Work and family balance in modern life

Sexual Harassment: Its Impact and Consequences

Despite widespread publicity and controversy over the problem of sexual harassment in the work place the growing challenge of preventing such an act continues to infest our work places. Several recent reports indicate that despite the acknowledgment of the continuing problem of sexual harassment, many employers have yet to fully address the problem. Moreover, recent news reports indicate that sexual harassment has found its way from the grunts of the cooperate world all the way to the highest levels of management.

As a result, the specter of employer liability for sexual harassment continues to loom and the workplace has become increasingly scarce. In this paper I address the issues surrounding the risk of offensive language or jokes, perception verses intent, and the ultimate cost of human gossip. By taking a more thorough look into the problems and situations surrounding the issues of sexual harassment, I hope increase the reader's knowledge of the misconception that myself and others might believe.

Literature Review

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a problem that is sometimes trivialized, further contributing to its widespread impact and deadly consequences. According to Montemurro (2003) the trivialization of sexual harassment is a primary means through which it becomes invisible in the workplace. Trivialization of sexual harassment may occur in many different ways. According to Montemurro's research, one way that sexual harassment has become trivialized in the workplace is through the media, which often pokes fun at the idea of sexual harassment.

Humor has often been used as a method for trivializing sexual harassment in the workplace, and this humor is evidenced not only within corporate facilities but also within the media (Montemurro, 2003). Such trivialization has an impact on families who come to believe that sexual harassment is more of a laughing matter than a serious issue in the world of corporate America.

Society at large tends to take its cues from many different aspects of life including the media. Managers have yet to institute long lasting and impacting regulations that have successfully impeded the spread of sexual harassment in the workplace, and this may be due in part to the public portrayal of sexual harassment as a non-issue or laughing matter. Thus this is one area for reform in the future.

Sexual harassment in the workplace serves many functions; it can raise men's power in the workforce and within the organization and also perpetuate a woman's status as subordinate to men or as a second class citizen; women's achievement and performance may also be impacted and their ability and contributions may be seen as less important (Montemurro, 2003; Acker, 1990; Grauerholz & King, 1997).

Montemurro (2003) conducted a study of sexual harassment in the workplace which shows that harassment in the workplace is generally initiated by individuals in a position of power, and that this is more often a man than women; in addition the study concluded that when sexual harassment is portrayed in the media it is often not addressed in a sensitive manner, and that this portrayal may influence societal norms and beliefs regarding proper conduct and sexual harassment in the workplace.

A study conducted by Dellinger, Giuffre & Williams (1999) of sexual harassment in the workplace found that sexual harassment has an important impact on the workplace culture of organizations and varying consequences for individuals and families. Further they argue that workers face damaging outcomes including a reduced self-esteem and sense of happiness, both in and outside of the workplace (Dellinger, Giuffer & Williams, 1999).

In addition to this, their research seems to indicate that some individuals may use double standards to decide who can participate and who can't in a sexualized workplace, further complicating the issue; there are some groups that are more likely to be charged with sexual harassment for engaging in sexualized activities at work than others (Dellinger, Giuffer & Williams, 1999).

Welsh (1999) examines sexual harassment from a gender perspective and concludes that sexual harassment may be contextualized by both 'organizational and individual factors" and that gender examination is primary to the study of sexual harassment; further she claims there is no unified theoretical framework that can help explain the occurrence of sexual harassment (169).

Many studies have concluded that sexual harassment lowers morale, increases absenteeism, decreases overall job satisfaction and individual's perceptions of opportunity within the organization as well as damages interpersonal relationships (Welsh, 1999; Gruber 1992). In addition sexual harassment can have psychological and health consequences on people including nausea, stress and headaches which can impact an individual's personal and work life (Welsh, 1999). There are even studies that link frequent occurrences of sexual harassment to long-term illnesses including post traumatic stress disorders (Welsh, 1999).

Sexual harassment thus has the ability to not only affect work related outcomes but to also control and individual's personal life and interpersonal relationships, and may even influence an individual's attitudes and feelings of control and self accomplishment (Welsh, 1999).

Conclusions/Recommendations

Sexual harassment is obviously and insidious and ongoing problem in the workplace that has not yet been adequately addressed by organizations. Sexual harassment has long-term consequences on victims and the potential to impact a person's work and personal life. There is even research that indicates that repeated exposure to sexual harassment in the workplace may lead to long-term psychological and health consequences including post traumatic stress disorder (Welsh, 1999).