SEXUAL HARRASMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Introduction

Sexual harassment is a huge concern nowadays in each business; if left unattended it possibly will outlay companies thousands, if not millions, of dollars in reparation. In the year 1980 the Supreme Court lined that sexual harassment was a breach of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. From the years 1978 to 1980, sexual harassment cases brought in opposition to companies cost them $189 million. This amount elevated to $267 million from 1985-1987. Even though this number jumped considerably, the speed of sexual harassment had not. Damages are immediately not numbers. Sexual harassment can cause damage to a company's representation, status, customers, as well as their proceeds.

Discussion

The first, called quid pro quo is defined as any unwelcome sexual conduct that is a term or condition of employment. This is when a supervisor says that he will not hire or promote you unless you give him a sexual favor; that is making sex a condition of employment. The second type is the hostile work environment (Clark, 2006).

This is when harassment interferes with job performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. The courts have brought in that if a "reasonable person" thinks it is a hostile environment, then it is. This second type of sexual harassment is a gray area because the courts have not defined what a "reasonable person" is and because it can include many different types of behavior. Behaviors may include, but are not limited to: leering, any unwanted touching or hugging, inappropriate gifts, or comments of a sexual nature (Connell, 2007).

Another important point brought up by Ottensmeyer and McCarthy is that people harass others not because of sex but because of power. This power can be earned by the position they hold or it can be ascribed, which is something they have that cannot be taken away, like gender or ethnicity. The reason a person harasses someone can be to decrease the power of the victim through sexual jokes or comments (Connolly, 2007). This type of abuse of power is especially true when nontraditional employees, like women, have just entered the workplace.

In this situation, men do not know how to welcome them or the men might not want them in the workplace. Other reasons that people harass can range from having a personal crisis to a drug or alcohol problem. As Ottensmeyer and McCarthy say in their book; "To avoid sexual harassment's costly consequences and minimize its frequency, employers need to identify and understand both the reason for the harassment and the specific form of power being abused (Dziech, 2007).

Knowing the reason will also help in determining the type of disciplinary action that is needed. For example, if there is a personal crisis in the life of the harasser, usually if told to stop the harassment this person will and that will be the end of it. It may also be appropriate to provide counseling for the individual to help with the ...