The Importance Of Sexual Harassment In The Office

Harassment has plagued the world for centuries. Why should the workplace be any different? Sexual harassment and workplace violence are not only of historical roots, but contemporary issues are still present in the workforce today. Managers are addressing and combating modern sexual harassment and workplace violence, however instances still occur (Robbins, Decenzo & Coulter, 2011).

In corporate America, sexual harassment is a huge concern amongst many organizations. The matter of sexual harassment is an issue that needs to be immediately attended to in

Harassment, specifically sexual harassment, is one of those challenges faced by businesses and employers as of a result of workplace diversification. Inappropriate conversations, unwanted advances and uncomfortable physical contact are some of the ways sexual harassment can occur. According to Hellriegel and Slocum, “Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.” (p.52). To be clear, sexual harassment can, and has, affected both women and men over the years however up to half of all working women have reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment in the career (Vijayasiri, 2008, p.1). It wasn’t until 1986 though that the Supreme Court recognized sexual harassment as a violation of Title VII in the case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (O’Brien, 1994, p. 1). Before the high court’s ruling, however, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had begun to address the issue by drafting hostile work environment guidelines that included sexual harassment (O’Brien, 1994, p. 4). These guidelines would serve later to guide the high court’s decision. There are many more cases like this one we could look at. In 1991, sexual harassment became a household term as Anita Hill testified before congress stating she was sexually

Our textbook defines sexual harassment, also known as gender harassment, as “Lewd remarks, touching, intimidation, posting of indecent materials, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that occurs on the job” (pg. 552). AAUW describes sexual harassment as a general description of unwanted sexual advances, request for sexual favors, or other verbal/physical conduct of any sexual nature. Even with Title VII’s protections, numerous people throughout the country still experience sexual harassment in the workplace. We can look at the Waldo v. Consumer Energy Company federal court case, found on page 552, as an example of sexual harassment at work and the consequences associated with the

Does the phrase “That’s what she said.” sound familiar? The phrase is from the popular hit television series The Office. The guy behind this popular quote is none other than Dunder Mifflin’s Michael Scott. This quote is not only inappropriate but it is also a form of sexual harassment and Michael Scott is the king of sexual harassment. Unfortunately sexual harassment is a problem that is occurring in the workplace. In another popular movie, Horrible Bosses, sexual harassment is one of the main points in the story. The best example of this is when Charlie Day’s boss, Jennifer Anniston, constantly makes sexual gestures and inappropriate statements at him. However, in The Office and Horrible Bosses, sexual harassment is taken to an extreme. What is unfortunate about sexual harassment is that most people do not realize that it is illegal in the workplace. However, it is possible that a few comments slip out every now and then but they should not be taken lightly. Unfortunately in these situations, there is nothing done to prevent it in the workplace, which I have decided to look into the problem of preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.

Primary research consisted of statistics I obtained from 2014 WBI national workplace survey taken by 1000 adults in the United States. Secondary Sources included books, and online resources. The results of my research, to be discussed more in depth in my report, reveal a startling truth that we need too bring awareness to that is harassment does exist in the workplace.

Work place policies regarding sexual harassment is the main issue discussed in this article. Sexual harassment has continued to be a challenge within the workplace. According to a recent review of sexual harassment related resolutions, employers have paid over $732,976.00 in sexual harassment fines (Hobson, Szostek, & Fitzgerald, 2015). The EEOC has issued written guidelines for appropriate strategies employers should use to handle workplace sexual harassment and specific ways to address it. It is the employer’s duty to proactively work to protect all employees from any type of sexual harassment by following sexual harassment policies and procedures that are put in place. Failure to implement and follow the policy and procedure in the workplace can and most likely will lead to liability should an EEOC investigation or lawsuit occur. The employer needs to disperse copies of the policies and procedures and post them in central locations throughout the organization and address sexual harassment in the employee handbooks. The policy and procedures need to clear

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a huge problem in recent history. It can happen to anyone and it can happen everywhere. It can affect all types of races, gender and age. Statistics today shows that more and more sexual harassment has become an issue due to the large number of cases presented. Mainstream media becomes consume covering sexual harassment because of the high profile cases. Sexual harassment becomes a topic on various TV shows, and on some major morning radio talk shows mostly everyday. Sexual harassment laws must be strengthened in order to fix what has become a serious problem today in the workplace.

