Sexual harassment continues to be a substantial problem within the workplace and around the world. Donna Benson, an American author, writes in “Sexual Harassment on a University
Campus: The Confluence of Authority Relations, Sexual Interest and Gender Stratification” that “Female workers have always been vulnerable to sexual abuse by male employees… In non-random surveys as many as 70 percent of respondents report harassment on the job” (236). This is an unfortunate statistic, and through comedy, the television series The Office (U.S.), created by NBC, and directed by Benjamin Novak reveals the reality of this unfortunate statistic and how inappropriate harassment is. The Office (U.S.) is a comedy based around Dunder Mifflin Paper company’s Scranton branch manager, Michael Scott. Michael is a comedic and belligerent character who is unaware of his socially distasteful humor, which shows the audience how unacceptable sexual harassment is. Through the use of comedy, the producers of The Office reveal to its audience how sexual harassment is unacceptable. In the episode titled, “Sexual Harassment” in season two of The Office (U.S.), Michael Scott negatively depicts males due to his inappropriate sexual harassment. In addition, the way his female employees react to his harassment parallels with another woman's strategy to combat sexual harassment. Lastly, the producers used comedy to bring awareness to one of the problems that particular society is dealing with, which
In corporate America, sexual harassment is a huge concern amongst many organizations. The matter of sexual harassment is an issue that needs to be immediately attended to in
Harassment, specifically sexual harassment, is one of those challenges faced by businesses and employers as of a result of workplace diversification. Inappropriate conversations, unwanted advances and uncomfortable physical contact are some of the ways sexual harassment can occur. According to Hellriegel and Slocum, “Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.” (p.52). To be clear, sexual harassment can, and has, affected both women and men over the years however up to half of all working women have reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment in the career (Vijayasiri, 2008, p.1). It wasn’t until 1986 though that the Supreme Court recognized sexual harassment as a violation of Title VII in the case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (O’Brien, 1994, p. 1). Before the high court’s ruling, however, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had begun to address the issue by drafting hostile work environment guidelines that included sexual harassment (O’Brien, 1994, p. 4). These guidelines would serve later to guide the high court’s decision. There are many more cases like this one we could look at. In 1991, sexual harassment became a household term as Anita Hill testified before congress stating she was sexually
Our textbook defines sexual harassment, also known as gender harassment, as “Lewd remarks, touching, intimidation, posting of indecent materials, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that occurs on the job” (pg. 552). AAUW describes sexual harassment as a general description of unwanted sexual advances, request for sexual favors, or other verbal/physical conduct of any sexual nature. Even with Title VII’s protections, numerous people throughout the country still experience sexual harassment in the workplace. We can look at the Waldo v. Consumer Energy Company federal court case, found on page 552, as an example of sexual harassment at work and the consequences associated with the
Harassment has plagued the world for centuries. Why should the workplace be any different? Sexual harassment and workplace violence are not only of historical roots, but contemporary issues are still present in the workforce today. Managers are addressing and combating modern sexual harassment and workplace violence, however instances still occur (Robbins, Decenzo & Coulter, 2011).
Campus: The Confluence of Authority Relations, Sexual Interest and Gender Stratification” that “Female workers have always been vulnerable to sexual abuse by male employees...In non-random surveys as many as 70 percent of respondents report harassment on the job” (236). This is an unfortunate statistic and through comedy, the television series The Office (U.S.), created by NBC, and directed by Benjamin Novak reveals how inappropriate harassment is. The Office (U.S.) is a comedy based around Dunder Mifflin Paper company’s Scranton branch manager, Michael Scott. Michael is a comedic and belligerent character who is unaware of his socially unacceptable humor, which shows the audience how unacceptable sexual harassment is. Throughout the second episode of season two, Michael Scott negatively depicts males through his humor. In addition, the way his female employees react to his nonsense is similar to the way Jessica Valenti combats sexual harassment. Lastly, through the use of comedy, the producers of The Office reveal to its audience how sexual harassment is unacceptable. In Season two, episode two of The Office (U.S.), Michael Scott negatively depicts males due to his inappropriate sexual harassment. In addition, the way his female employees react to his harassment parallels with Jessica Valenti’s strategy
Sexual harassment is a demeaning practice, one that constitutes a profound affront to the dignity of the employees forced to endure it. By requiring an employee to contend with unwelcome sexual actions or explicit sexual demands, sexual harassment in the workplace attacks the dignity and self-respect of the victim both as an employee and as a human being. Sexual harassment is well defined as an unwelcome sexual request for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. In many countries, sexual harassment is considered a form of sexual abuse and employment discrimination. Sexual harassment is most prevalent is organizations both professional and academic, though it can occur almost anywhere.
