Parsing Work Environments Along the Dimensions of Sexual and Non-Sexual Harassment: Drawing Lines in Office Sand

Abstract

Laws addressing harassment at work have evolved considerably since court systems first recognized that (sexual) harassment is illegal. Now, managers must worry about protected classes other than sex (e.g., race, age, etc.), and the effects of harassment on bystanders as well as victims (i.e., ambient harassment). Understanding these newer conceptualizations of workplace harassment is critical for mangers dealing with an increasingly complex array of possible work environments, only some of which are illegal. Toward this end, we present a taxonomy of eight possible work environments, created by parsing the legal definition of sexual harassment (i.e., the first-recognized type of hostile work environment). The taxonomy illustrates the evolution of law in this area, and highlights the multidimensional nature of workplace harassment. Also discussed are potential complications arising from how a reasonable person and a victim might interpret behavior. Managers using the taxonomy may better assess whether their work environments have crossed the line, or facilitate movement from less-to more-desirable work environments.Key words hostile work environment . sexual harassment . ambient harassment . employment discrimination law Surveys measuring the incidence of harassment at work yield mixed but consistently alarming results. In the United States, between 40 to 90% of women report having experienced sex-based harassment at work (see, e.g.,

Sexual orientation harassment in the workplace: When do observers intervene?

“…Given the invisibility of orientation, such ambient harassment may be particularly pervasive and problematic. Pesta, Hrivnak, and Dunegan () note that environments that may be “borderline” in terms of whether they constitute illegal harassment (such as when crude and unwelcome remarks are occasional but not pervasive) may certainly be perceived by individuals as harassment. Pesta et al refer to these as “powder keg” environments in that psychologically, individuals feel harassed even if the quantity of such behavior is not yet at a level to meet a legal standard of pervasiveness.…”

“…Bowes‐Sperry and O'Leary‐Kelly () proposed that observers are less likely to intervene when they are not confident that their definition of the situation is accurate. For example, Pesta et al () describe ambient harassment situations where an observer finds a behavior offensive, but the target seems not to react. Thus, we would expect observers to therefore remain uninvolved where the harassment does not seem meant to harm an individual and to become more involved when they have no doubts on harm being caused (see Major et al, , review).…”

“…As noted earlier, harassment can be indirect in the form of a hostile work environment rather than targeted directly at an individual. A large body of research on hostile work environments in relation to sexual harassment has demonstrated that individuals do employ varied standards on whether a behavior is harassing (Pesta et al, ; Raver & Gelfand, ). Further, a legal definition of a hostile work environment would be behavior that is unwelcome and pervasive, whereas single incidents might be viewed differently by individual perceivers.…”

Known and Unknown Aspects of Workplace Bullying: A Systematic Review of Recent Literature and Future Research Agenda

“…Therefore, it is necessary for employers to run an updated anti-harassment program with clear anti-bullying policy, an explicit statement of prohibited behaviors and a complaint procedure that encourages victims to come forward (Becton et al, 2017). It is also important that the anti-WB policy is clearly explained to employees and management acts in a timely and fair manner whenever complaints are filed (Pesta et al, 2007).…”

Human Capital and Inappropriate Behavior: Review and Recommendations

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