Running Head: Sexual Harassment 1

Sexual Harassment in the Work Place

Name

Institution
SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORK PLACE 2

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a type of sex discrimination and can be illustrated as undesirable

sexual advances, wishes for sexual favors, or other oral or physical behavior of a sexual

nature. It can be categorized into verbally, non-verbally or physical harassment. Sexual

harassment in the workplace can be occurred at work, formal events, between colleagues

outside of work and between people sharing the same workplace. In the workplace, a harasser

can be a supervisor, a manager, a colleague, a CEO or in some cases a client or customer.

According to the estimation of a number of studies, fifty percent of women in employment

are, or have been, victimize to sexual harassment of any type. Sexual harassment at work is

not a new dilemma as it always have been a cause of apprehension to generations of working

women. According to Virgina Bottomley, several companies do not know how to deal with

harassment and some companies even leave the workforce and this is just a tragedy for both

individual and the company as well (Raver & Nishii, 2010).

Sexual harassment at the workplace must be noticed by management and

administration of the company since it can have very severe consequences both for the

harassed individual and for the reputation of the company as well. In some situations, a

harassed individual may have less chances of getting promotion if she/he refuses the sexual

offer of someone with the authority. Furthermore, management should realize that this is a

serious issue and carelessness towards it can harm the overall operations, profitability and

reputation of the company. For instance, the annoying sexual behavior of a colleague makes

the working environment antagonistic and unlikable for a potential employee and thus she

leaves the job because of the pressure. In this way, a company may lose its potential

employee which could be an asset to the company in the future. In addition, Equal Rights
SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORK PLACE 3

Advocates suggest that sufferers of sexual harassment drop $4.4 million dollars each year in

salaries and 973,000 hours in unpaid leave in the United States.

The EU. has declared sex or sexual harassment within the working group highly

abuse. International organizations like Rattan Tata, India has defined a foolproof set of

policies against such criminal activities within the premises of Ratan. Administration at

Rattan Tata has promulgated that anyone found in sexual or sex arousing acts shall be

prosecuted in criminal court and sentenced to the freezing off all funds by the company after

the judgment (Gumbus & Lyons, 2011). Moreover, companies need to realize that the

employees can be emotionally and physically pressurized all the time at the workplace

because of sexual harassment and therefore, become incapable to execute their job efficiently.

Employees, especially the female employees lose their confidence and self-esteem where

they feel insecure or unsafe. So, Sexual harassment at work can be a reason of ineffective and

unprofessional working environment. As a result, a company can face several issues and

delays in achieving its target.

The management of the company also needs to observe that morale of all employees

can also be affected and it can lead to serious consequences. The sexual harassment also

impacts the morale of the overall workforce since all the employees can get their work

interrupted by sexual harassment even in the case they are not openly involved.  Thus, we can

say that sexual harassment most of the time negatively affects company efficiency on the

whole as it has an intimidating effect on everyone within the company. There is urgent need

that sexual harassment must be noticed by the management at all the level of hierarchy in

order to accelerate a plan of action (Endvawnow.org, 2015).

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORK PLACE 4

Prevention Strategy

Organizations have been working hard in order to prevent the sexual harassment in

the workplace. The organization culture has been improving a lot, and even the work profiles

are also getting better. Despite these changes, the cases of violence, bullying, gender-based

and sexual harassment are still occurring in a number of organizations. There needs to be

specific strategies and practices implemented by the Human Resource Department of the

organization that will curb the issues and challenges of sexual harassment. The first way to

eliminate the occurrence of sexual harassment is through installing a positive corporate

culture at the given workplace. The communications need to be made open, and employees

should be trained in such a way that, they respect each other’s work and dignity at all the

levels of the organization.

The Middle Line Managers need to monitor that there are no interpersonal conflicts

existing between the employees. The management needs to see that there are no frequent

labor management and labor unions disputes. Employees should be made aware that, the

company will take care of them as well as their family, in every time of their need. The

behaviors of the supervisors and other senior level managers need to be checked, and should

be prevented from their abusive nature. Instead, the senior management should take this

responsibility and should prevent sexual harassment prevailing inside the given organization.

Employees should be allowed to speak whatever they feel, and thus should be granted the

freedom of speech and frank opinion regarding the prevailing practices of HR Department in

the given organization.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORK PLACE 5

The employees need to be constantly reminded of the different policies and

procedures regarding sexual harassment. It is important to review those policies and norms on

a periodical basis, and thereby keep them updated as per the incoming new modifications.

Further, they can even follow the norms of governmental agencies such as Ontario Human

Rights Commission, in order to align their strategies and practices with them, regarding the

issue of harassment. The organization needs to educate and update its employees regarding

each and every issue, the protocol associated with it, and the actions that are taken in such

cases. It is more important for the HR Department to share this knowledge with the newly-

hired employees. An awareness session can be organized by the organization for those

employees, who are still unaware of such policies. The HR Department can then demonstrate

the examples of unacceptable behavior. The training sessions that are organized for the

employees should address the role of hierarchy and their power in the given organization

(Eyre, 2000). It is very important to make the employees understand about the complaint

process in such cases. This will help them to come forward whenever they face any such

issues or witness any challenges related to sexual harassment.

