SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Introduction

Sexual harassment is a major concern in today's work environment. Employee sexual harassment complaints have increased substantially year after year. This issue is at the forefront of today's most sensitive topics in American business. Progressive employers are taking steps towards preventing sexual harassment to increase morale and reduce legal costs. It is imperative that companies understand the definition and causes of sexual harassment, before they devise preventive measures toward stopping it from occurring. Efforts at prevention benefit not only the company, but the work force as well. Companies that implement a successful prevention program, write comprehensive policies, train their entire work force from top to bottom, and receive fill commitment from upper management in its sustained policy enforcement. Conversely, there are detrimental effects to the companies and employees within these organizations who do not pursue preventative sexual harassment guidelines. This paper would outline the problems of sexual harassment and the role of human resource department and they policies they deploy to tackle these issues. Personally, this would help me by giving ample information about sexual harassment and know-how about this topic (Magley, Hulin & DeNardo, 1999).

Defining Sexual Harassment The number of harassment complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has reported that the number of complaints regarding harassment in the workplace is increasing on a daily basis. Though everyone is talking sexual harassment, only few have an idea of what it is. Companies should be aware of the sexual harassment and the impacts of it, in order to provide means of preventing it from occurring. The roots of sexual harassment are in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discrimination on the basis of sex. In legal terms, sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance or conduct in the workplace that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. This harassment can be conducted by the opposite sex, or the same sex, with a majority being conducted by the former typically a man harassing a woman. Sexual harassment entails a variety of conduct, all of which is illegal. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defines sexual harassment as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature" when agreement is a condition of getting or keeping a job, a promotion, or a pay increase (quid pro quo harassment), or when it substantially interferes with an employee's ability to do his or her work (harassment that creates a hostile work environment). Victims of sexual harassment only need to prove that the behavior that is prevailing in the environment is offensive and even a reasonable person would identify it. Anything related to sex that makes a person uncomfortable falls under the category of sexual harassment (Delery and Harold, 1996).

Causes of Sexual Harassment Most companies focus on reducing the symptoms of sexual harassment, without really knowing the ...