Workplace Sexual Harassment: Causes, Effects and Solutions

This paper discusses the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace, including its causes, effects, and potential solutions. It highlights the impact of sexual harassment on the emotional and physical well-being of employees and emphasizes the need for clear policies and awareness among staff members. The paper also encourages women to stand up against sexual harassment and fight for justice in the workplace.

Workplace sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment in today’s workplace
In the present scenario, it has been seen that the ratio of sexual harassment is enhancing
day by day. The ratio has been enhanced by 35 percent in the workplace (Senthilingam, 2017).
So, it is important to reduce this issue in the workplace. Therefore, in this paper the emphasis
will be given on the thesis statement related to the truth of sexual harassment in today’s
workplace. The cases related to sexual harassment takes place in the workplace just because of
the unwelcome, unwanted, uninvited acts or the behavior of the individual that can also cause the
offence and distress in the other person. In the workplace such incidents are directed towards the
women by the men who are on the top management.
In the workplace sexual harassment is considered as the unwelcome behavior as it
impacts not only the employment conditions but also affect the culture of the workplace. It has
been investigated that there are many causes related to sexual harassment. One of the causes is
related to the culture and value system and also with the relative power and status of the men.
The ways in which men and women are brought up in the society simply influence their entire
behavior in the workplace. The women do not have self-confidence just because of the way in
which they have been socialized. Whereas the men are brought up by considering the macho
beliefs who consider women as a toy to play with and these values are also reflected by them in
the workplace. These types of view point create the atmosphere that gives chance to men in the
workplace whole the women in the workplace remain vulnerable (Harris, McDonald & Sparks,
2018).
Women suffer from these issue because they often lack of the power and feel insure at the
time of working in the workplace. Just because of the fear factor the women and do not raise
their voice against sexual harassment. As they don’t know to whom they should approach so
female in the workplace keep quit and have to suffer in ignominy.
The next cause is related with the feeling of jealously. Sometimes men suffer from stress
because in the workplace they do not get proper recognition after giving their best and if
comparison is done with women it can be stated that they are preferred more in the workplace.
This sometimes enhances the level of frustration and these types of men focuses on harassing the
women in the workplace to overcome with their stress (Lockhart, 2016).
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Sexual harassment
In every case only men should not be blamed there are many women with the thinking
that real women should look good and attractive. So, they consider sexuality as their power to
play along. Sometimes this type of behavior of the women invites sexual advances by the men
who are managing the routine activities of the company.
Due to this there are various effects or consequences which are analyzed. One of the
effects can be seen on the emotional well-being of the individual. It affects the self-esteem of the
people which can lead to the compromise in the personal relations. The effect of sexual
harassment can lead to the depression in the opposite sex. There are many women who are
suffering from depression just because of sexual harassment. According to the research there are
80% women who suffered from sexual harassment and also 63% women suffered from the loss
of confidence (The national academic press, 2018)
The next effect can also been seen that overall physical health of the employees. When
the victims suffer from sexual harassment then they have to suffer from the issue related to
mental and emotional issue like loss in the appetite and also in the weight fluctuations. The
disturbance in the sleep is also one of the cause which can lead to the sever health issue like
hormonal imbalance and also the blood pressure of the people enhances (Tantleff-Dunn, Barnes,
Dunn, Loo & Holman, 2016).
By analyzing these severe effects it can be seen that proper measures should be taken so
that it women can also give their best in the workplace. To focus on the sexual harassment, it is
important for the company to have clear policies so that complaints can be registered and
disciplinary actions can be also taken. Also the companies should have proper employment
policy so that proper career path can be planned and with this it can be simple to reduce the
overall vulnerability of the individual and also the harassment should be for those who do not
consider their power and authority (McDonald & Charlesworth, 2016).
There should be proper awareness among the staff members related to sexual harassment
and there should be proper explanation to the employees related to the authority. They should be
given information that if they face any issue in the workplace then they should contact which
person. It will help the people in sharing their views and opinion with each other. Also the
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Sexual harassment
employees should know about their social responsibilities so that these types of incident can be
prevented in the workplace (Russell & Oswald, 2016).
The members of the staff who are facing such types of issues should complain to the
members of the committee constituted by the company before giving this information to the
police. This will also affect the overall confidence level of the employees who are managing
their routine activities in the workplace (Henning et al., 2017).
So, by analyzing the thesis statement it can be stated that yes sexual harassment takes
place in the workplace and these types of problems should be resolved so that people can give
their best in the workplace and also it is considered as the sensitive issue in the workplace. The
companies should involve in these cases in a proactive manner and also offer behavior support. It
is also important for the companies to assist the victim of sexual harassment and should asset
them to overcome the entire negative effect. At last, the women in the workplace should
understand that this the high time to stand up and fight for the injustice which is taking place in
the workplace.
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Sexual harassment
References
Harris, R. J., McDonald, D. P., & Sparks, C. S. (2018). Sexual harassment in the military:
Individual experiences, demographics, and organizational contexts. Armed Forces &
Society, 44(1), 25-43.
Henning, M. A., Zhou, C., Adams, P., Moir, F., Hobson, J., Hallett, C., & Webster, C. S. (2017).
Workplace harassment among staff in higher education: A systematic review. Asia Pacific
Education Review, 18(4), 521-539.
Lockhart, L. (2016). Sexual harassment in the workplace. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy, 14(6),
55.
McDonald, P., & Charlesworth, S. (2016). Workplace sexual harassment at the margins. Work,
employment and society, 30(1), 118-134.
Russell, B. L., & Oswald, D. (2016). When Sexism Cuts Both Ways: Predictors of Tolerance of
Sexual Harassment of Men. Men and Masculinities, 19(5), 524-544.
Senthilingam,M.,(2017). Sexual harassment: How it stands around the globe.
https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/25/health/sexual-harassment-violence-abuse-global-
levels/index.html
Tantleff-Dunn, S., Barnes, R. D., Dunn, M. E., Loo, J. M. V., & Holman, W. I. B. (2016).
Commentary on Physical Appearance: Relationship Between Body Image and Perceptions
of Sexual Harassment. North American Journal of Psychology, 18(2), 269.
The national academic press. (2018). Job and Health Outcomes of Sexual Harassment and How
Women Respond to Sexual Harassment. https://www.nap.edu/read/24994/chapter/6#77.
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