The role of the employees is equally important in maintaining the decorum of the

organization, without any harassment. They can set their own expectations and can thereby

help their supervisors to achieve the goal of harassment-free organization. They, in fact can

provide any support during any time, which in turn would help everyone in creating a safe

and respectful workplace in the given organization. The employees can be promoted or given

rewards as a mark of their appreciation on their performance. This will also boost the inner

morals of the employees, and will stop them from involving into such cases and incidents.

The HR Department need to invest a lot in the complaint process so that, appropriate actions

can be taken during the time of need. The organizations need to have multiple channels
SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORK PLACE 6

through which the employees can address their grievances or any other sorrows resulting

from the sexual harassment. In the initial stage, employees should be at least provided with

the options and alternatives, which they can immediately take following the incident. This

will work like the first aid kit to them. The detailed company procedure will then follow

depending on the allegations and the level of employees involved in it. In certain cases,

where there is sexual harassment from the senior level official, an external consultant can

also be hired in order to solve the case and then take appropriate actions.

The organization is required to take quick actions in response to the complaints

received from the employees. A proper investigation procedure needs to be prepared, and the

company can formulate a special investigative team for knowing the facts. It is very

important to maintain the confidentiality of the details found and data gathered during this

process. All the statements should be immediately recorded from the culprits, the eye-

witnesses, and the victim, because their minds will be still fresh. It is very important for the

organization to provide emotional support to the employee, who is the victim of the given

case. The HR and the investigation team will then consult the legal experts and authorities,

and will then try to find the solution for the case.

If in any case there is not enough evidence, then the complaint, the complainant, and

all those who are involved in the harassment need to be briefed regarding the outcomes of

this harassment. This will also help in sending a proper message to all those who are unaware

about such processes, to those who are involved in lighter sense of harassment and hence will

get alert, and the rest other employees of the organization. The concept of conflict

management might be found useful to the management of the organization in bringing out the

best solution to such cases. Thus, it is very important for the organization to be vigilant and to

be watchful at each and every organization process. The staff morale can be improved by
SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORK PLACE 7

implementing the practices that would ensure safety and protection (Franke, 2008). In

addition, they also need to be motivated for higher productivity, so that more of the time is

lost in doing the job, rather than getting involved in any sideline activities. The employees

should be trained and taught that, they can share their issues and problems with their

respective managers.

As such there are no uniform procedures or any standardized layout for curing the

issues of sexual harassment. All the steps discussed or all the preventive measures that will be

taken will be always watchful in nature. But, still the HR Department and the top level

management need to at least ensure that they are monitoring and watching all the activities of

the employees. And, if any such incidents are found, the culprit of the incident will be

immediately called upon and then appropriate action shall be taken against him, for such code

of conduct. There is a need for policies and procedures that will help the working employees

in maintaining the positive environment in the given workplace. This will also improve their

motivation and performance. So, considering this as a part of the legal responsibility, the

employees, the HR Department, the top level management and all the stakeholders of this

organization need to take effective steps that would help in removing the issues of sexual

harassment from the given organization.

When any such complaint or case comes to the desk of HR Department or Middle

Line manager, they need to first convey the message to the Grievances Handling department

and to one of the key official of the organization. In order to take this case seriously, they

need to deal with the case immediately. They need to call the investigation team at the site

and carry out all the necessary procedures in a timely manner. In case of finding proper

evidence, the top level management can form a panel and then take a decision against the

culprit. Again, his views and causes need to be heard before coming upon the final
SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORK PLACE 8

conclusion. But, if any case enough evidence is not found out then they can still go deeper,

and if then also no evidence is found out, then they can warn all those who are involved in

this issue, and make them alert regarding the types of actions that will be taken.

They need to document all these procedures, and officially declare the occurrence of

incident to the rest of the people working in the organization. But, they need to maintain the

confidentiality of the people involved in the case. The decisions whatsoever are taken should

be taken on the principles of fair and proper justice. They can even take help of the Human

Rights Commission as well as other government agencies that can help them to find a

solution to the given case. Save all the proofs and evidences in a very secretive place, and to

which there is limited authority to access those places. Keep a log of what has happened till

date regarding the given incident. And, finally, all help and support should be provided to the

victim of the given case. The family and friends of the victim then needs to be informed,

which would ease the tension and pressures away from the victim. Organization should try to

help in each and every way whether – financially, emotionally, socially, or in any other way

to the victim of this incident.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORK PLACE 9

References

Endvawnow.org,. Overview and Workplace Sexual Harassment as a Crime. Retrieved 28

February 2015, from http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/530-overview-and-

workplace-sexual- harassment-as-a-crime.html

Franke, A. H. (2008). New Lessons in Dealing with Sexual Harassment. Chronicle of Higher

Education, 55(14), 99.

Eyre, I. (2000). The Discursive Framing of Sexual Harassment in a University

Community.Gender and Education, (12), 293-307.

Raver, J. L., & Nishii, L. H. (2010). Once, twice, or three times as harmful? Ethnic

harassment, gender harassment, and generalized workplace harassment. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 95(2), 236.

Gumbus, A., & Lyons, B. M. (2011). Workplace harassment: The social costs of bullying.