The #metoo movement has evolved how human resource departments view sexual harassment within their organization. The #metoo movement is shining a light on the harassment that women have faced in the workplace for years and have been hesitant to report (Jackson, 2018). Sexual harassment within an organization is becoming more and more common among companies. Section VII under EEOC states that sexual harassment, like racial discrimination and ethnic harassment is illegal and demeaning to employees (Bernardin, 2013). Sexual harassment section VII can be found in the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The response to the #metoo movement has to provide an extensive understanding of the laws that govern sexual harassment. Naturally, there are two types of

Sexual harassment is a pervasive problem that can happen to men and women in many kinds of organizations, but most cases are reported in the workplace. Many employees still face sexual harassment regardless of their race, color, gender, age or title in an organization. Most of the cases presented and filed involve women who have been sexually harassed by a male counterpart in the victim’s workplace.

Thesis statement: Sexual harassment is an ongoing issue. From everyday workplaces to daily encounters, sexual assault is still a concern in our daily life and has yet to be generally recognized.

Unwelcome sexual behavior has been a serious problem in our society for many years. We need to focus more on this problem, because a lot of men still don’t take it seriously, it happens, because they don’t know the real definition of sexual harassment.

In our society sexual harassment has been in the workplace for years. The use of sexual harassment in the workplace has been remembered best as a weapon used to keep women in their place which would cause them to forfeit promotions within their organizations. It was once believed that women were the only victims but the shift is now changing men are also reporting that they are also victims of sexual harassment on the job. In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed and employers began to recognize that they were liable for two types of sexual harassment. The first kind of harassment is Quid pro quo when a supervisor offers the employee sexual advances in order to get or keep a job, and also this harassment is used to determined if an

As seen in the case study, a court decision may be one way for any company to legally define what constitutes sexual harassment in the workplace, but there are many ways to define sexual harassment. Everyone has different views and tolerance levels towards sexual harassment. When a case of sexual harassment occurs in a workplace, however, it comes down to how the courts define sexual harassment. The Supreme Court defines sexual harassment to be unlawful in two ways. “The first type involves sexual harassment that results in a tangible employment action;” this is referred to as quid pro quo. For example, if an employee complies with the harasser’s request, then she will get a raise. This unlawful act is usually presented in the workplace by a person who has an upper hand, such as a manager, to ensure that s/he will get what s/he wants. Employees are often victimized by fear that they will not get promoted or that they will get fired. They also dread that if a complaint is filed, it will not be handled correctly. “This instance of sexual harassment always involves another violation of employee rights; [sic] wrongful termination.” This would occur, for instance, when “a supervisor . . . tells a subordinate that . . . she must be sexually cooperative with [him] or . . . she will be fired, and who then indeed does fire the subordinate for not submitting” (“U.S. Supreme Court Defines”). [schwinlaw.com]

In this research paper I would fully discuss what sexual harassment. I will start on the origin of sexual harassment and how it came into law. I will discuss what environment of sexual harassment looks like in the work place. The reader should be able to discover the different types of sexual harassment: Quid pro quo and Indirect. I will show you illustrated trends of sexual harassment in the work place over the years. I will discuss how sexual harassment affect both parties, meaning the employer and the employee. I will back up theses affects by laws that are set in place to protect the employee and hold the employer responsible. I will give an analysis on recent litigation involving sexual harassment in the workplace. In my conclusion I will give a recommendation on how to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and what management can to protect their employees.