SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN WORKPLACE

Sexual Harassment in Workplace

Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

Abstract

In this study I will try to address the relationship between workplace harassment and service utilization. I look at how patterns of sexual harassment plus generalized workplace harassment are connected to utilization of mental health, health, legal, spiritual, and work-related services, as well as whether and how gender influences these relationships. The part of literature review will define the possible boundaries of sexual harassments and it will discuss how it has become a common problem for all of us. Methodological part will highlight particular facts and figures while supporting the suitable method of my research. The part of results and discussions will show us the difference between men and women who became witnesses of events. In the end, strong conclusion will provide the clear evidence that sexual harassment must be stopped in workplace environments to protect the lives of innocents.

Table of Content

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

ABSTRACTIII

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Premise Statement2

Hypothesis3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW5

Workplace Harassment: A Pathogenic Interpersonal Stressor5

The Patterning Of Workplace Harassment7

Coping Responses To Workplace Harassment8

The Role Of Gender11

Harassment, Abuse And Drinking Outcomes13

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY17

Sample17

Measures19

Sexual harassment (SH)19

Generalized Workplace Harassment (GWH)19

Use of Services21

Job Stressors22

Life Stressors23

Demographic Control Variables24

Statistical Analysis25

CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION28

Result28

Discussion36

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION41

REFERENCES45

SURVEY54

Chapter 1: Introduction

One major source of life stress derives from one's work environment, resulting in negative physical and mental health outcomes (e.g., Karasek & Theorell, 1990). Consequently, job stress researchers have paid increasing attention to the effects of workplace stressors and how individuals cope with these experiences (e.g., Latack & Havlovic, 1992). Most studies have focused on individuals' utilization of informal resources, such as drawing support from family, friends, and co-workers. By contrast, there is limited knowledge of the extent to which individuals utilize more formal resources such as professional services.

This study derives from the stress and coping paradigm and focuses on social stress in the work domain and its relationship with the use of professional services to deal with workplace problems. In contrast to most studies that focus on task and role-related strains experienced at work (e.g., Larsson & Setterlind, 1990), this study centers on interpersonal workplace conflict involving sexual harassment and generalized workplace harassment. Both forms of workplace harassment have been linked to adverse mental health and job outcomes (Fitzgerald, Drasgow, Hulin, Gelfand, & Magley, 1997; Richman, Rospenda, Nawyn, & Flaherty, 1997; Rospenda, 1998) and are prevalent across occupational and social groups (e.g., Richman et al., 1999). However, the extent to which targets use professional services in response to workplace harassment and the types of services used have received limited attention (the term “target” is preferred to “victim” as the former term is felt to be more empowering for individuals because it allocates responsibility for the offensive behaviors to the perpetrator).

The few existing studies on this relationship (Rospenda, 2002; Rospenda, Richman, & Shannon, 2006) suggest linkages between interpersonal work stress and increased concurrent and future services ...