Innovative steps to take in sexual harassment prevention - includes bibliography

Business Horizons, Jan-Feb, 1994 by Rebecca A. Thacker

For organizations concerned with preventing sexual harassment in the workplace, the time to investigate prevention policies is now. Passage of the 1991 Civil Rights Act allows for punitive damages to be paid to victims of sexual harassment, an option that was not previously available. Recent information from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should prove alarming for organizations hoping to minimize their liability for sexual harassment claims. The EEOC reports a 50 percent increase in the number of sexual harassment complaints filed in the first three quarters of 1992. Apparently, complainants are asking the courts to judge whether they have been wronged by sexual harassment in the workplace.

The courtroom need not be the place to make such a determination. Top management of any company can set up internal prevention policies that, if implemented effectively, can provide the necessary outlet for someone who is the target of sexual harassment. Standard prevention policies, however, are not adequate for creating an environment in which targets can feel comfortable complaining about unwelcome social-sexual behavior in the workplace. This article provides guidance for top management in revising sexual harassment prevention policies and designing programs to educate and train employees.

The Problem with Most Sexual Harassment Prevention Policies

Most sexual harassment prevention policies provide for informal and formal complaint procedures. The informal route allows the harassed individual to complain to a member of management or a person designated to receive such complaints. The formal route provides for a formal, written complaint, usually accompanied by a documented investigation.

What is the problem with these policies? The problem is that individuals who are targets of the harassment are required to file a complaint. However, almost half of them do not feel comfortable complaining, either formally or informally, about the unwelcome sexual harassment. For these people, the response is likely to be passive, acquiescent, perhaps even compliant. A policy that requires passive targets to complain is similar to having no prevention policy at all.

Conversely, for those who do feel comfortable filing a complaint, the written policy is probably sufficient. For more than half the targets of sexual harassment, complaining is a natural response, along with telling the harasser to stop, or saying forcefully, "No!"

Ultimately, however, passive, acquiescent targets are harmed by a policy that requires complainant behavior. For these individuals, there is fear of retaliation, or fear that a harassing supervisor may use coercion to make the target comply ("Go out with me or lose your job"). To understand how to design prevention policies that ease the way for passive targets to complain, management must understand what is motivating them to respond in such a manner.

Targets who display passive, acquiescent responses are exhibiting learned helplessness behavior. Learned helplessness is a cognitive state in which individuals perceive that, in spite of their efforts, unpleasant outcomes cannot be averted. For targets of sexual harassment, feelings of learned helplessness may result from an organizational culture that condones sexually harassing behaviors in the workplace, particularly from supervisors and managers. In addition, learned helplessness can come from perceptions that the organization condones sexual discrimination in other forms, such as differential promotion and pay rates for males and females. Regardless of the accuracy of these perceptions, the overall effect is one that prompts targets to believe that they lack the capability of controlling their work environment and terminating unwelcome harassment.

Some passive, acquiescent targets eventually file suit, usually when a negative workplace outcome (a demotion, poor performance appraisal, or even termination) occurs. These people have already experienced retaliation and suffered the consequences of sexual harassment; as a result, they have nothing to lose by filing a suit. Management has the ability and the responsibility to prevent such devastating and costly events by providing internal mechanisms to assist passive, acquiescent targets in feeling comfortable with complaint behaviors. Not only will the organization benefit in terms of reduced litigation costs, but the target will not have to suffer emotional and physical distress as a result of the harassment.

Emphasize Commitment to Eliminating Sexual Harassment from the Workplace

All organizations should have a written sexual harassment prevention policy that includes the following:

* Confidentiality of complaint. The target should be assured that the complaint will be kept in confidence. This is a critical step in raising the comfort level of otherwise passive targets.

* Prompt, tactful investigation. This is extremely critical to providing an incentive for passive targets to file a complaint. Tactful investigation should involve speaking only to the parties involved--the target and the accused harasser. If satisfactory settlement of the complaint occurs at this step, no one else need know that the complaint was filed.