Work place policies regarding sexual harassment is the main issue discussed in this article. Sexual harassment has continued to be a challenge within the workplace. According to a recent review of sexual harassment related resolutions, employers have paid over $732,976.00 in sexual harassment fines (Hobson, Szostek, & Fitzgerald, 2015). The EEOC has issued written guidelines for appropriate strategies employers should use to handle workplace sexual harassment and specific ways to address it. It is the employer’s duty to proactively work to protect all employees from any type of sexual harassment by following sexual harassment policies and procedures that are put in place. Failure to implement and follow the policy and procedure in the workplace can and most likely will lead to liability should an EEOC investigation or lawsuit occur. The employer needs to disperse copies of the policies and procedures and post them in central locations throughout the organization and address sexual harassment in the employee handbooks. The policy and procedures need to clear
Injustices in this world infect people's lives like diseases. One in particular has not only developed over the years, but cases spring up in the most unthought of places. This injustice commonly known as sexual harassment affects women, children, and occasionally men all across the globe. There are many aspects when it comes to sexual harassment including its background, opposing viewpoints on the popular belief, the popular viewing, sexual harassment in today's society, solutions to the problem, and what the future would be like without this injustice on the world's hands.
Harassment has no boundaries when it comes to race, age, or gender. As mentioned previously, there are sometimes underlying problems when it comes to lower-status positions and high-status positions. Power can be dangerous in the hands of the wrong person and can often be said in the workplace where power can lead to sexual harassment. Debbie Dougherty, an assistant professor of communication in the College of Arts and Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia, did an assessment based on opinions and perceptions of 23 participants. The study was focused around the question “why does sexual harassment occur?” and the most common answer that came up was “power.” One thing Debbie noticed was the fact that men and women had different opinions
Organizations have an obligation to create a harassment free environment for its employees. Harassment doesn’t have to be of a sexual nature. An organization is liable if the harassment is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in adverse employment actions such as the victim being fired, demoted, or transferred. Harassing a person based on their sex is illegal. Sexual harassment has a great impact on an employee’s productivity as well as poses a major impact on an organization’s finances in litigation.
Providing training about harassment has proven beneficial to the business environment. As the former EEOC Chairman stated “Sex harassment has developed as one of the great lessons in how education can have an effect on an offensive practice.” There are education campaigns educating not only employees but employers about what harassment entails, how to prevent it, and how to deal with a claim. (Glazer, 1996) In fact, most
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a huge problem in recent history. It can happen to anyone and it can happen everywhere. It can affect all types of races, gender and age. Statistics today shows that more and more sexual harassment has become an issue due to the large number of cases presented. Mainstream media becomes consume covering sexual harassment because of the high profile cases. Sexual harassment becomes a topic on various TV shows, and on some major morning radio talk shows mostly everyday. Sexual harassment laws must be strengthened in order to fix what has become a serious problem today in the workplace.
Over the years, many people have believed that the issue of sexual harassment should not be discussed in public. Sexual harassment was to be discussed behind closed doors. In spite of this, the social and political systems have changed instantaneously. This social problem has affected men and women throughout time; however, it seems that the women of our society more closely look at this issue. This social topic has encouraged women to establish organizations in order to help them discuss the issues more openly and to demand equality including fairness and justice throughout the workplace and in their social lives as well. In recent years, sexual harassment has been one of the most serious and widespread problems
Thesis statement: Sexual harassment is an ongoing issue. From everyday workplaces to daily encounters, sexual assault is still a concern in our daily life and has yet to be generally recognized.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is among the most offensive and demeaning situations an employee can be subjected to. A recent study concluded that at least 40% of women in the workforce have at one time been the object of sexual advances, propositions, or unwanted sexual discussions from men who supervise them or could otherwise affect their career. (Englander, J. P., 1992) Seven out of eight sexual harassment claims that are filed with the Equal Employment