Meeting the Challenge of Sexual Harassment

Meeting the Challenge of Sexual Harassment At an office of Goldman, Sachs and teleph unmatchedr in Boston, some manful employees allegedly pasted photos of b be-breasted women on companion newsletters, next to biographies of new fe mannish employees (suggesting that the photos were pictures of the new staff members). Copies of the newsletters were circulated most the office. Sexist literature such as The Smart Mans Creed or Why Beer Is Better Than Women (After youve had a beer, the store is still worth a dime) was allegedly also distri hardlyed.Kristine Utley, a former Goldman sales associate, has made these allegations in a suit charging that the environment at Goldman, Sachs constitutes cozy anguish. Fired for refusing a transfer to a upstart York office, she is suing to gain reinstatement and damages and to eliminate the worrying. Joanne Barbetta has filed a similar suit overhearking damages for curse caused by an environment that she asserted was poisoning my system. Ms.Barbetta treats that during her promote as a clerk at Chemlawn, male employees circulated pornographic magazines and pinup posters. She viewed a slide presentation that allow ind suggestive pictures (e. g. , a nude woman) endue 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-year employee of Air France, has filed similar charges concerning the Washington office where she worked as a salesperson.She alleges that some(prenominal) char fleckeristics of the office environment combined to create harassment, including propositions by one of her bosses, circulation of Playboy and Penthouse magazines in the office, and open discussion of sexual activity by male employees. It was sickening and an insult to women in the office, she shoots. Ms. Regab was fired she is suing to gain reinstatement, for $1. 5 million in damages, and to eliminate the harassment in the office.These three situations atomic anatomy 18 examples of a maturation number of suits being filed by women who charge that a sexist environment in the body of work constitutes sexual harassment and that their employers are therefore liable. Plaintiff actions in this area have been fueled by the Supreme Courts ruling that sexist behavior that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment is sexual harassment and violates Title heptad of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Courts ruling has spurred an increasing number of companies to act to revent sexual harassment in the workplace and to deal with if effectively when the puzzle occurs. Other factors have also triggered alliance action. Employers are realizing that the costs of harassment bottomland be high in terms of lowered productivity, absenteeism, and turnover. one study of female employees in the federal official political relation concluded that the government loses about $200 million eac h year to the effects od sexual harassment. Costs rotter also be high if an employee sues. pull down if the plaintiff opts for an out- of-court settlement, the costs of these settlements are oftentimes in six figures, and its the company that pays.Companies are also realizing that sexual harassment is a in truth real issue in todays workplace from 20 to over 50 part of working women have experienced sexual harassment (and so have at least 15 per centum of male employees). Thus, companies are tackling the issue the to a greater extent effective strategies developed so far-off contain four primary features Training programs the educate employees concerning the convey of sexual harassment and the behaviors that constitute a hostile and harassment workplace Training is especially important simply because men and women often take issue in their perception of what constitutes harassment.Most training is in the form of seminars and workshops, often with films and videos. Philip Mor ris USA extradites a mandatory training program for its field managers that include viewing a video called Shades of Gray. General Motors conducts an sensory faculty seminar for employees and offers this benchmark for judging the appropriateness of office conduct would you be upset to see your remarks or behavior in the newspaper or depict to your own family? Du Pont has developed one of the most comprehensive antiharassment programs in assembly line (begun in 1981).Recently, the corporation added a $500,000 course on personal safety, rape, and harassment prevention primarily for its female employees (many of whom are moving into traditionally male jobs at Du Pont such as agricultural products sales). The course offers no-nonsense advice on how to handle a harasser. For example, if a male customer fondles a womens knee, Du Pont advises that she firmly remove his hand . . . and then say, Lets pretence this didnt happen. If she receives a verbal proposition, Du Pont advises tha t she say, No, I wouldnt want our disdain relationship to be jeopardized in any way. About 1,600 employees have complete the course. Like General Motors, Du Pont offers its employees a guideline for evaluating their behavior. Said a Du Pont spokesman, We declaim people, its harassment when something starts bothering somebody. about other companies provide advice concerning how to handle harassment. matchless popular piece of advice Document the incident as soon as possible by describing on paper what happened in full situation and talking to someone informally about the incident.A relatively tame part 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 dupe keeping a copy, is often recommended (and reportedly proves to be quite effective). An inwrought complaint influence Id eally, the procedure provides for fast action and confidentiality and ensures that the employee can report the problem to a manager who is not problematical in the harassment.Some companies encourage employees to report a problem to their immediate supervisory program but also designate an individual (often a woman) in the HR surgical incision 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 investigating 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. unity federal agency requires offending employees to publicly apologize to the individuals theyve harassed. Staffing changes also sometimes occur. Our New York bank faced a problem of a highly talented male decision maker who generated much profit 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 capability offenders that harassment will not be tolerated. A indite 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. While a growing number of companies are implementing antiharassment policies, the courts have yet to establish consistent bring down concerning the issue of hostile environment as illegal harassment.For example, a federal district court in Michigan dismissed a claim by Vivienne Rabidue that sexual posters and obscene language in her office at Osceola Refining Co. constituted illegal sexual harassment. However, Joanne Barbetta has won the first rope of her court battle with Chemlawn. The judge hearing her complaint rejected Chemlawns motion to dismiss the suit he has ordered Ms. Barbettas case to trial. Chemlawn is expected to present a vigorous defense, asserting that the men involved in the newsletter incident have been disciplined 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 challen ges you see in implementing the program?Many experts assert that reported cases of sexual harassment represent only a small percentage of the total number of incidents that actually occur in the workplace. If their assertion is true, why do so many cases go unreported? How would your HRM policy on harassment cross 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 turn over a hostile, harassing one?