Meeting the Challenge of Sexual Harassment

Meeting the Challenge of Sexual Harass workforcet At an procedure of Goldman, Sachs and Company in Boston, near priapic employees allegedly attach photos of b be-breasted women on company parvenus garners, next to biographies of new fe virile employees (suggesting that the photos were pictures of the new staff members). Copies of the newsletters were circulated around the office. Sexist literature such as The brightness Mans Creed or Why Beer Is Better Than Women ( afterwards youve had a beer, the bottle is still worth a dime) was allegedly also distributed.Kristine Utley, a former Goldman sales associate, has made these allegations in a suit charging that the environment at Goldman, Sachs constitutes informal badgering. Fired for refusing a enthral to a New York office, she is suing to gain reinstatement and damages and to eliminate the bedevilment. Joanne Barbetta has filed a standardised suit seeking damages for badgering caused by an environment that she insist was poi soning my system. Ms.Barbetta reports that during her tenure as a clerk at Chemlawn, male employees circulated pornographic magazines and pinup posters. She viewed a slide presentation that included suggestive pictures (e. g. , a nude woman) put there, according to management, to keep the guys awake. After these experiences and continual breast-grabbing by a male employee, Ms. Barbetta quit. Marie Regab, formerly an 18- trend employee of Air France, has filed similar charges concerning the Washington office where she worked as a salesperson.She alleges that several characteristics of the office environment combined to bring to pass harassment, including propositions by matchless of her bosses, circulation of Playboy and Penthouse magazines in the office, and open discussion of knowledgeable activity by male employees. It was sickening and an insult to women in the office, she claims. Ms. Regab was open fire she is suing to gain reinstatement, for $1. 5 million in damages, and to eliminate the harassment in the office.These three situations ar examples of a growing number of suits being filed by women who charge that a prejudiced environment in the workplace constitutes sexual harassment and that their employers are therefore liable. Plaintiff pull throughs in this area drive home been fueled by the Supreme Courts ruling that sexist behavior that creates an intimidating, unconnected, or offensive working environment is sexual harassment and violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Courts ruling has spurred an change magnitude number of companies to act to revent sexual harassment in the workplace and to bang with if hard-hittingly when the problem occurs. Other factors flip also triggered company execute. Employers are realizing that the costs of harassment can be high in harm of lowered productivity, absenteeism, and turnover. One study of female employees in the federal disposal concluded that the government loses about $200 mi llion each year to the effects od sexual harassment. Costs can also be high if an employee sues. Even if the plaintiff opts for an out- of-court settlement, the costs of these settlements are often in six figures, and its the company that pays.Companies are also realizing that sexual harassment is a very real issue in todays workplace from 20 to over 50 percent of working women have experienced sexual harassment (and so have at to the lowest degree 15 percent of male employees). Thus, companies are tackling the issue the more effective strategies developed so far contain four primary features reproduction platforms the educate employees concerning the meaning of sexual harassment and the behaviors that constitute a hostile and harassment workplace Training is especially great simply because men and women often discord in their perception of what constitutes harassment.Most training is in the form of seminars and workshops, often with films and videos. Philip Morris USA aims a mandatory training program for its field managers that include viewing a video called Shades of white-haired(a). General Motors conducts an awareness seminar for employees and offers this benchmark for judging the appropriateness of office conduct would you be embarrassed to see your remarks or behavior in the report or described to your own family? Du Pont has developed one of the most all-embracing antiharassment programs in business (begun in 1981).Recently, the corporation added a $500,000 guide on personal safety, rape, and harassment prevention primarily for its female employees (many of whom are despicable into traditionally male jobs at Du Pont such as pastoral products sales). The course offers no-nonsense advice on how to handle a harasser. For example, if a male client fondles a womens knee, Du Pont advises that she firmly remove his hand . . . and then say, permits pretend this didnt happen. If she receives a verbal proposition, Du Pont advises that she say, No, I wouldnt want our business relationship to be jeopardized in any way. some 1,600 employees have completed the course. Like General Motors, Du Pont offers its employees a guideline for evaluating their behavior. verbalize a Du Pont spokesman, We tell people, its harassment when something starts bothering somebody. Some other companies contribute advice concerning how to handle harassment. One popular piece of advice Document the incident as soon as possible by describing on paper what happened in full detail and talking to someone informally about the incident.A relatively mild case of harassment can be handled by taking to the harasser, explaining what he or she did , how it made you feel, and telling the harasser to stop. In a more serious situation, communicating these points via a certified letter sent to the harasser, with the victim keeping a copy, is often recommended (and reportly proves to be quite effective). An internal disorder procedure Ideally, the procedure provi des for fast action and confidentiality and ensures that the employee can report the problem to a manager who is not mingled in the harassment.Some companies encourage employees to report a problem to their nimble supervisor but also designate an individual (often a woman) in the HR department as someone employees can speak with in cases where the immediate supervisor is involved in the problem. To ensure speedy action, some companies require that an investigation begin within 24 hours after the harassment complaint has been reported. Ideally, the procedure also stipulates how investigations will be conducted. Speedy, corrective action that solves the problem If the investigation supports the employees claims, corrective action is quickly taken. such action can range from simply talking to the harasser to discharge, depending on the severity of the offense. One federal agency requires offending employees to publicly explain to the individuals theyve harassed. Staffing changes als o sometimes occur. Our New York bank faced a problem of a highly talented male executive who generated much bring in for the bank-and also several costly EEOC complaints from his secretaries. The bank solved the problem by assigning the executive an all-male secretarial staff.Corrective action is particularly important because it communicates to both victims and potential offenders that harassment will not be tolerated. A written and communicated antiharassment policy. The written policy is documented and distributed to all employees. The policy contains a definition of harassment, the companys position prohibition harassment, the grievance procedure, and penalties. piece of music a growing number of companies are implementing antiharassment policies, the courts have yet to ramp up consistent record concerning the issue of hostile environment as smuggled harassment.For example, a federal district court in Michigan ignore a claim by Vivienne Rabidue that sexual posters and obsce ne language in her office at Osceola Refining Co. constituted illegal sexual harassment. However, Joanne Barbetta has won the first round of her court battle with Chemlawn. The judge hearing her complaint rejected Chemlawns motion to dismiss the suit he has coherent Ms. Barbettas case to trial. Chemlawn is expected to present a vigorous defense, assert that the men involved in the newsletter incident have been make grow and that the situations Ms.Barbetta cites fall far short of creating a hostile, harassing environment because they occurred over the course of two years. Questions Assumes that you are an HR executive for a company that manufactures and sells agricultural products (for example, fertilizers and grain feeds). The companys workforce of 1,200 employees is 70 percent male and 30 percent female. Drawing from this case and the chapter content, develop an antiharassment policy and program. What are the major challenges you see in implementing the program?Many experts asser t that reported cases of sexual harassment represent only a small pct of the total number of incidents that actually occur in the workplace. If their assertion is true, wherefore do so many cases go unreported? How would your HRM policy on harassment address this situation? As research indicates, people differ widely in their perceptions of sexual harassment. What is a harmless remark to one individual can be an annoying, even infuriating insult to another. In your view, what separates harmless conduct from harassing behavior? In the same vein, when does a sexist environment become a hostile, harassing one?