13 years ago
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The causes of sexual harassment at work can be complex, and steeped in socialization, politics, and psychology. Work relationships can be quite intimate and intense, and those involved share common interests. Employee's are dependant on each other for teamwork and support, and are dependant on their supervisor's approval for opportunities and career success. Supervisors and employers can grow accustomed to the power they have over their employees. Such closeness and intensity can blur the professional boundaries and lead people to step over the line. Politics can be a catalyst, and problems caused by poor management, workplace bullying, frustration, and job/financial insecurity, etc., can create hostile environments that leak over into working relationships. Personal problems can also be a factor, and sexual harassment can be a symptom of the effects of life traumas such as divorce, or death of a spouse or child.
Sexist or sexualized environments--full of sexual joking, sexually explicit graffiti or objects, viewing Internet pornography, etc.--usually shape the attitudes that male workers have towards their female colleagues. For example, in an environment where obscenities are common, women are 3 times more likely to be sexually harassed than in an environment where such talk is not tolerated. In environments where sexual joking is common, women are 3 to 7 times more likely to be sexually harassed.
Men still retain most of the workplace supervisory positions, and they are the ones who decide whether or not a complaint of sexual harassment is justified. Because of this, if a woman complains about the man who exposed himself to her, in most cases, she is the one who will be considered the problem. Still, when the supervisor is female, this does not necessarily make her more sensitive to the seriousness of the problem. We are hearing more and more reports of female supervisors blatantly ignoring complaints of sexual harassment of female employees. (Perhaps this is because they don't want to rock the boat with their male-supervisor colleagues?)
Sexual harassment of men does occur, though there is less information about the problem because men are less likely to report the behavior. Sexual harassment of men in the workplace is most often same-sex harassment, and focused on men who are deemed less masculine than the others; however, neither the perpetrators nor the victim will necessarily be gay. Still, there are increasing reports of men being harassed by women, particularly female supervisors.
Men are even less likely to report harassment because of masculine stereotypes, and the pressure to "take anything that comes along." A man may be afraid it is a negative reflection on his masculinity if he does not enjoy the sexual attention, or he may be afraid of having his sexual orientation questioned.
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