), and the effects of harassment on bystanders as well as victims (i.e., ambient harassment). Understanding these newer conceptualizations of workplace harassment is critical for mangers dealing with an increasingly complex array of possible work environments, only some of which are illegal. Toward this end, we present a taxonomy of eight possible work environments, created by parsing the legal definition of sexual harassment (i.e., the first-recognized type of hostile work environment). The taxonomy illustrates the evolution of law in this area, and highlights the multidimensional nature of workplace harassment. Also discussed are potential complications arising from how a reasonable person and a victim might interpret behavior. Managers using the taxonomy may better assess whether their work environments have crossed the line, or facilitate movement from less- to more-desirable work environments.

Preventing Sexual Harassment: The Effect of Multiple Training Methods

Subjects were presented with multiple training methods to determine their effect on sensitivity to possible sexual harassment situations. The training methods used were case analyses, commercially produced videotape episodes, and an open-ended questionnaire. Subjects were found to be more sensitive to incidents of possible sexual harassment when videotape episodes were combined with case analysis. The pattern of gender differences supported previous research showing perceptual differences in ambiguous cases. Research-based suggestions for sexual harassment training programs are offered.     

Retaining Employees Through Anti–Sexual Harassment Practices: Exploring the Mediating Role of Psychological Distress and Employee Engagement

The present study utilized sexual harassment, organizational climate, and engagement theories to articulate a process model of how perceived anti–sexual harassment practices and sexual harassment incidents relate to affective commitment and intentions to stay. The authors hypothesized that perceived anti–sexual harassment practices and sexual harassment incidents would relate to employee engagement, both directly and indirectly through psychological distress. Moreover, psychological distress and employee engagement were hypothesized to mediate the relationships of perceived anti–sexual harassment practices and sexual harassment incidents with affective commitment and intentions to stay. Study findings supported these hypotheses within two subsamples of female (N = 3,283 and 3,207) and male (N = 3,460 and 3,300) military personnel. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.